Mints Delivering Coins In The Old Days--How Did They Do It?

Great write up Conder. That stuff you never think about, but is very interesting.

I guess that the wagons and stagecoaches that were used to transport coinage had to be really strong and well-built, which is where my initial question came from. It doesn't take a lot of coins to weigh a wagon or stagecoach down. And you obviously would need a team of powerful horses to pull all that loot. Plus, in those, days, paved roads didn't exist. So it seems to me that moving considerable amounts of coins any appreciable distance was fraught with problems.

The thing is in the pre-truck era you were never hauling a considerable amount a long distance. Mostly just to the train station. And in the era before trains the amount of coinage made was much smaller For example the entire annual production of quarters in 1839 weighed just 3.3 tons. Except for the bulk a two or three wagons could haul the entire years production. If the production was evenly spread out (I know it wasn't) a months worth was only around 500 pounds. Easy to transport.

Cents would have been worse, the years production weighed 37.5 tons, figure about 20 to 25 wagons. But since you wouldn't be moving the entire years production at one time, a months worth would be down to 2 wagons. Ship more than once a month and the amounts become even more reasonable.

And there were always ships for sea transport, flatboats and steamboats for river cartage. Short haul to the docks and the long haul by water.

They had been hauling heavy, bulky item long before they hauled coins. Ever see pictures of wagons with six or seven barrels of beer, whisky etc stacked on them? Five whiskey barrels weighs about 1.5 tons. What do you figure a load of bricks weighed?

Ha! Well this thread has covered all sorts of bases, from fascinating history (thanks, Condor!) to the hilariously absurd.

I was just seizing the opportunity to fill a void.

Well considering the high immigrant population in the large east coast cities back then they could very well have been delivered by aliens.