Visit to the Gold Museum in Dahlonega
guitarwes
Posts: 9,290 ✭✭✭
Me and the Wifey took a great trip this past November to the North Ga. mountians and stayed in Helen. While we were there, we vistied Dahlonega which is not very far from where we stayed. The town is great and the Gold Museum was a fun thing to do. I snapped a couple of pics of some of the exhibits in there. All you D-Mint gold coin folks would have pooped a brick when you peered into the old safe in the gift shop area and seen that complete set of Dahlonega gold. We did the little movie thing they have which tells you some history of the first gold rush and other interesting tidbits like early mining, life, people, etc. I picked up several flyers and brochures, some put out by Gold Rush Galleries, thought that was neat. Also on that trip we met up with the former PCGS forum member NewComp103 (Shawn B.) and had lunch and talked coins and such. Pretty good time. Anyways, thanks for lookin'. Some of the pics may be a little large as I forgot which one's I resized and really didn't want to go through them again.
Old hammer mill
Safe in the gift shop......
some big honkin' nuggets.
and for you currency/coin guys, here's some paper $$$. I took some pics of some Continental Currency, but the museum worker told me it wasn't real, so I didn't save 'em.
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SeaEagleCoins: 11/14/54-4/5/12. Miss you Larry!
thanks. It was tough taking pics through that inch or so thick glass on that safe. you can see our reflection in a couple pics. I'm surprised the guard didn't pull me away from it 'cuz I had my face pressed up against it for like an hour.
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<< <i>thanks. It was tough taking pics through that inch or so thick glass on that safe. you can see our reflection in a couple pics. I'm surprised the guard didn't pull me away from it 'cuz I had my face pressed up against it for like an hour. >>
No drooling on the glass please!
Terrific photos. Thanks very much for sharing!
(I wonder if either of those 1848 half eagles is a D/D?
Mike
<< <i>(I wonder if either of those 1848 half eagles is a D/D?
I tried my best to convince them to open up the safe let me check, but no go.
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I'd sure like to see that coin press in operation....
Also, I'm suprised that so much US Gold is still around, after reading the 1933 posted order....
LM-ANA3242-CSNS308-MSNS226-ICTA
That is not a coin press; it is a hammer mill. It was driven by an engine and those six hammers (really just a bar with a heavy head at the bottom) would go up and down. It crushed the ore into a fine powder.
Afterwards, the ore, which has been reduced to the consistency of flour, would be soaked in mercury. The mercury would leach out the gold from the ore. Then they would boil off the mercury (and distill it for reuse). Modern techniques use a different chemistry, but back then I believe it was mercury based.
Here are the hammer mills used in Bodie, installed into the framework of the mill.
Great pictures!!
My Father's family is from that area, and I have
been there a few times, but have never made
the side trip.
Next time I go down, I'm going to make it a
point to visit that place.
Thanks!!
~
"America suffers today from too much pluribus and not enough unum.".....Arthur Schlesinger Jr.
Not having dealt in branch mint gold coins, did each mint refine and supply its own coin blanks from ore ?
Like Charlotte and Dahlonega.....
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<< <i>More Good stuff adaml.... OSHA would have had a field day in those places...
Not having dealt in branch mint gold coins, did each mint refine and supply its own coin blanks from ore ?
Like Charlotte and Dahlonega..... >>
Yes, gold would be deposited directly at the mint and the mint would pay back in coins. The only thing they did not make was the dies.
Great pics. I have a mountain home about 10 miles away as the crow flies.
Did you walk over to Price Memorial Hall? The mint was donated to North Georgia College and burned down in 1878. The college rebuilt Price Memorial Hall on the same foundation so, although the building facade does not resemble the mint the footprint is exactly the same. The steeple is covered in Dahlonega Gold as well.
Not to dismiss how awesome it is. The display in the black capital plastics holder is truly a sight to behold.
yeah, I too noticed that most all of the coins had been cleaned by someone who had no business even getting near them. what a shame.........
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That is one of the more creative ways to display coins that I have seen in a museum.
Coins really don't lend themselves well to being dispayed in a museum, in my opinion.
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-Paul
Great post!
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I'll be back same time next year fer sure!
We didn't do the gold panning or the walking tour at the Consolidated Gold Mine, was too late when we went. Will probably catch that next time we go this year.
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