Q. David Bowers
"[Page 21:] A keg 13-1/2 inches high, including the chine, and with a diameter of 10 inches at the head and 11-1/2 at the bilge (outside measures), is a convenient size for $2,000 in silver coin, or $50,000 in gold coin.
"A keg whose measurements are 19, 11, 13, as above, is a proper size for $5,000 in silver coin.
"A rectangular box, measuring inside 10 by 8 inches by 5 in depth, is the size used at the Mint for $1,000 in silver coin. This allows the coin to be thrown in promiscuously; if piled, at least one third more can be put in. Such a box would hold $36,000 in gold coin, laid in order; or $27,000 in disorder. A bag 6 inches by 9 holds $5,000 in gold coin, with room to tie. A bag 14 by 18 is a good size for $1,000 in silver coin. One thousand pieces of our three-cent coin ($30 worth) make a smaller budget than many of our customers seem to anticipate. A bag 3-1/2 inches by 5 easily contains them.
"[Page 24:]1. Shipments of Califomia Gold to London.-From various 'accounts-sales' of California gold, shipped from San Francisco to London, it appears, that, while the charges at London are greater than here, and the bullion is paid for there at a reduction from the legal mint value, yet the shipping charges, comprehending freight, commission, insurance, and brokerage, are so much less to the English ports than to our own, and that the balance is thrown considerably the other way. The expenses on bullion up to the depositing at the mint amount to 5-1/2 to 6%; while the same expenses to London (from California) are only 4%. Notwithstanding this considerable inequality, the great bulk of the gold, so far, finds its way to this mint.
"2. Wear of our Silver Coins. Half-dollars of the old standard, previous to 1837, of average wear, are found to have lost 5-1/4 tenths of 1 %. A recoinage of $38,000 [face value] produced $37,800, in June 1845. Dimes and half-dimes of old standard (no date earlier than 1824), about equally mixed, are light by wear, 6%. The same, of new standard, 1837-50, light 1-1/2%.
"3. Gold Pens have enough gold in them to answer their purpose, and to make them of some value when worn out. One sample gave 9-1/2 grains, 465 thousandths fine; value, 19 cents. Another, 12 grains, 500 fine; worth 26 cents. A third, 6-1/2 grains, 481 fine; value 13-1/2 cents.
"4. Georgia Diamonds.-One of these, found in Hall County, Georgia, was shown at this mint in November 1845. Weight, 6-8/10 grains; about 2-1/6 diamond carats. Specific gravity, 3.54. Sold in the rough state for $40.
"5. Our Copper Coinage, to the end of 1850, amounted to $1,296,201. Adding to this the first quarter of 1851, $30,646, we have, of that ponderous currency, about 1,590 tons, of 2,000 pounds avoirdupois. This circulation is almost entirely confined to the Northern and Middle states, as it is rejected by the South and West.
"6. American Spoons and Stirrups.-A lot of gold teaspoons, deposited at the Mint, from the West Indies, yielded about $20 to each spoon. Mexican silver stirrups, $50 in the pair."
A View of the 1851 Dollar
The Coin and Stamp Journal; April 1876, printed the following price history as part of an article titled "Rare American Coins":
"DOLLAR OF 1851: The coinage of this year is placed in the report of the director of the Mint, at 1,300 pieces. From the number coined and recent date, it would not be supposed that it could be considered as a rare piece, yet as will be seen, it has brought some remarkable prices.
"The first we find was sold in the [William A.] Fewsmith sale, Oct. 4th, 1870 [conducted by Ebenezer Locke Mason, October 1870], for $27.50. Described: '1851; brilliant Proof; very sharp and beautiful impression; very rare. '
"Another at [Mortimer Livingston] MacKensie's sale. June 23, 1869 [conducted by Edward Cogan], brought $40. Described: '1851; brilliant Proof dollar; scarce, and very desirable for a cabinet.'
"At [Emil] Cauffman's sale, May 1871 [conducted by Edward Cogan], the price received was $22. Described: 'Beautiful Proof; very desirable.'
"[E. Harrison] Sanford's sale, November 1874 [conducted by Edward Cogan]. The price was $40. Described: 'Beautiful Proof; very desirable and greatly in demand.'
':Jewett's sale, Jan. 24, 1876 [conducted by Edward Cogan], price $34. Described: 'Beautiful Proof; very desirable.'''
The Year 1851 in History
The Fugitive Slave Law, now being enforced by the federal government, continued to generate great controversy. Abolitionists considered it to be a particularly fine accomplishment when they rescued hapless slaves from the hands of authorities, often using ingenious methods to do so. Meanwhile, on the temperance front, Maine began to enforce an 1846 law prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. Sales in the state of alcohol-laced bitters and other such "medicines" jumped sharply!
The clipper ship Flying Cloud, built by Donald McKay, measured 229 feet long and was the largest and most famous of about 40 clippers constructed in 1850 and 1851 for the California and Orient trade. The ship broke all records by sailing from New York City to San Francisco in under 90 days. In California, the Gold Rush continued, but by 1851 most of the easily accessible streamside deposits had been played out, and gold extraction was increasingly the province of large corporations. In the same year, discoveries of gold in Australia set off a rush Down Under. The China trade was brisk, and Americans delighted in buying Oriental goods.
The New York Times began publication on September 18, 1851 and would grow to become the most famous of all the newspapers published in New York City. Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables and Herman Melville's Moby Dick were published, the latter achieving more fame among professors of English literature than with the general public. On the musical scene, Old Folks at Home, also known as Suwanee (or Swanee) River, was being hummed and sung, and the opera Rigoletto was performed for the first time. Traveling minstrels were among the most popular of performing shows, and many troupes traveled from town to town.
In Boston the retailing firm of Jordan, Marsh Company had its beginnings in a dry goods shop operated by partners of the same names. The enterprise would go on to become New England's most famous retailer.
The London Great Exhibition opened on May 1, 1851 and was the first of many world's fairs the world would see during the next century. Open for 141 days, it drew more than six trillion visitors who came to marvel at the Crystal Palace, built of steel with glass panels, like an overgrown greenhouse. While the intention was to showcase British manufacturing and commerce, many outstanding exhibits from foreign countries were mounted as well. A great attraction was the gigantic Corliss steam engine invented in America. The machine weighed 1,700 tons and created 2,500 horsepower of output, using steam cylinders over three feet in diameter. It was such a magnet for crowds that the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, held in Philadelphia, featured a Corliss engine as its primary attraction.
The director of the Mint at the beginning of the year was Robert Maskell Patterson, who took office in July 1835 and served until July 1851. In July 1851 he was replaced by George N. Eckert, who served until April 1853.