Moving gold from NYAO to Mint and Back
RogerB
Posts: 8,852 ✭✭✭✭✭
This short letter summarizes how gold bullion moved from the New York Assay Office to the Philadelphia Mint and back in the for of coins. Not very exciting - a completely routine transaction.
"Assay Office of the United States, New York
Treasurer’s Department
April 8, 1856
Daniel Sturgeon, Esq.
Treasurer,
U. S. Mint
Philadelphia
Sir,
I herewith transmit my statement and the receipt of the Adams Express Co. for five boxes, containing fifty-four gold bars weighing 12,499.78 ounces, of the net value of$255,258.98 for which I will thank you to remint double eagles in payment.
I have placed to your Credit the amount of $206,609.99 received this day in gold coins by the Adams Express Co.
Very respectfully yours,
Your obedient servant,
John J. Cisco, Treasurer"
Comments
I'd LOVE to see those bars.
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
WOW... not a bad swap.
Nice.
NYAO needed DE and eagles for export payments, particularly to Toronto for Canadian timber. The melted and refined foreign coins and bullion, then sent it to Philadelphia for coinage.
The coins received by NYAO were probably a mix of worn and foreign hence the odd amount. Doing this relieved the Mint from extra work and made use of NYAO's excess capacity. A few years later, NYAO would become the primary maker of export bars.
Now, in this 'modern' age, it is all done by wire transfer....In 100 years, people will be scrutinizing computer screens instead of handwritten memo's.....maybe a thumbdrive or two... well, probably not, since they will be archaic by then...who knows what technology will be like in 100 years.... Kind of scary to even contemplate. Cheers, RickO