Update on Coin Press #1 at the Carson City Mint
northcoin
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Just returned from a visit to Carson City and had the good fortune of being there for the monthly minting of silver coin "medallions" on the original Coin Press #1 that was used to mint the first coins from Carson City in 1870.
As it happened, there were some issues with the collar that forced the pressing on Friday to end earlier than scheduled. Mine was the last one to be made before the press was shut down for repairs. When I was handed the freshly minted silver coin "medallion" I was told it had the best strike of the mint building on the obverse that the handler had ever seen. It was also pointed out to me and the coiner that the reeded edge was smoothed at one point on the circumference due to the issues they were having with the collar. No complaint by me in getting an "instant error." Also kind of cool getting what will be the last minted coin for the month with the next scheduled mintings set for the last Friday of May, pending successful completion of the repairs.
My coin with the evident "error:"
And here is the coiner and crew examining and manually attempting to make adjustments to Coin Press #1 immediately after the minting of my silver coin "medallion."
Comments
Do you have a full picture of the 'medallion'? Are these silver blank planchets that they supply for this purpose? Thanks for the pictures - I like anything related to Carson City minting and coins. Cheers, RickO
Interesting and very nice photos!
Just to add to the Carson City theme here....A couple of poker chips from my collection....Cheers, RickO
Looks like they’re setting the dies in your photos. I see a dial indicator mounted at the top as the other guy is turning the wheel.
Thanks for sharing
Yes these are silver blank planchets which you first purchase in the gift shop and then take to the minting room where your planchet is minted while you watch. I'll try to take a full photo of the "medallion" and post here.
Interesting and very nice !!!
Hopefully this fits the bill for requested "full picture" of my silver coin "medallion." As enlarged I have to agree with the handler's comment to me praising the strike on my particular coin's obverse of the mint building as exceptional - even to the point of defining the individual bricks and almost looking three-dimensional.
(Note the inclusion of the cc mint mark for which the museum's contracted die engravers got special dispensation - even though as a "medallion" the coin is not an official U.S. Minted coin.)
And here is the coin after it has been placed into the optionally available holder:
That's a pretty attractive piece, much better done than the typical tourist souvenir.
Not to mention its .999 Fine Silver content, the U.S. Government allowed for cc mint mark, and its being minted from planchets of the same quality as supplied to the U.S. Mint.
Very, very nice... Thanks for the picture. Cheers, RickO
Thanks all. Hopefully the repairs will go more quickly this time as, if I recall correctly, Coin Press #1 was out of commission for over a year the last time work had to be done on it.
If coin press #1 is hard broke and never to operate again, you'll have the last coin/medal to be struck on it. THAT would be cool!
This press has been rebuilt, repaired, and rebuilt again so many times that it has only a superficial resemblance to what was used at Carson in 1870. A fun item and great way to help support the museum, but don't take it too literally.
Speaking of "support[ing] the museum," in addition to forking out for a membership (even though the likelihood of my making it back in the near future is remote), I did purchase several of the books for sale at the museum. One of particular relevance to the Carson City Mint is the one pictured below. Chapter Four addresses the hauntings that continue there to this day at the Nevada State Museum as it is now housed, at least partially, in the former Carson City Mint building.
Interestingly, when the cashier (Anne Lee Oakes) saw what I was buying she recounted to me her own personal experience of hearing on repeated occasions footsteps on the floor above her after the museum was closed. She would have security check it out only to be told each time there was no one up there. She also shared another repeated encounter with a chill that would be experienced when walking up a certain stairway. It happened so often that she related that now when she feels the chill she yells out, "Go Away, I'm too busy" and it goes away. . When she shared that with the museum security they said, "Oh that was Judge Guild." When I asked who Judge Guild was she responded that he was responsible for organizing the effort that led to establishing the Nevada State Museum in the original Carson City Mint building back in the early 1940s.
In the "Haunted Carson City" book, the haunting spirits are referenced as including Abe Curry who was the first superintendent of the Carson City Mint and influential in its construction and design as well as of a man who was killed in the building while it was still operating as a mint.
And in response to the Roger's insightful post regarding the changes to Coin Press #1 we are fortunate to have an actual photograph of the press as it appeared while minting the iconic cc coins in our collective collections. Here is a photo I took of the vintage photo last week while in Carson City. A case can be made that there is more similarity than difference at least as to its physical appearance.
And for comparison here is my photograph of Coin Press #1 as it appeared Friday after having minted my coin and then immediately having been shut down for repairs:
Thanks the sharing. Nice looking medal, very tastefully done. Peace Roy
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Similarities are obvious based on general shape, but it is the "guts" that make the difference. Still, much can be learned from attentive, careful examination of products under controlled conditions. That has never, to my knowledge, been done.
Very nice posts everyone. I have said before that I have been driving by the CC Mint for almost 60 years and I still rubber neck every time I go past. Take care...
Wanted to add...The Mint (Museum) is a standard yearly field trip for most Northern Nevada grammar schools. History of the Comstock, the Mint and the Redfield hoard are taught in school as Nevada History.
CC
Re. Haunted Carson City. Halloween is one of the largest celebrated events in Carson City. It falls on Nevada Day which is a State Holiday (I believe Nevada is the only state to officially celebrate this). It is tradition that the Governor hand out candy to trick-o-treaters at the Governor's mansion and all of the vintage and historical houses in the area are decorated to the Max.
CC
Adding to the haunted Carson City Mint narrative, chapter four of the "Haunted Carson City" book also describes the "Ghost Town" exhibit within the original mint building as being haunted. Ironically, to get to Coin Press #1 one must walk through the "Ghost Town" and one of the featured Ghost Town structures is the Assay Office as pictured below:
An interesting fact that i learned from last week's visit to the Carson City Mint location. The room in which Coin Press #1 was situated during its minting of the cc coins in the 1800s is now occupied by the Mint Theater as pictured below. The minting of the Carson City coins was kept as isolated from dust as possible with the windows sealed shut and even in the heat of summer no fans were allowed.
How was Press #1 powered during its lifetime? The large wheel on the side suggests it must have been hooked up to a power belt at one time. The 1880 photo also shows some apparatus on the left rear that might have been related to powering the machine. If it was not electric at first, when was it electrified?
This excerpted from a handout provided by those operating Coin Press #1 today:
"Manufactured by Morgan & Orr in Philadelphia, who created many of the steam-powered coining presses then in use throughout the world, the first six-ton press arrived at the Carson Mint in 1868.
"On February 11, 1870, this press struck the first coin bearing the soon-to-be famous CC mintmark, a Seated Liberty dollar.
"For nearly a quarter of a century it was used to strike most of the larger denomination pieces produced during the years the mint actually produced, from 1870 to 1885, and again from 1889-1893.
"When the press suffered a cracked arch in 1878, it was repaired at the local shop of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad. Proud of their handiwork, V&T machinists replaced the original brass Morgan & Orr builder's plate with one bearing the name of their famous railroad.
"The Carson City U.S. Mint ceased coining operations in 1893 and the presses were removed in 1899 .... Press No. 1 was moved to the Philadelphia Mint, where it was remodeled to operate with electric power."
Ironically, it is my understanding that the repairs presently being undergone on Press No. 1 following the minting of my coin last Friday when it was shut down as described in my original posts, are once again attributable to the Virginia and Truckee Railroad. The person there in Carson City capable of doing the repairs keeps the Virginia and Truckee Railroad equipment at the local Railroad Museum operational.