Most coin collectors know there are currently four federal U.S. mints: Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point. Many numismatists can go further, listing the former mints in Carson City, New Orleans, Dahlonega, and Charlotte. A quick Internet search can even provide information on territorial and private mints during the California Gold Rush. Despite the wealth of information, very few hobbyists have heard about the push to create a New York Mint in the mid-1800s.
An Expanding Nation
During the 1840s, the United States was rapidly expanding. Settlers were starting to move out to the Midwest and West Coast, Southern plantations were growing record amounts of cotton, and Northern businessmen were running factories and mercantile companies, which relied on the Southern-grown cotton. In 1845 Congressman Joseph Ingersoll wrote Mint Director Robert Patterson (1835-51) upon hearing rumors of an upcoming House bill, seeking information to help him understand the implications of a New York Mint.
On December 20 of that year, Patterson replied, saying at the outset that the existing mints of Philadelphia, New Orleans, Dahlonega, and Charlotte had never reached full capacity; in fact, the total output of all four had not yet exceeded the capacity of just the Philadelphia Mint. Ultimately, the mint had two core purposes: to create coins for circulation in commerce and to do so at an economically reasonable rate. As such, Patterson gave some of the fiscal costs and implications of founding and running a New York Mint versus relying on the existing branches.
Weighing the Costs
The New Orleans Mint was built for $300,000, even though the city donated the land. As such, the cost of a New York Mint, especially if built in the heart of New York City, would run over half a million dollars and operate on a yearly budget of $50,000. Patterson said that 79 percent of the value of deposits came from south of Philadelphia. As such, a New York Mint would not be central. Additionally, the government could minimize the cost to taxpayers and depositors by paying the expenses of transporting metals to the Philadelphia Mint, a nominal dollar per $1,000 worth of silver and around 30 cents per $1,000 worth of gold.
Patterson received a similar inquiry from Dixon Lavis, chairman of the Committees of Finance, on January 21, 1846. Patterson reiterated that having two mints a short six hours from each other was unnecessary. He dealt similarly with the calls for a Charleston Mint, saying that having another Southern mint was superfluous as the supply of gold from North Carolina and Georgia fields was quickly drying up. In summary, Patterson showed that another branch mint in New York was unnecessary. A little over a year later, the New York Evening Post published an article stating:
“The mercantile community of your port are impatient for the establishment of a Mint… There is no need of a Mint of a Branch Mint for this purpose. Only appoint an assayer… If we can obtain mint certificates for deposits to be returned here, we care not where the metal is coined.”
It seemed as though the last nail had been put in the coffin of a prospective New York Mint: even the local press saw it as an unnecessary cost to the government. Despite this, New York senators introduced a bill a few short years later in 1850. The bill stipulated that a pitiful $250,000 would be allocated for the mint building and all the necessary equipment. Later amendments were added to additionally found a San Francisco Mint for the gold coming in from the newly established mining fields.
Finding a Compromise
When asked again for his input on whether such measures were necessary, Patterson responded by saying that the California gold had increased the strain on the mint by multiples: the Philadelphia Mint’s refining was having trouble keeping up with the imported gold from California, citing high amounts of silver in the gold, but was actively increasing the capacities of its refineries, making the need for another northern mint pointless. At this point, it seemed New York merchants were pushing for a New York Mint simply because it would bring further government money (and power) into the city. On this point, Patterson wrote:
“The national Mint coins money without charge, not that it may benefit private merchants or importers here and there, but because a national coinage is a common benefit for the people at large.”
In other words, it did not matter where the bullion was coined, and there was no need to create a branch mint a few hours from Philadelphia when bullion could be transported for a nominal cost, essentially without risk. Patterson suggested to the U.S. Congress that an assistant treasurer be set up in New York to take bullion deposits from citizens and the commercial industry and send them to Philadelphia to be coined.
Congress took his advice and passed a General Appropriations Act on March 3, 1853, which provided for an assay office in New York City. Ultimately, the Treasury bought a building at 15 Wall Street that several prominent banks had formerly occupied. Dr. John Torrey was appointed assayer, and Dr. Jeremiah Cobb was appointed melter and refiner. The New York Assay Office continued to operate through 1982, although the original building was demolished in 1919. (You can see the front of the building as the facade of the American Wing of the Met.)
In 1860 Patterson’s successor, Director James Ross Snowden, was similarly approached with an attempt to establish a New York Mint. Snowden cited the extremely high costs of building such a mint, which would be unnecessary given that the capacity of the existing mint branches had never been reached. There were no further well-documented attempts to establish a New York Mint. However, this period of mint “expansionism” coming from local politicians is a fascinating section of numismatic history, one that is rarely cited, even in advanced numismatic circles.
Further Reading
Belden, Bauman L. Numismatic Notes and Monographs: A Mint in New York. 1930. Edited by Sydney Philip Noe and Howland Wood, American Numismatic Society, 1976.
Elliot Eng is a homeschooled young numismatist from Anaheim, California. President of the ANA Youth Coin Club, he enjoys collecting Lincoln cents, error and variety coins, and numismatic literature. He was a runner-up for the 2022 Bill Fivaz Literary Award, and he received a scholarship to attend Summer Seminar in 2023. He can be found studying or playing basketball.