RUSH TO GOLD

FROM THE MINES TO THE MINTS

- STEVE VOYNICK

Gold rushes had a significant impact on American monetary policy and coinage during the 19th century. Together with a silver-mining boom, these gold rushes profoundly affected both the circulation of coinage and the United States Mint’s expansion. At the start of the 19th century, the nation’s single mint

At Philadelphia faced a severe shortage of gold and silver. Yet by the end of the century, the nation was awash in gold and silver and had seen the establishment of six federal branch mints and 20 short-lived private mints. When the Philadelphia Mint began striking coins in 1793, the United States had no domestic gold and silver sources and obtained its limited supply through foreign trade and by melting down the mix of foreign coinage then in circulation.

During the early 1800s, the Philadelphia Mint coined only about 25,000 troy ounces of gold per year. But production took a big jump in 1820 when the mint, thanks to its growing stockpile of gold from new mines in North Carolina, struck 263,800 Capped Head $10 half eagles from 118,712 troy ounces of gold.

FARM-BOY FIND MAKES HISTORY

The nation’s first documented gold discovery was made in 1799, when a farm boy near present-day Charlotte, North Carolina, found a baseball-sized rock that weighed an astounding 17 pounds. That rock served as a doorstop for three years until a goldsmith identified it as gold. The boy’s father, John Reed, then partnered with neighbors in a successful placer-mining venture that triggered the nation’s first gold rush.