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Philly does the uncirculated eagles
All bullion coins are currently minted at West Point(with and without mint marks), Philly last did the Eagles in 2000.
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do the mints buildings still exist for below and can you tour them?.We're they primarily only used during the civil war, Union and Confederate associated mints.
The first branch mint, New Orleans, still exists. It is currently the
Louisiana State Museum and was extensively rehabbed after Katrina ripped off the roof
. There is an exhibit pertaining to the Mint operations along with a numismatic collection on loan from a couple New Orleans specialized collectors. One of them,
Lynn Ourso, has a write-up of the Mint history on his website(he is also a very good dealer whom I have done business with on a few occasions). The New Orleans Mint operated under Louisiana control after the state seceded and then briefly under Confederate control until the silver stockpiles ran out. Only about 1/4 of the total mintage of the 1861-O half dollars was done under Federal control, the rest were Louisiana and CSA issues using the Federal dies. The only CSA coins ever produced(essentially patterns) were produced at the New Orleans Mint.
The other two southern branch Mints, Charlotte and Dahlonega, were permanently closed by the Civil War. Both of them briefly produced coins for the CSA until the gold also ran out. Dahlonega was destroyed by a fire in 1878 and Charlotte was dismantled and relocated in 1936 when the structure was scheduled to be demolished. It currently operates as the
Mint Museum of Art and I could find no mention of a numismatic collection on its website but Wikipedia states that it has a complete collection of Charlotte gold so I am not sure
The Carson City Mint currently houses the
Nevada State Museum and it does have a numismatic collection, including one of the original coin presses.
The original San Fransisco Mint, aka The Granite Lady(affectionately named because it was one of the few structures to survive the 1906 earthquake and it was key to restoring the financial viability of the city) is not currently open to the public. In 2006, a commemorative silver dollar was issued with a surcharge going towards a restoration fund for the Mint. It will eventually be converted into a California history museum complete with numismatic exhibits. The current San Fran Mint, built in 1968, is not open to the public.
The
Denver Mint is the original building that opened in 1906 and tours are available.
Philadelphia has had four mints in its history and only the two most recent buildings still stand with the current one open for tours as well.
Finally, the eighth mint, West Point, is not open to the public and is a Fort Knox-like structure.
Technically, there is also a ninth mint although most collectors would be hard pressed to name it. The Manila Mint in the Philippines operated as a branch mint from 1920-1941 when the islands were a US territory. WWII effectively ended its tenure as a branch mint and of course, the Philippines were given their independence in 1946 so the mint was then operated under the auspices of the new government.
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Posted 02/05/2009 4:10 pm
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