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March 31st 1861, The Confederacy took over the US Mint

HalfDimeHalfDime Posts: 921 ✭✭✭✭✭

March 31st 1861, The Confederacy took over the US Mint

"On March 31, 1861, Confederate forces took control of the United States Mint in New Orleans, securing one of the South’s most valuable financial assets.

The facility had already fallen under Louisiana state control earlier in the year after the state seceded from the Union in January 1861. But by the end of March, it was officially transferred to the Confederate government, marking a significant step in the South’s effort to establish its own independent financial system.

At the time, the New Orleans Mint held substantial reserves of gold and silver, which were seized and used to support the Confederacy’s war efforts.

The mint would briefly produce coins under Confederate authority, though production was limited. Today, those rare Confederate-issued coins are considered highly valuable artifacts from the Civil War era.

The takeover underscored the growing divide between North and South in the months leading up to the outbreak of full-scale war, which would begin just weeks later with the attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861."

If they had waited an extra day, they could have done it on April 1st.

Comments

  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 33,577 ✭✭✭✭✭

    “a” U.S. Mint

    Numismatist. 54 year member ANA. Former ANA Senior Authenticator. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and ANA Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Author of "The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922," Available now from Whitman or Amazon.
  • oldabeintxoldabeintx Posts: 2,767 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I had to add three 61o’s to my expanded type set. Great history.

  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 47,378 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @CaptHenway said:
    “a” U.S. Mint

    a US branch mint

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  • cinque1543cinque1543 Posts: 440 ✭✭✭

    @HalfDime said:
    March 31st 1861, The Confederacy took over the US Mint

    Yup, and the Confederacy held it for about a year, until April 1862 when the Union re-captured the entire city and port.

  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 33,577 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @PerryHall said:

    @CaptHenway said:
    “a” U.S. Mint

    a US branch mint

    "a" U.S. Mint, not all of them.
    They also took over Dahlonega and Charlotte.

    Numismatist. 54 year member ANA. Former ANA Senior Authenticator. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and ANA Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Author of "The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922," Available now from Whitman or Amazon.
  • johnny9434johnny9434 Posts: 31,131 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @CaptHenway said:

    @PerryHall said:

    @CaptHenway said:
    “a” U.S. Mint

    a US branch mint

    "a" U.S. Mint, not all of them.
    They also took over Dahlonega and Charlotte.

    Interesting turn of events. Bummer neither one reopened (for whatever reasons)

  • jakebluejakeblue Posts: 285 ✭✭✭

    Reminds me of one of my favorite gold coins. Not quite near a triple digit 61 NO double (ha)but it works for me.

    Boom...we win.

  • ConnecticoinConnecticoin Posts: 13,251 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @CaptHenway said:
    “a” U.S. Mint

    Yeah I missed the episode of the Burns documentary where the Confederacy occupied Philadelphia.

  • smuglrsmuglr Posts: 543 ✭✭✭✭

    Very cool historical story! I'm trying to learn more about the differences in the three 'types'. @oldabeintx are all three somewhat available?Would they be distinguishable in lower grades, probably the only ones I could even hope to one day obtain? I'm assuming best to go with certified, or would raw be an option, knowing very little about the series?

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