Q.David Bowers
It is admitted, we believe, that no law exists to prevent the private coinage of Kellogg & Co., which coin, as successor to [that on Moffat & Co., has always stood fair, and has never been questioned. But when it is borne in mind that Mr. Kellogg is not bound to redeem that coin in case it should fall short, it will be admitted on all hands that if the Mint be able to supply the wants of the community, we had better confine our currency to the issues of that establishment. It is said that Kellogg & Co. are not now making any of this coin, have not been doing so for some time, and do not intend to. If this be so, then Mr. Kellogg's interests are not affected at all, and the matter rests solely with the people.
One objection alleged against this coin of Kellogg's is that not having as much alloy as the Mint coin it is softer and wears away faster. This is a good reason for getting it out of the way before it wears off too much. Supposing the amount of private coin in circulation to be as large as stated-$8 million-the loss to the entire community at one-half percent discount will be $40,000. [This is in reference to a proposal by the merchants that they accept private coins for deposit only at a one-half percent discount.]Has not the evil extended far enough, or shall we wait until, by the wearing away of the coin, the percentage be increased to one instead of one-half percent? We are decidedly in favor of stopping it where it is, and we think this meeting of the merchants, in looking to their own direct interests have also been caring for the public good. All the bankers except two, we are told, agreed to the wishes of the merchants. Those two were Messrs. Tallant & Wilde, and B. Davidson. The reason urged by Tallant & Wilde was that one half percent was not enough to pay for recoining or for shipping. Mark that!
"Not enough!" If one-half percent be not enough now, what will be enough for you hence? For the present, we simply remark that we regard this matter as one of-those evils which the sooner remedied the better. Medicine is not pleasant at any time, but if the nauseous draught produce a cure, the sooner it be taken the better for the patient. The bankers are no more to be blamed for circulating this coin than any other class. Mr. Kellogg is not to be blamed, for at the time he issued the coin it was needed, and it has been a great convenience to all commercial trans-actions. The public are not to be blamed, although they are now about to suffer the loss. The whole blame rests on the Federal Government, which, by not supplying us with the Mint when we needed one, forced us to adopt the only remedy left us. The public unfortunately are the sufferers throughout. They suffered in the case of Wright, Baldwin, and other coiners. They suffered in the United States Assay Office Slugs, and now the winding-up, that all foresaw must come sooner or later, has at last arrived, and we have now to suffer in this Moffat-Kellogg coin, which was among the first, is the last, and has been to the people the best of the whole. Well, let it come; it is the last, and the sooner it is over the better. These are our opinions. If any of our readers differ with us our columns are open to them.
The condition continued acute throughout the summer of 1856. The demand for gold coins of specified standard weight in value for export became so great that the entire production of the San Francisco Mint was shipped to distant areas in payment for goods as soon as it was released. The closing of the San Francisco Mint for repairs in September further aggravated the situation and caused the supply of private gold coins in circulation to he reduced further, astrumerous pieces were used in export transactions. On September 19, 1856 Prices Current noted that unless something were done the private coiners would have to resume production.
Within a month the mint reopened. Gradually, private coins were replaced by mint issues. Within a few years, the coins of Kellogg & Co., Wass, Molitor & Co., and the other private coiners were no longer seen in circulation and were regarded as curiosities. By the 1860s they were desired by numismatists, and by a decade later several collectors had formed extensive groups of them.