What's your favorite U.S. Mint and why?

NumisOxide

U.S. Mints
C - Charlotte, North Carolina
CC - Carson City, Nevada
D - Dahlonega, Georgia
D - Denver, Colorado
0 - New Orleans, Louisiana
P - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
S - San Francisco, California
W - West Point, New York
M - Manila, Philippines

Out of all the U.S. Mints, I like the Philadelphia Mint. Most of the coins I really like the most in my collection have been struck there.

I live in New York, so that's the closest mint to me (besides West Point) that has produced coins for circulation and for collectors. Also, classic proof coinage was struck there in the 19th century. There was a total of 4 Philadelphia Mints.

I have to say, I like the second Philadelphia Mint the most because all the Philadelpha Mint issues of the Liberty Seated half dollar series was struck at that mint from 1839-1891.

MS70ORBUST

CC, the initials speak for themselves and always get a look from myself.

Hedger

I like the Denver mint. They seem scarce out here in NC and it's always a joy to see a D mint in change for a change. Most of my stuff is from Philly. All the other stuff is San Fran.

mirabela

I've always romanticized the O mint, but then again there were times they couldn't mint a coin worth beans, so who knows...

Shamika

San Francisco because it has great history with the quake. Besides, that S mint mark has always held some magic since I was a kid.

I've got to root for Dahlonega too since I'm a Southerner by birth.

EDITED to add that while Louisiana is a part of the South, New Orleans is really it's own country so it sort of doesn't count as the South.

razorface1027

Carson City of course...The intrigue. The mystique. Its Location (Wild West era). The value of the CC Morgan Dollars after time.



Tom

bgrice

Lived in New Orleans most of my life, so I guess I will go with that one. Defunct mints have got to be favorites since they are not accessible by everyone. Carson City will be one coin I have in my collection.

relayer

CC

michael

philly

most all of the early proofs minted there the first mint flowing hair halves minted there same with bust halves and chain and liberty cap large cents all the proof civil war gold etc

looks like a no brainer for me

Purple73

O mint for me...It's simply the coolest

RYK

For me it is a toss-up between Dahlonega and New Orleans, but I would have to give the slight edge to Dahlonega. Building and maintaining a backwater (even then) facility, linked to an early 19th century gold rush and the Trail of Tears on one end and the Civil War on the other with a lot of political intrigue, corruption, and conflict in between is all quite fascinating to me.

ER

P, the mother of them all.

FatMan

Dahlonega. Its a "neighborhood" thing. In fact I'm heading out the door in that direction to do some hiking in the area. Maybe I'll kick over a rock or two and find some gold just as Benny Parks did in 1828.

AlaBill

I'm a Southern mint guy, New Orleans, Dahlonega, and Charlotte.

AlaBill

cladking

For the earlier issues Denver is my favorite but for coins minted since 1968 it
would have to be Philly. When proof set production was tranferred to San Fran-
cisco it highlighted many things about the Philadelphia mint that weren't obvious
before. They really were the mother mint and they could turn out vast numbers
of coins. The average quality of these coins was far lower than other mints but
the best quality not only rivaled the others but usually exceeded them. The add-
ition of the Philly mint mark in 1979/'80 on most coins highlighted another problem
that many observers had long suspected; that mint mark errors were not uncom-
mon. Several proof coins had inadvertantly already been struck in San Francisco
without mintmarks but in '82 Philly left it off of a production die and at least 10,000
coins got out. There are cases that production figures and what's actually found in
circulation don't jive and it's frequently the Philly mint coins which are over repre-
sented. In one case (1971 quarters) the Philly coins are underrepresented and
one is left to wonder if some Denver dies might have been used in Philadelphia.

It's not only the fact that this mint makes some of the finest coins in recent years or
that the quality range is so huge in the coins they make, it's also the fact that they
have prepared so many of the dies and can change so quickly. Mint directors are
close to this mint and this drives their perceptions much more than any other.

coppercoins

I'm with Dahlonega even though I don't even collect the coins that came from there. Interestingly enough (and ironically enough) my great 3X grandfather died because of the 1830 Act that removed him from his home in North Georgia as an effect of white people figuring out what the Cherokee had known for years - there was gold in "them thar' hills." Chief Pathkiller, my thrice removed grandfather died of disease while moving Westward with his family, which included his daughter and eventual white husband, my twice removed grandparents.

