Carson City Mint Bag - Real or Not?

GSAcollector · November 23, 2009 1:54PM

I have been looking for a Carson City Morgan Dollar Mint bag for a while.

Does anyone have any experience with these or know what they look like?

Any help would be appreciated.

CaptHenway · November 23, 2009 2:03PM

Hard to guage the size, but my gut feeling is that that is not a $1000 dollar bag. The New Orleans Mint dollar bags that I have seen have had the printing horizontally on the bag, not vertically.
.
I do not know if the Mint used smaller bags for lesser amounts, or perhaps for gold coins.
.
Hope this helps.

TD

astrorat · November 23, 2009 2:15PM

Contact the ANA Money Museum. I believe they still have a framed CC dollar bag. I bet one of the museum staff could help you.

Email Doug Mudd (mudd@money.org) and ask him. He's a heckuva nice guy and always willing to help.

Lane

WoodenJefferson · November 23, 2009 3:15PM

I know, but since you edited the original post, I have no idea how or what to say.

DennisH · November 23, 2009 3:38PM

A lurker friend who has never signed up to post on these boards asked me to pass along the following message, as he has a real CC bag:

an original bag, when laid out, is approx 19" tall by 13" wide. Measuring 10" down from the top, it reads, horizontaly, in 1/2" tall letters centered between lines, as follows:
U S MINT
CARSON CITY
NEVADA

WoodenJefferson · November 23, 2009 3:49PM

There where times the bag was cut open instead of un-stiched and the bags got a bit shorter with each subsequent re-use.

7over8 · November 23, 2009 10:12PM

I have one.....DENNIS H is correct on the inscriptions, centered on the bag (horizontally), location as described, block letters in black

U.S. MINT
CARSON CITY
NEVADA

Mine has not been cut, it also has a blue thread stiched around the top about 3/4 inch down from the very top

I paid about 250 bucks for it about 15 years ago.

CaptHenway · November 24, 2009 11:13AM

Here's the one the OP was asking about.

edited out

speety · November 24, 2009 11:18AM

<< Here's the one the OP was asking about... >>

I take it the OP took down the link for a specific reason, perhaps he wants to bid on the bag. I'm not sure if reposting the link while the auction is active is the best idea... Although I guess he did post it in the first place...

sinin1 · November 24, 2009 2:53PM

what would be in a bag 2 1/2"x 8 1/2"?

a long roll of double eagles? dollars? loose smaller gold?

WoodenJefferson · November 24, 2009 3:45PM

<< what would be in a bag 2 1/2"x 8 1/2"?

a long roll of double eagles? dollars? loose smaller gold? >>

DennisH · November 25, 2009 1:39AM

Here's more pass-along information from my lurker friend:

No, there is no indication of what is in the bag. The bag I have is in a frame & has a brief story at the bottom along with two Morgan dollars to show obverse & reverse. I purchased it about 15 years ago from Silvertown (Leon Hendrickson) from an ad in Coin World.

DuPapa · November 25, 2009 2:20AM

There are enough references to what the item is that even at this stage of the game it was easy enough to find...
Perhaps the th OP should post the pics so our lucker friend could tell Dennis if the printing style looks right..

Sure looks real to me.
If had 40 years left I'd put in some Mogans and see if they toned.

WoodenJefferson · November 25, 2009 3:08AM

There are modern Carson City Mint bag reproductions out there, but from what I've seen, the repos do not follow the original wood block lettering that was pressed into the bag. I think the repos were done with a silk screen method because the weave of the canvas is not as course as the originals.

JupitarCoins · November 25, 2009 9:03AM

Their is one currently on ebay for sale with over 4 days to go.
Item #230402614362 if someone wants to check to see if its real or not. I kinda have my doubts but who knows it just may be real.

DennisH · November 25, 2009 9:14AM

Just a guess, but judging from the very small size, might this one have been a bag used for gold?

ebay auction link

CaptHenway · November 25, 2009 10:58AM

<< Just a guess, but judging from the very small size, might this one have been a bag used for gold?

ebay auction link >>

I suggested that up above.
TD

19Lyds · November 30, 2009 2:48AM

Now this kinda Surprises me!

