What excites you about Dahlonega coins?
dan1ecu
Posts: 1,573
Hi, Everybody -
Dahlonega coins are apparently desirable and difficult to find (and expensive!). What is it about them that is so intriguing?
Dan
Dahlonega coins are apparently desirable and difficult to find (and expensive!). What is it about them that is so intriguing?
Dan
0
Comments
Wish I had one. At least I could be JUSTIFIABLY bored with it.
Simply the fact that they are desirable and difficult to find! The same with the Charlotte Mint coinage. One interesting note is that there
is a book called "The Neighborhood Mint" which is about the Dahlonega Mint. It lists the names of all the main employees such as the
assayers, press operators, etc, and the dates they worked at Dahlonega. You can check by date & see just who was involved in personally
minting your coin.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
You can raise that question about any series or subset. What is it about Kennedy Halves? Frankies? Barber dimes? Seated half-dimes?
As one who is known to (not infrequently) purchase Dahlonega coins, I am fascinated by the tie-ins to the first US gold rush in the Southeast which preceded the Dahlonega mint and the Confederate government taking over the mint in 1861 which cemented in its demise. In between, there were the halcyon days of life in the Deep South prior to the Civil War.
The coins are rare (10,000 total extant), covered a variety of denomination and types, and had a wide range of quality of production.
Dahlonega collectors are a fun and interesting bunch of people, a pleasure to be around.
Those are some things that interest me about Dahlonega coins.
Enjoy the history of this period
The individuality of the coins [anyone have an 1840-D G$5 minted JUNE 11, 1840...know how to tell?]
Genuinely scarce yet a set is potentially completable
Resistant to hype and telemarketers [at least until recently]
Never met a finer group of collectors
Only federal coin that you can 100% know was minted under the auspices of the confederacy the 1861-D G$1
I also have an 1854-S eagle. A low-cost example of a coin you know was in the California gold rush.
History my friends, history!
Tom
Small Mint
GA (ok that may just be a southern thing
gold
The thing that should be remembered is that at the time gold was discovered in Georgia it was for the most part within the Cherokee nation. In John Ehly's book "Trail of Tears" one of the most pressing factors to have the Cherokee people removed to the territories of Oklahoma was the discovery of gold (and the rest of their natural resourses). In our local history, it was a sad day when gold was discovered here. Many thousands died as a result.
However, I honestly don't think I would pass, if someone wanted to give me a $5 1861-d.
Old
Mint No Longer In Operation
I still don't know how to pronounce Dahlonega though...
Nothing. They were amateurs. The Franklin Mint made far nicer coins. IMHO, of course.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
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<< <i>I collect dahlonega Gold. Special? Yes. For me it’s just a neighborhood thing I guess.
Dahlonega is one of my favorite playgrounds. I live an hour from Dahlonega which sits in the high foothills of the Appalachian (Smoky) Mountains about 70 miles north of Atlanta. I have hiked/backpacked the woods of the area, canoed the rivers of the area, and canoed through an abandoned gold mine. dahlonega is the closest town to Springer Mountain, the southern terminus (starting point) of the Appalachian Trail. My activities illustrate that Dahlonega is like no other mint location past or present. This is a mix of rural southern Appalachia and deep wilderness, much just as it was in 1838.
Today I drove past Price Hall, the building that currently sits on the foundation of the old US Mint, on my way to hike Blood Mountain and then Desoto Falls. I noticed that it was quieter today on the town square than usual. The old square is normally very busy, considering a town population of 5000. I thought of this thread as I drove the 12 miles from town to my trailhead.
It is my interest in history that drew me to coin collecting. And Dahlonega is great history. Not just great history but a great story. Some of the chapters are the First Gold Rush, Cherokee Indians and the First Steps On The Trail of Tears, The First and Only Branch Mint in a Rural Frontier Town, Politics, More Politics, Civil War, and Even More Politics. dahlonega is very unique. It is a true American novel of the rise and fall of Southern Appalachia and the Branch Mint was a major chapter. Many great books exist on the subject and are worth reading if daring to take the risk. What risk you ask?.... Of course, the risk of getting hooked. The coins of Dahlonega are as unique and rare as its history. >>
From the playground
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I respectfully disagree with that comment. It is terribly difficult to find nice, affordable examples, but there are some nice, original XF and AU pieces around. Therein lies the challenge and fun in collecting Dahlonega coins.
Here is one example that is not affordable for me, but probably one of the most interesting Dahlonega issues, and one of the most expensive currently available for purchase (from Doug Winter/Pinnacle):
from what i understand, they are expensive and difficult to find...and from the pix i've seen, they aren't very pretty...i'm not excited
Andy, does the Franklin Mint make coins or just medals? BTW, I know nothing about anything- I collect Franklin halfs. Someday I hope to improve and work my way up to Franklin Mint stuff
<< <i>What excites you about Dahlonega coins? >>
Aside from the fact that they are rare, early, and gold (a good combo)?
