Q. David Bowers
Delays ensued, and dies did not arrive on time. Despite the fact that the mint was all ready to go but could do nothing, official opening ceremonies were held on January 6, 1870, by which time the facility had been in virtual readiness for a half year. Abram Curry was the first superintendent. At this point, bullion could be received for assaying and refining, but no coins could be struck. Finally, the dies arrived, and on February 10th the first silver dollars were struck. Later in February, $10 gold coins were made for the first time in Carson City, and in March a coinage of $5 and $20 coins took place.
From the outset the Carson City Mint was unpopular. Curry was a competitor to many other Virginia City mine owners, and the thought of having him benefit from their ore was not pleasing. Apparently, the railroads cooperated in this situation, for tariffs were set up which made it cheaper to haul bullion hundreds of miles to San Francisco than 15 miles to Cats on City! Actually, the equation is not as simple as that, for once minted, the coins would mostly have to be shipped to San Francisco or some other commercial center anyway, for the inhabitants of Nevada were not numerous enough to use much of the production in everyday commerce.
Throughout the history of the Carson City Mint, many efforts were directed toward closing it down. Many allegations were made concerning the inefficiency of operations there, the poor security, poor refining practices, etc., few of which had any foundation in fact.
As it turned out, Abram Curry was superintendent for only a brief time. He left in September 1870 in an unsuccessful bid for election as lieutenant governor on the Republican ticket. He was followed in the mint office by H.F. Rice, erstwhile Wells-Fargo express agent. Rice was intensely disliked. His term lasted until May 1873, when he resigned amidst a storm of controversy concerning charges that gold coins were underweight. The charges were enthusiastically supported by the numerous adversaries of the mint, but were never completely substantiated by evidence.
Next in line as superintendent was Frank D. Hetrich (May 1873 to August 1875), who came to the post with experience in the assaying, refining, and minting process, an unusual situation for a post that was then (as now in various mints) a political plum. Then followed James Crawford (September 1875-March 8, 1885; a native of Kentucky, he moved to Nevada in 1863 and to Carson City in 1874), whose tenure was especially long" after which Theodore R. Hofer served for a few days in an interim capacity, followed by Maj. William Garrard (March 18, 1885 to June 30,1889)" Samuel Coleman Wright (July 1, 1889-August 1, 1892), and Theodore R. Hofer again (August 6, 1892-May 20, 1894), by the end of whose term the Carson City Mint was no longer striking coins. Still other officials were in charge when the facility functioned as an assay office. The building was operated by the government until June 30, 1933. On May 22, 1939, legislation was passed approving of its sale. Since October 31, 1941 it has been the Nevada State Museum; see "The Story of a Coining Press" below.
A description of the Carson City Mint, from Thompson and West's History of Nevada, 1881, p. 557, follows:
"Granite from the prison stone quarry. Pict style of architecture. Portico, Ionic. Hall, 12 feet in width; main hall 12x40; on the right of the entrance. Paying teller's office, 13x16 feet. Coining room, 19x19. Spiral staircase conducts above. Whitening room 10x14.5, with a vault in solid masonry 5x6. Annealing furnace and rolling room, 17x24. Gold and silver melting room 10x24. Melters' and refiners' office, 12x19 feet. Deposit melting room 14.5x19. Deposit weighing room, 19x19, with a strong vault 6.5x 10.5 feet. Treasurer's office, 13x16, with a vault five feet square. Engine room, 16.5x53 feet. Beside which there is a cabinet, adjusting room, ladies' dressing room, humid assay room, assayer's office, assayer's room, watchman's room, two store-rooms, attic, basement. As a preventive against fire the floors are double, with an inch of mortar between. The foundations are seven feet below the basement floor and laid in concrete. Building two and a half stories high. The machinery for the mint arrived November 22, 1868. The mint has a front of 90 feet on Carson Street ...
