Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States - A Complete Encyclopedia
Q. David Bowers
Die Room at the Philadelphia
Additional Information
Distribution of Dollars
The Annual Report of the Director of the Mint, 1901, told of distribution of dollars during the fiscal year: Philadelphia: In the mint July 1,1900,73,243,954; transferred from Treasury for storage, 5,000,000; coinage, fiscal year 1901, 8,500,850; total, 86,744,804; in mint July 1, 1901 86,075,954; total, 86,075,954; distributed from mint, 668,850.
The Year 1901 in History
On September 6, President William McKinley, visiting the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, was shot twice by anarchist Leon Czolgosz, who was in a greeting line. The president died on September 14 and was succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt. On October 16, 1901, President Roosevelt dined with well-known black educator Booker T. Washington, causing an uproar among numerous white people in the South who felt that this was beneath the president's station. On November 18, 1901, the HayPauncefote Treaty was signed and gave British consent to United States control of a canal to be built across the Isthmus of Panama to join the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
On May 3, 1901 a fire in Jacksonville, Florida caused $11 million worth of damage and destroyed 1,700 buildings. The town would rebuild quickly, and in the following decade would become known as a prominent center for the production of motion pictures.
Frank Norris's novel, The Octopus, told of the struggles of California farmers against the merciless Southern Pacific Railroad. George Barr McCutcheon's novel, Graustark; a romance centered on a mythical European kingdom, became a bestseller and was followed by numerous other novels of the same genre, a number of which told of American girls marrying wealthy Europeans and living the life of royalty. Charles Dana Gibson's pen and ink sketches of the American girl continued to be popular. The musical show Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines began its years of popularity; this featured a female singer in male military uniform.
The Spindle top gusher came in on January 10, 1901 in Beaumont, Texas and spouted 110,000 barrels of oil daily for nine days, until it was capped. Texas was thus established as an oil-producing center, and in coming years vast reserves would be found. The United States Steel Corporation was organized on March 3, 1901, and was capitalized at $1,402,846,000 under the auspices of JP. Morgan, who consolidated the Carnegie Steel Company and other firms in a transaction valued at $492 million. Carnegie was personally paid in 5% gold bonds with a par value of $225 million. At one time he was told that if necessary. J.P. Morgan would have paid $100 million more, and upon hearing this news Carnegie was said to have been sad for the rest of his life. During the next two decades he was to give much of this away in the building of public libraries and other gifts. Among Carnegie's gifts was $5,200,000 to the City of New York to set up a public library system including 39 branches.
Queen Victoria died on January 22, 1901; she had been on the English throne since 1837. The Commonwealth of Australia was created on January 1, 1901.
The new Philadelphia Mint opened for business, in the third building to house the facility since 1792.