They're from Jawjuh, man! Sheesh!
<< <i>What excites you about Dahlonega coins?
Nothing. They were amateurs. The Franklin Mint made far nicer coins. IMHO, of course. >>
Hey, Andy, c'mere a sec...
duh - LAW - ne - guh
Loosely translated word from Cherokee meaning "yellow rocks," so I hear (and read once).
The book, "Neighborhood Mint," is a really good one and should be an addition to your numismatic library if you're interested in the history that goes with our coins...a must read.
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USAF veteran, 1986-1996 :: support our troops - the American way.
There are a few different dates available with dies rotated 180°.
<< <i>Take a drive to the town on the weekend......sit on a bench in the town square.....stroll through the old shops.....take a tour of the gold museum or one of the gold mines, then take yourself back over 150 years to a different time and try to imagine the area, the land, the people and the minting of fresh, gold coins. The story of the Mint and the whole experience will make the history of Dahlonega coins a bit more meaningful to you. You might want to be a part of that history. >>
Yea, one of the amazing things about the Dahlonega mint was that there was EVER a mint there in the first place. The area still seems isolated, and to think that large cities like New York and Chicago NEVER had a mint while this little town in the middle of nowhere had one is amazing.
As for the coins, some of them seem like "normal" gold pieces with a "D" on the reverse, but others have character. You will see some really worn dies and some interesting varieties because the (1) the Philadelphia mint often sent their "reject" dies to the branch mints, and (2) sometimes the new dies could not be delivered on time, and the mint personnel had to use the old ones.
I would highly recommend that "Neighborhood Mint" book. It's a great read.
Lake may I suggest for your night stand 'The Neighborhood Mint' shouldn't be too soporific.
Also a great article on coloration of Dahlonega coins by Carl Lester will ask RYK or FC 57 for a link.
One of my favorite Dahlonega coins is a well worn 42-D small date five from the S.S. Central America...it's journey from Georgia to California and nearly back I've often pondered.
Link
I have not seen interesting stories like that written about IKEs!
Link
Overland Trail Collection Showcase
Dahlonega Type Set-2008 PCGS Best Exhibited Set
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The reason I point this out is that slab collectors would turn their back on this coin yet I find it highly desirable.
Coin collecting can be exciting and challenging. Finding nice, original Dahlonega gold coins that are affordable is both exciting and challenging. What's so exciting and challenging about Frankies? You can get on ebay and pick up any date in gem practically 24/7. Ho-hum. Lincoln cents? Key dates easily obtainable in gem. Morgan dollars? You can't swing a dead cat at a coin show and not hit 100,000 Morgans. Saint Gaudens $20's? Bought and sold in mint state by the 100's.
I think the fact that many people (including myself years ago) do not know how to pronounce Dahlonega and cannot (easily) find it on a map and that the mint only produced small denomination gold coins during its operating years and that the coins are expensive and that the coins rarely show up in true uncirculated condition (and when they do are extremely expensive) are some reasons why general coin collectors tend to avoid collecting Dahalonega coins.
It is interesting that every six months or so, there is thread just like this, but I never have seen a similarly entitled thread on the subject of Charlotte gold, which in my mind is at least modestly less interesting than Dahlonega gold (but I might think it is less interesting because I know considerably less about it
If you have to ask what is so exciting, you probably wouldn't understand anyway. It's like all coins, you either think they're fascinating or you don't. For me it's all in the history. My wifes ancestors were part of the Cherokee nation that was removed from the area after the discovery of gold.
Here is my latest.
Overland Trail Collection Showcase
Dahlonega Type Set-2008 PCGS Best Exhibited Set
Old thread bump
I just ordered a copy of that book. I wasn’t aware of it until finding this thread today.
Great thread! 👍
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Here’s my only current example:
Hopefully many more examples in due time.
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I’m doing something weird and am quoting myself from 17 years ago. So happy I finally have both a Charlotte and Dahlonega gold dollar now. Still want more!
Low mintage and low survival in original (untouched/not messed with/not doctored makes them interesting compared to most other gold coins.
Successful BST with drddm, BustDMs, Pnies20, lkeigwin, pursuitofliberty, Bullsitter, felinfoel, SPalladino
$5 Type Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/type-sets/half-eagle-type-set-circulation-strikes-1795-1929/album/344192
CBH Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/everyman-collections/everyman-half-dollars/everyman-capped-bust-half-dollars-1807-1839/album/345572
Interesting period in American history, I get that. Pre-Civil War relics of the South are in high demand.
Relatively small mintages, and it is difficult to find nice unadulterated pieces with plucked from circulation preservation and mint state.
Halcyon days of life in the old South?..... depended on your lot in life and or prospects moving forward.
The big D, wait that came out wrong
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set