Did the OP win it?

Blackhawk · November 30, 2009 3:18AM

I didn't know that the mint sold canvas prophylactics.

GoldenEyeNumismatics · November 30, 2009 5:24AM

<< Now this kinda Surprises me!

Did the OP win it? >>

I won it. I had spotted it when it first was listed and requested the OP remove the link when I later saw it posted here.

I'm hoping I might have an easier time figuring out what it was used for when I get it in hand. I'm hesitant to think it was used for gold coin or minor denominations, since most mint bags I've seen have the denomination and total face value stamped on them. One possibility is that it was used to store dies.

I'm fairly confident it's an authentic CC bag though, since the canvas, lettering and stamp quality are all consistent with mint bags of the late 19th century. I'm not aware of any reproduction bags that have been produced to such authentic standards.

RWB · November 30, 2009 5:48AM

“2 3/4 wide and 8 1/2 long.”

That's about the right size for double eagles. They were stacked 250 in a bag ($5,000) and four (correction: "eight") bags to a shipping crate ($40,000). Each bag had two rows of double eagles, with the top tightly sewn or crimped to prevent the coins from rubbing. A $20 gold bag was about 13-inches long, but they were handmade and mints cut down large bags when they needed to ship smaller quantities. Could have held 50 $20s ($1,000).

Just some speculative thoughts…

(Corrected error, above.)

GoldenEyeNumismatics · November 30, 2009 7:25AM

<< “2 3/4 wide and 8 1/2 long.”

That's about the right size for double eagles. They were stacked 250 in a bag ($5,000) and four bags to a shipping crate ($40,000). Each bag had two rows of double eagles, with the top tightly sewn or crimped to prevent the coins from rubbing. A $20 gold bag was about 13-inches long, but they were handmade and mints cut down large bags when they needed to ship smaller quantities. Could have held 50 $20s ($1,000).

Just some speculative thoughts… >>

That would be pretty cool if it turned out to be a double eagle bag... and it would make it a huge bargain at $181.

19Lyds · November 30, 2009 7:28AM

<< 

<< Now this kinda Surprises me!

Did the OP win it? >>

I won it. I had spotted it when it first was listed and requested the OP remove the link when I later saw it posted here.

I'm hoping I might have an easier time figuring out what it was used for when I get it in hand. I'm hesitant to think it was used for gold coin or minor denominations, since most mint bags I've seen have the denomination and total face value stamped on them. One possibility is that it was used to store dies.

I'm fairly confident it's an authentic CC bag though, since the canvas, lettering and stamp quality are all consistent with mint bags of the late 19th century. I'm not aware of any reproduction bags that have been produced to such authentic standards. >>

Hmmm. I wonder how long my childrens, childrens, children will have to wait before an IKE Mint Bag will show that kind of appreciation?

GSAcollector · November 30, 2009 1:36PM

I did not bid on it. I am really looking for a Carson City Morgan dollar mint bag. I thought this might be one, but it looked too small.

Here is a picture of the ebay item that sold. There was no writing on the other side of the bag.

Thanks for everyone's observations and advice. An interesting item...

7over8 · November 30, 2009 1:40PM

The bag is questionable, but the markings look good against original silver dollar bags - but those bags are much larger.

The price is not at all high, I paid $250 probably 15 years ago for a good CC silver dollar bag. I would expect a nice one to go for 500-750 now.

RWB · December 1, 2009 12:40AM

Historical note:
Bags and boxes used for shipment of gold coins were commonly burned after the coins were removed. This was done to recover any traces of gold that had abraded from the coins during shipment. Bags for silver and bronze coin were usually reused because the silver alloy was harder than gold and did not abrade very much during shipment.

(Anecdote: In the early 20th century, crafty Swiss bankers were known to routinely shake bags of gold before opening and weighing the coins. Since gold coins were accounted for by weight/fineness and not face value, shipments usually came up short weight. The Swiss bankers then discounted their remittance to the original shipper for the short weight of gold. Later, the bankers burned the bags and recovered the extra gold thus increasing their profit.)

RW · December 1, 2009 1:08AM

Let us know how much gold is recovered after you burn it.

Carson City Mint Bag - Real or Not?

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