'Mint That Never Was' article
F117ASR
Posts: 1,416 ✭✭✭
Hello all. Found an interesting article about a US mint in Dalles City Oregon that never went into completion. The article can be found here
The following is a sample of the article:
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"But how many of us have heard of the U.S mint that was located in The Dalles in Oregon? Could we have had a "TD" mintmark? Or perhaps "DC," as it was originally known as Dalles City. I invite you to take a walk with me, back to the mid-1800s, as we learn about this fascinating story, and some of the people and the events that transpired." -Numismaster.com
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The following is a sample of the article:
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"But how many of us have heard of the U.S mint that was located in The Dalles in Oregon? Could we have had a "TD" mintmark? Or perhaps "DC," as it was originally known as Dalles City. I invite you to take a walk with me, back to the mid-1800s, as we learn about this fascinating story, and some of the people and the events that transpired." -Numismaster.com
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Comments
Who shot J.R.??????
<< <i>That is very cool, "TD" would have made for an interesting mint-mark. >>
I sure think so..........
TD
<< <i>I just got back from St. Louis and thought it would have been in the running for a branch mint, considering it's importance and location. I've never seen/read anything about St. Louis and the possibility of a branch mint though. >>
I've not done a great deal of research, but I'm not aware of any precious metal strikes near St. Louis. I believe that is one of the driving forces behind placement of a mint. You want the metal to be able to come to the mint quickly and easily, don't want it traveling too much as that would tend to favour the criminal aspect.
<< <i>
<< <i>That is very cool, "TD" would have made for an interesting mint-mark. >>
I sure think so..........
TD >>
True,very true...
Dennis
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interesting article! thanks for sharing
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As far as I'm aware, the only other location that was seriously proposed as a location for a mint was New York City. There was a fair amount of political agitation to locate a mint there in the "middle third" of the 19th century. Various legislation was proposed but, unlike the Dalles mint, it was never approved. As you might expect, the northern Senators (especially the ones from New York) were the main sponsors of the legislation, while the southern Senators were generally against it. At one time, Charleston, SC received some support as a mint location, but that proposal never went anywhere, either.
As I understand it, putting an Assay Office in New York was the compromise that was reached. The Assay Office was able to pay out gold coin or ingots, so the merchants could get their foreign gold and bullion exchanged/converted without the delay involved in a journey to Philadelphia.
Interestingly, in 1878, when the New Orleans Mint was under serious consideration to be reopened as a Mint (it had been reopened as an assay office in 1876), the House Committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures held hearings on the best location to place a mint. They received testimony from representatives of 15 cities (including New Orleans, St. Louis, Cincinnati and three cities in Illinois - Springfield, Quincy and Rock Island), who discussed the various commercial advantages of their respective cities. The testimony makes interesting reading for the discussion of the commercial life of those cities at that time.
Needless to say, the representatives of New Orleans made much of the expected flood of Mexican silver that would be expected to greet a reopened Mint. Of course, that flood never materialized when the Mint actually did reopen!
Check out the Southern Gold Society