Second Philadelphia Mint question???-Cornerstone coins

NumisOxide

Does anyone know what coins in 1833 were placed and then discovered in the second Philadelphia Mint's cornerstone in about 1902?

The information in this Second Philadelphia mint history link says that in about 1902 the cornerstone was found by a work crew. It contained a candy jar with a cork. Inside the jar was a couple of newspapers, a scroll, and three coins. Thanks.

Go to the link and scroll down until you get to the second Philadelphia mint section info. Then you will know what I'm talking about.

NumisOxide

Any info on this?

NumisOxide

Does anyone know what were the specific coins that were found in the cornerstone of the second Philadelphia mint when it was demolished?

Pistareen

Hi John:

I wrote about this story in a past lot description for a Proof 1829 Half Dime in the August 2005 ANR auction posted here http://www.anrcoins.com/lotdetail.aspx?lrid=AN00025569 and reprinted with permission below:

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As suggested above, 1829 half dimes in Proof are very special coins, with at least some of them coined in connection with the laying of the cornerstone at the technologically advanced Second Mint facility at Chestnut and Juniper streets in Center City, Philadelphia on July 4, 1829. The first U.S. Mint at this point suffered, according to Mint Director Samuel Moore, from "privations and impediments by which the Mint is now embarassed," and attempts to enlarge the first Mint were now scrapped in favor of opening a brand new building. In recognition of the history of the Mint to that point, a number of pieces were laid in the cornerstone that would commemorate both the past and the present, with an eye on the technology of the future. The day's ceremonies were recounted in the July 18, 1829 edition of the Niles Weekly Register after initial reporting from the Philadelphia Gazette:

"Mint of the United States. The foundation stone of the edifice about to be erected ... was laid on the morning of the fourth of July at 6:00, in the presence of the officers of the Mint, and a number of distinguished citizens. Within the stone was deposited a package, securely enveloped, containing the newspapers of the day, a copy of the Declaration of Independence, of the Constitution of the United States, and of the farewell adress of George Washington; also specimens of the national coins, including one of the very few executed in the year 1792, and a half dime coined on the morning of the fourth, being the first of a new emission of that coin, of which denomination none have been issued since 1805."

Three varieties of 1829 half dimes are known in Proof, and incidentally all three feature reverses with three lines in the vertical shield stripes (also known as "pale gules" in heraldic terms)—no other half dime reverses of any date of this type feature this characteristic, so LM-1, LM-2, and LM-3 can easily be considered the first half dime varieties coined in 1829 and thus of this entire design type. Which was struck first is not known, as each is struck from a unique obverse and reverse with no cross marriages, so it is as possible that a piece of this variety was placed in the cornerstone of the Second Mint as either of the other two varieties known in Proof. We do know that the only piece retained in the Mint Cabinet, begun in 1838 by Adam Eckfeldt and including a number of pieces saved by him from his term as chief coiner, was a specimen of this precise die variety. What became of the piece invested in the Mint cornerstone we do not know, though Taxay makes this note in his The U.S. Mint and Coinage:

"The cornerstone was discovered in May 1903, when the building was razed. It weighed three hundred pounds, and revealed an old-fashioned candy jar with a petrified cork. The jar held three coins, two newspapers, and a scroll giving a skeleton history of the old Mint and the establishment of the new one."

Could this be the precise piece from the Mint cornerstone? It is as likely as any other Proof 1829 half dime, except the one that was already in the Mint Cabinet in 1903. The May 1903 issue of The Numismatist quotes an article from the Philadelphia Public Ledger noting that "the jar and its contents are now in the possession of William Steele & Sons, the contractors, and will be forwarded to Secretary Shaw of the Treasury Department, as he requested some time ago." Did the contractors send the contents to the government, or sell them through a Philadelphia dealer, or worse? We may never know. Alas, the pedigrees of the half dimes in the Eliasberg collection are likewise clouded—how we would love to find that Clapp bought this coin from someone in Philadelphia in the summer of 1903! Alas, some facts are simply lost to time.

NumisOxide

Awesome info Pistareen. I knew someone would know what coins were found in the jar. Thanks a lot.

coinnut86

I knew nothing about the coins in the cornerstone That is facinating information!!!

Thanks!

StrikeOutXXX

It's an old thread, but since 178 years ago (July 4, 1829) marks the 2nd Philadelphia Mints cornerstone being laid, and the resuming of the coining of half dimes, thought a bump would make for some timely reading.