Q.David Bowers
Apparently Reid produced his coins from native metal without alloying it to a standard fineness. Although his pieces were worth substantially less than the face value indicated upon them, it is not known whether Reid was seeking an unusually high profit from his coinage or whether the situation was inadvertent.
On August 25, 1830, Templeton Reid replied from Gainesville. The Georgia Journal of September 11th carried his rebuttal:
Messrs. Editors:
I have just seen an article in the Courier of the 16th inst. which I wish you to re-publish, with my remarks on the same. It is over the signature of No Assayer.
No Assayer begins by acknowledging he is no assayer, which was unnecessary; for I expect everybody knows that, even before his expose on the subject of my coin. But if he had ended by saying he was no calculator, nor knew anything about the standard worth of gold by the carat, he would deserve some credit for his candor.
He says he "has taken the trouble to have a piece of my coin, proporting to be worth $10, assayed at the Mint. It was found to be but 22 1/2 carats fine." Now reckon again-the $10 piece I have estimated at 96 cents per dwt-he at 22 1/2 carats fine-value $9.38-"a trifle-consequently worth a trifle more than Georgia gold dust." And another strange calculation, "$9.38 cents, giving him a profit of about 7 per cent" when it is well known that the buyers have to give from 87 1/2 (the lowest) to 90 cents per dwt at the mines, which is more than 22 carat gold is worth at the Mint. And the gold dust taken collectively from the mines, with the ordinary cleaning, will lose from 3 to 6 per cent in fluxing. Where, then is the "7 per cent profit." No buyer can average one month's business, for the gold fluxed, to cost him as low as the worth of 22 1/2 carats fine at the Mint. I do not no how much that "trifle more than Georgia gold dust" is, and it might save some of the heavy buyers, perhaps some in Augusta, to know, if it is not to late, how much they may lose on their gold in fluxing. For according to No Assayer's weighty statement, they must be engaged in a bad speculation, unless they get a premium for the sand, etc.
But as the currency and demand for my coin, and its credit in some of the Banks, seem to warrant the course, I shall continue to stamp and issue the Georgia gold and pieces of $10, $5, and $2.50.
TEMPLETON REID
The Milledgeville, Augusta, Macon, Columbus, and Athens papers, will please publish the above, and forward their ac-counts to me, if it convenient to do so. TR Gold in its native state is always alloyed with other metals, including silver and tin. It seems that Templeton Reid believed his gold to be nearly pure, which was not the case. The Georgia Courier reported on September 16, 1830:
Weare informed, that about $230,000 of Georgia Gold has been received in this city during the last nine months.
NO ASSAYER's reply to Mr. TEMPLETON REID is received, and will appear on Monday.
Report says, Mr. TEMPLETON REID, whose reply to No Assayer we published today, is coining and stamping, in his mint in Gainesville, not less than $700 of Georgia Gold per day. Allowing No Assayer's calculation of his profits to be correct at 7 per cent, he is making about $15,000 per annum. This is better business than gold digging.
On September 20, 1830, "No Assayer" attacked Templeton Reid's calculation from several different angles. He again repeated that at the Mint the value of Reid's $10 gold pieces were found to be worth but $9.38. Further, he stated that Reid was issuing coins contrary to the Constitution of the United States. No Assayer went on to say:
If he has the right, every individual has the same prerogative. That being the case, does not the evil at once bear upon an honest community? I see no good to result from such a profession as "assayer of Georgia Gold" but much injury.
He continued in the article to excoriate Reid for wanting the community to understand that:
The Mint of the United States, managed by men of strictest integrity, and chosen for their knowledge in the science of mineralogy, and bound by the oaths and bond for their faithful discharge of the duties connected with this department of government, is beyond a doubt wrong . . .
Fancying himself as a public defender, "No Assayer" went on to inform readers that Templeton Reid "cares not for the Constitution of the United States or the value of gold at the proper place of coining, the Mint." He further asserted that Templeton Reid's claim that banks would take his coins was false. Concluding, "No Assayer" said that "I shall take them at their proper value, $9.38, and no more, although they may have $10 marked upon them in bold figures. So much for the 'Georgia Assayer' and his mint."
Thus the activities of "No Assayer" effectively put an end to the faith in Templeton Reid's coinage and forced a cessation of production.
Reid's business activities were brought to the attention of the public again in 1832 when he published in the Southern Recorder a notice that he had removed his business to the residence of Elisha Reid in Putnam County and was engaged in making cotton gins and firearms. By 1836 he had moved to Columbus, Georgia, and advertised that his "cotton gin manufactory" was doing business at the corner of St. Clair and Oglethorpe streets and was ready to supply "lathe irons with centers complete" and Reid's late-invented "Regulating Circuling and Tooth Cutting Engine."
It is believed that between February and May 1839 Reid traveled to Austin, Texas to apply in person for patent on a new method of constructing the brush in a cotton gin. To obtain a patent from the Republic of Texas at the time it was necessary to apply in person and to state the intention of becoming a citizen there. An advertisement in the Houston National Intelligencer informed those wanting his patented cotton gin to write to him in Columbus, Georgia, or apply through his Texas agent, John Cornick & Co. in Houston.
In 1840 Reid advertised the impending publication of a book entitled Prospectus of the Cotton Gin Maker and Giner's Guide, written by himself. The book was to sell for $10 to advance subscribers. Apparently little interest resulted, and it is believed that the book never saw publication. Around this time Reid apparently dropped his plans to move to Texas and concentrated his efforts on building cotton gins. Advertisements for cotton gins and other mechanical equipment appeared in Columbus, Georgia during the 1840s. In 1846 he apparently severed business connections with his brother Elisha. During the same year he suffered a serious fire in his place of business, although many valuable tools and machinery articles were saved.