Q. David Bowers
Profits Under the Law of 1853
In a statement given to the U.S. Senate years later, as part of a study of the Coinage Law of 1873, Frank G. Winn, of New Hampshire, discussed the earlier Coinage Law of 1853, noting in part:
"The Law of 1853 had abolished the coinage of our minor silver coins for private account, but by a ruling of Mr. Guthrie, secretary of the Treasury under President Pierce, the Mint was ordered to receive silver from private individuals and coin it.
"This ruling furnished- the opportunity for an immense profit to the coin and bullion broker, and he did not fail to take advantage of it. Our silver dollars, having a nominal value of 100 cents, were collected by him, taken to the mints, and coined into minor coin; every two dollars yielded four half dollars, a dime, and almost a half dime. Here was a profit of 7% .... "
Concerning the preceding, R.W. Julian commented:
"This is a garbled account of the Snowden practice of paying high rates for silver bullion with minor silver coins. All kinds of strange statements were made after the 'Crime of '73' became a popular whipping boy for economic ills. Don Taxay reports some that border on fantasy."
New Designs Wanted
Director James Ross Snowden felt that designs of circulating silver coins could be improved, and in 1853 he made an effort to enlist outside help. Heretofore, Mint artists had made most designs. However, occasionally the Mint enlisted an outside artist. Examples include Gilbert Stuart and John Eckstein for the Draped Bust/Small Eagle dollars of 1795-1798, Thomas Sully and Titian Peale for the Gobrecht dollars of 1836-1839 and the related half dime to half dollar coinages of the late 1830s, and Robert Ball Hughes for the Liberty Seated coins (with drapery) from 1840 onward.
The Annual Report of the Director of the Mint, 1853, commented as follows:
"The results of the overture recently made to artists and other persons of taste to present designs for the silver coinage have not been satisfactory. Many designs, and some medallions, were presented, some of them of considerable merit, but the general deficiency consisted in a want of adaptation to the object in view. In making any important changes in the designs of the coinage, it seems proper that those which are to be substituted should be of decided and incontestable superiority. The result of the effort has thus produced a conviction favorable to the designs heretofore adopted and in use; our attention will therefore be turned to their artistic improvement, without materially changing their national or emblematic character." In short, Snowden applied the "Not Invented Here" principle.
The Year 1853 in History
The Gadsden Purchase was completed with Mexico, and in exchange for a $10 million payment the United States received a tract of land south of the Gila River, a district which included the best route to lay railroad tracks from Texas to California. In this year the New York Central Railroad, formed from 10 smaller companies, became the first large scale United States rail combine. However, the continuing problem of track gauges changing at state borders seemed to make truly long railroad lines an impossibility, at least in the Northeast.
At Cape May, New Jersey, the Mount Vernon Hotel, the first in the world with private baths, opened its doors to visitors. For the majority of American citizens, bathing was done only at infrequent intervals, and often not at all during the winter. In New York City, land was acquired for Central Park. The Crystal Palace, a copycat version of that erected in London in 1851 for the Great Exhibition, was built in New York City for the Exhibition there, the first world's fair to be held in the United States. Women's rights advocates submitted a petition to the Massachusetts state legislature seeking to revise the state constitution so as to permit women's suffrage. Due to the rise in manufacturing, fewer than 50% of Americans were engaged in agriculture (compared to 80% in farming in 1820).
Stephen Collins Foster's songs continued their immense popularity, including the newly published Old Dog Tray and My Old Kentucky Home. The US. Review stated that soon all work would be performed by automata, leaving humans to do such pleasurable things as study, make love, and be happy.
The United States sought to intimidate Japan into opening up its ports for trade and commerce. At the time U.S. trade was burgeoning in other areas of the Orient, particularly China. Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States Navy arrived in Edo (later known as Tokyo) in July 1853 with a demand for trade relations, "a right, not a favor." He stated in no uncertain terms that he would return the following year to pick up a favorable reply. There was turmoil within Japan because of the situation, and opinions were divided as to which was the right course. The emperor died, and in 1854 his successor, his 29-year-old-brother, told Perry he would open two ports to trade.
In California an estimated $65 million worth of gold was taken from placers and mines. Gold coin production continued apace at the Philadelphia and New Orleans mints, with additional production (from Georgia and North Carolina metal) at Dahlonega and Charlotte. All through this era the Dahlonega and Charlotte mints turned out a small but steady stream of gold coins, primarily of the $2.50 and $5 denominations, but including many $1 coins as well. The director of the Mint was George N. Eckert, who took office in July 1851 and served until April 1853. In April 1853 he was succeeded by Thomas M. Pettit, who served only a few weeks-explaining why so little is heard of Pettit in numismatic chronicles. In June 1853 he was replaced by James Ross Snowden, who held the office until 1861. Snowden was quite interested in numismatics and wrote two books on the subject.