All this aside, the rarity of having a "D" mint gold coin, the history of the mint, and the fact that it shut down because of secession all make it an intriguing place.

Added: Another interesting thing about Chief Pathkiller is that he has two grave markers, in two different states. There is a supposed burial spot in North Georgia, and another near Chattanooga in Tennessee. Nobody knows for sure which of the two actually contains his remains, or whether either of them do. We have traced the Claybough family back to him, East Tennessee, and North Georgia, but have been unable to trace it farther back. Most of the information we do have to date is thanks to (ironically again) the U.S. Government's insistence on creating the Dawes List, a roll of all successful emigrants to the West and their descendants, which is archived in Dah'le-quah (Talequah), Cherokee Nation...recognized as Eastern Oklahoma.

The Dawes List traces downward through generations until 1914. The 285,000 records are for those who received land as raparation fron the US, and my Great Grandfather is listed. To continue the number, you take the last known listing, and trace it downward using the sequential number in children that trace your direct line. I used to have my Dawes list number memorized, I had to go look it up for this. My great grandmother is listed as 16321 in the by-blood list. I am 112 from that line using the system, though I am of course not listed.

jdimmick

I have to say O mint coins. Somehting about the Big O that I like seeing when I flip em over.

nwcs

Charlotte. I'm hoping that I can swing some southern gold this year.

MrHalfDime

Despite the intrigue with the Carson City Mint, they never minted any half dimes there, so it does not hold that much intrigue with me. Same can be said for the Dahlonega, Charlotte, West Point, Manilla, and Denver Mints. Of the three that did produce half dimes, Philadelphia has the longest and most interesting history, and produced all of the dies, even for the branch Mints, so Philadelphia gets my vote (at least the first and second Philadelphia Mints).

mgoodm3

I think D (south version) is coolest. Charlotte is cool because it doesn't get much attention.

Oldnewbie

The Carson City mint, of course. I live in CC and the mint building was one of my regular hangouts while growing up. There is a cool replica mine in the basement and if you were quiet, you could ditch school there.

Shamika

coppercoins,

That's a great story.

anablep

CC- Morgans minted from there (and San Fran) actually circulated in the Wild West. There's history there. As opposed to P and O minted Morgans that accumulated in mint vaults. Denver came in too late in the Morgan game to have any bearing.

This is a great thread. Wish they were all like this...

pursuitofliberty

cool thread, and an intersting story coppercoins


I think it's a toss up for me. D or S ... or CC or O or the other D or C or P ... or ... haha

I was born in Denver and really love the D mints from the earlier part of the 20th Century (through the 1930's)

As a native and long-time West Coaster, I also love the intrigue and prominent position in West Coast history surrounding the San Francisco mint.

For that matter the Carson City Mint holds a lot of "West Coast" lore.


Of course, the history of all the mints and there place in there respective regions, and in our countries "great experiment" makes it hard for me to say if I have a true single favorite.

CharlotteDude

I believe the userid says it all!!

Charlotte Gold Rules!

Cam40

CC mint for the intrigue and history (old west)
W for its less than common availibility
P for its amount of errors and varities

C and D gold coins are very fasinating to me also though i own nary a coin from those mints.

FatMan

Just got back from my hike in the Dahlonega "Neighborhood". For anyone interested, the only thing I found under the rocks was mud, no gold. That Benny Parks was one lucky feller. Thought about this thread on the way home so I decided to drive past Price Memorial Hall, the North Georgia College Admin Building that sits on the original foundation of the US Mint.

pmh1nic

The Southern Branch Mints are a close second but my first choice is Carson City.

mrcommem

Dahlonega, simply for the challenge.

Conder101

The Dalles, Oregon

Coppernicus

I collect MS Lincoln wheats so it's got to be San Francisco. Many low mintages and to this day when I'm searching through a bag of coins, the "s" Lincoln always grabs my eye, even if it's a common one from the 40's ot 50's.

If I specialized in some other series, I would probably have a different favorite (CC is always interesting....)

Mike

PerryHall

<< <i>The Dalles, Oregon >>



Is that a mint wannabe?