My thoughts on the 1870-S Half Dime, Silver Dollars, and Three Dollar Gold
The_Dinosaur_Man
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As many know, the coins referenced in the title of this thread are some of the most enigmatic in all of American numismatics. The San Francisco Mint made no records of their production and the coins were unknown for decades. How did they come to exist?
My theory: these were souvenir pieces requested by attendees of the Cornerstone Laying Ceremony.
Background:
What is known is the second San Francisco Mint was under construction from 1869 to 1874 [1] and a complete set of coinage was ordered for its cornerstone. A ceremony was held on May 26th, 1870 for the laying of this cornerstone. [2]
Also known in regards to this coinage are some specifics:
Six die pairs for half dimes had been sent to San Francisco [3]. The one known 1870-S Half Dime was identified after being brought into a small coin shop in Illinois and was later authenticated under intense scrutiny. [4]
All but one of the known silver dollars are circulated, indicating they were used either as pocket pieces or placed into circulation. [5] Old hearsay tells me they were connected to the cornerstone laying ceremony... [6]
The known Three Dollar Gold is technically graded as ex-Jewelry with scratches. The long held theory is the coin exists as a second striking/example from the dies that produced the cornerstone piece as a bridal gift for the Mint Coiner's niece. A letter supposedly accompanied that piece. Like the half dime and silver dollars before it, the Mint has no records of its production. [7]
This is where I will dive into some speculation and theory of my own.
Naturally with such a ceremony, guests were likely invited well in advance to attend the event. It is plausible to me that with the invitations, attending guests could write and request souvenir coins to bring back home with them, similar to how Proofs were managed during this time period. [8] Over a century later, the November 1999 ceremonies honoring the upcoming Sacagawea Dollars allowed visitors to receive the coins they personally struck a few months later. These are the so-called VIP strikes. [9]. Without diving further, it is safe to assume other ceremonies or release days allowed for attendees to request and take home newly made coins. The Columbian Exposition comes to mind. [10]
The first question I have to ask in regards to my theory is whether the San Francisco Mint or the city of San Francisco would have kept returned invitations from the guests of the cornerstone ceremony. If so, we could ascertain if the attendees were able to request specific souvenirs.
The second question I have is how was the bullion managed as the coins were struck, whenever they were struck. Any record of that could point towards material being set aside for coins those included in the Cornerstone and beyond.
My third question is did the San Francisco Mint make record of producing any medals during this era? This line of thinking stems from the later 1884 and 1885 Trade Dollars for which recent research determined them to have been identified as medals when they were produced. [11]
Final Notes:
This is all conjecture on my part. Of course, I am basing my thoughts with references across numismatic history. At one point several years ago, I intended on writing an article speculating that more coinage was produced rather than waste the dies and that the coinage had sailed on the S.S. Cremorne when it left San Francisco on June 1st, 1870, after which the ship was never heard from again. [12]
With any chance that my theory holds, it could point towards a more solid existence for additional coins of these types or even the fabled 1870-S quarter.
If you had the opportunity to go to 1870 and request a souvenir coin, which would you pick?
References
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_San_Francisco_Mint
[2] https://www.govmint.com/learn/post/the-mystery-of-the-san-francisco-mint-cornerstone?srsltid=AfmBOorfGfLPlU2MNroIEkvgABK43WFqpyxsTZji4dVdNurF8PfBNtgb
[3] https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/coin/1870-s-h10c/4397
[4] https://coinweek.com/1870-s-liberty-seated-half-dime-the-tiny-coin-behind-a-san-francisco-mint-mystery/
[5] https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/coin/1870-s-1/6965
[6] https://www.pcgs.com/news/coti-1870s-liberty-seated-dollar
[7] https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/coin/1870-s-1/6965
[8] https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/848409/how-were-proof-sets-sold-in-the-late-1800s-early-1900s
[9] https://www.smalldollars.com/dollar/page22.html
[10] https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/coin/1892-50c-columbian/9296
[11] https://coins.ha.com/itm/proof-trade-dollars/1884-t-1-trade-pr63-cameo-pcgs-cac/a/1329-4151.s
[12] https://web.archive.org/web/20080724181432/http://www.tenpound.com/clippercard.html
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Comments
Number 12 can be dismissed because any substantial precious metal coinage would have been represented at the 1871 Annual Assay Commission.
I would speculate that the unofficial souvenir of the ceremony was the silver dollar, because of a basic fact of human nature, specifically, “Size Matters.” Anyone wanting a souvenir would have wanted the largest one possible, I.e., the Dollar.
That was my thought too, initially. What changed for me is the realization and reminder that when someone goes on vacation, they might bring back souvenirs for family and friends. Hypothetically, there could have been a collector building a set of half dimes and that could have resulted in a request for thd 1870-S half dime.
A contemporary example is if someone travels from the East Coast to the West Coast and picks up some circulating Denver Mint issues.
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It is too bad that the San Francisco Mint did not receive dies for an 1870-S Trime. (Note: IT DID NOT! I checked with somebody who has copies of the records. San Francisco Never Ever received Trime dies in any year. Nobody out West wanted a coin that worthless.)
Were there plans for SF to strike trimes at any point? I thought the branch mints were one and done after New Orleans in that first year
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Not that I or the experts I asked ever heard of.