The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1902-03-05
SOME CURIOSlTIES
OF EARLY COINAGE.

recent publication I'm the Times magazine
OF the mystery of the 1904 dollar. OF many
curious facts about early coinage which
are very little known outside OF numis-
matte circles. For instance. he''
know that the words. E Plur" as,n.' y
which have appeared on United
States coins. aYd are on tv' .ndard sill
Yer dollar and the nlclse sent piece
OF today. were never au ,horIzcd by law
to. be so placed? Very few and yet. no
doubt, as many know Il as know that the
later motto. IN Goa We Trust which
appears on all the minor United states
coins, was likewise originally stamped on
them without authority from the govern
ment
The motto II Puribus Unum first
appeared on an American coin I'm 1856
There was no United States mint then,
and In fact. no United States, the con-
sutution forming the Union not having
as yet been adopted. There was a pri-
vate mint IN Newburg, N. Y. and r
Plurlbus Unum was first placed on a
copper coin struck at that mint. Very
few collections have specimens OF this
coin. 1t rs very valuable.
I'm 1851 New York goldsmith coined
piece OF money which was known as
the sixteen dollar gold piece. ana-upon
IL the motto was stamped In this form
'Unum Il. Pluribus. Only four OF these
coins are known 10 be In existence.
They are valued at more than $1,000 each
New Jersey issued various copper coins
In l7S1 with the motto stamped upon
them. great many Of our early coins,
hot thnrg or,
national cionagc, were made In Eneland
Mose Of these were copper. ana were
coined for diGereat states. and all bore
the words y Plur'bus Unum
'''rhe United States mint was estab-
lishgd in 1882 but the use OF the national
! motto on any OF the gold, silver or cop
per Coins was not authorized or directed
by any of the provisions of the act cstab-
fishing It. The motto remained on our
early god and slleer ccins until 1884,
VII n Il was omitted from The gold coins.
Ia 1885 "a was omitted from the Scent
pieces. and i'm 1857 from all silver coins.
IL was not stamped on any coin again
until II appeared On the nickel ard the
standard silver Dollar.
'"fhe words In God We Trust were first
placed on the two-cent piece. which came
into our subsidiary coinage IN lssG but IL
now no longer part OF H.. The motto wac
Hi0Ntl l1'It ~ HlFrcliOf OF James IototK
then director OF the United States mint
at Philadelphia and not by any lecixla-
ton Of Congress authorizing the mining
OF the two-cent piece. The motto was SUBJ
sequently stamped on Our silver half and
quarter dollars, the mint thus boldly de-
claring the theological status Of the colin-
try regardless OF the constitutions atti-
tude on the subject.
In 1898 the first gold coins were stamp
ed by authority I'm the United States mint
from gold found I'm North Carolina. BY
| the way. Il may be another fact but little
known that the first gold dggings and
mines in the United States were In North
Carolina, and that the placer pit mines OF
that state, together with those of Georgia
and South Carolina, discovered lateg.
were SO fun OF gold that they supplied
| the United States mints and Tia. demands
| OF trade I'm this country with the precious
metal from 1880 until the discovery OF
| gold in California, the mint having receiy-
| cd from the North Carolina gold regions
alone more than $25,oc0eeo worth OF gold.
| 1t was the gold yield OF North Carolina
and Georgia that led to the establishing
| Of branch mints az Charlotte, y. G., and
| Dahlonega, Ga.
Long before that, however, gold dust
being the universal circulating medium
| in lower North Carolina and Northern
Georgia and the adjacent regions of South
Carolina, and the risk and Inconvenience
| man goldsmith named Christopher Bech-
| tier, established private mint in the
South Mountain district OF South Caro-
| lima I'm Rutherford county few miles
| from Rutherfordton, the county seat. FOR
| the turning Of gold Into money lie
stamped from the gold tho miners brought
| in, either from the North Carolina Geor-
| gia or South Carolina mines, gold coins
| OF the denominations OF 81. $3.50 and 30,
| receiving certain percentage OF the gold
| for his work This mint was in operation
| from 1891 until Bechtler's death in lsAS.
| The coin were stamped and mined by
! press and ideas msde by Bechter him.
I self The dies were cut with the demonin-
alton, quality OF hneness OF the gold,
name OF the colner and the abbrevia ton
| Of the name of the state IN which the
| gold was mined. No alloy was used In the
minting Bechtler was 80 conscientious
| in denoting the nneness OF the gold that
/ MANY OF the coins OF his mint that have
| been melted down and assayed at the gov
ernment assay office at Charlotte nave
! proved 10 be finer than the mark on the
| coins declared them TO he Bechtler made
a fortune from the saigniorage OF MS
! coming and although the United states
| branch mint wae established at Charlotte
| in 1883. the Bechtler money was for years
thereafter the popular currency OF
large norton of the south Even To-Day
| some 'wayback mountaineer occasionally
presents one OF these rare coins at tne
| village store I'm payment for purchases IL
having been, perhaps. boarded for years
| I'm his family. .
| "Yet. curious as Il may seem, these old
| coins OF that private mint In the wlid mus
! OF North Carolina. rare as they are ana
| OF such interesting association, nave put
! their face value among collectors. IN. Y.
! Times.