"November 1, 1869. The machinery of the mint was put in motion in the afternoon .... September 19, 1872. Supt. H.F. Rice puts down before the mint building a granite sidewalk, 12 feet wide and 180 feet long .... July 1, 1873. F.D. Hetrich became superintendent of the mint vice H.F. Rice."
Beginning in the early 1890s, collectors became interested in the products of the Carson City Mint. In 1893, Augustus G. Heaton suggested that readers of his Mint Marks book could order CC coins directly from the source. In the intervening decades, Carson City silver and gold coins have become highly prized, with some of the rarest being issues bearing dates from 1870 to about 1873.
Report on the Carson City Mint, 1869
In the Annual Report of the Director of the Mint, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1869, James Pollock noted that the branch mint at Carson City, Nevada was approaching completion, the machinery was nearly all in place, and operations would soon begin. He stated that the peculiar characteristics of the bullion were such that the workers would have to be "practical, experienced, and scientific men" in order to refine it properly. Much of the bullion was expected to contain a mixture of silver and gold; "the bars of mixed bullion being officially stamped with both gold and silver proportions will be as salable in that form as if they were parted." Further:
"The operations of this mint will, in all probability, culminate in commercial bars, as coin already abounds in that region so extensively that their papers express alarm as to the prospects of redundancy. Practically it will be much more an assay office than a mint, and as such, fully meet the wants of the district. The power to make coin may be of occasional benefit; perhaps, in the future, at much advantage."
Report on the Carson City Mint, 1870
The Annual Report of the Director of the Mint, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1870 noted the following:
"Carson City: The branch mint at Carson City, Nevada, is now in operation. In May 1869 the fitting up of this branch for business as a mint was commenced, and completed in December of that year. On the 8th of January 1870, it was opened for the reception of bullion. The superintendent [Abram Curry 1 in his report, says, 'Since that time the business has been steadily increasing, and, with the facilities afforded other institutions of its kind, will do a large business in refining and coining.
" 'This branch mint, to make it efficient and successful, requires a bullion fund equal to the legitimate demands of business, and the just expectations of its depositors. No such fund has, as yet, been provided for the institution.'(Without such a fund, depositors of silver and gold had to come back to the Carson City Mint days later in order to obtain payment for their bullion or to receive it in coined metal. Had such a fund been implemented at the time, depositors could have received payment immediately upon assay. The bullion fund pertained only to silver dollars and gold coins.)
"The urgent request of the superintendent for such fund was approved by the director and forwarded to the proper authorities for their consideration and action. It is desirable that the subject should be favorably considered, and the fund provided. 'The delay,' says the superintendent in his report, 'in giving the branch a sufficient amount of gold and silver to cash deposits as soon as their value should be determined, has operated very injuriously, as well in regard to the amount of bullion received, as in the expense of working it. Large lots of bullion can be worked with far less percentage of wastage than small ones; and the labor of remelting and reassaying has been much greater than if larger quantities could have been worked at once.'
" 'In reference to the future of this branch and its influence in developing the mineral resources of the country, the report says: 'The mining interests of the country from whence the larger portion of bullion is received, are improving rapidly; new mines are being developed and larger quantities of bullion produced as the cost of working the ore is becoming reduced. With proper arrangement and facilities afforded this branch, (This is a rare laudatory remark for a superintendent of the Mint, whose office was in Philadelphia, to make about Carson City. Most later Annual Reports of the Director of the Mint were critical of the Nevada operation.) it will increase its business materially during the next fiscal year and give much aid in developing the mining interests of this and adjoining states.'
"The deposits at this branch during the year, were, gold, $124,154.44; gold coined, $110,576.05; silver deposits and purchases, $ 28,262 .16; silver coined, $19,793.00. Total deposits and purchases, $152,416.60; total coinage, $132,369.05; total number of pieces, 38,566. The report is very encouraging, and it is earnestly desired that the present anticipations of its officers may be fully realized in the future prosperity of this branch." I cannot forbear repeating the declaration made in my last annual report, that the policy of the government in relation to the development of the mineral wealth of our country should be liberal and generous."