Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980, 1922-01-02
3 BILLIONS
IS MINTED
SINCE '49
San Francisco Mint
Has Unique Record
Now Running Day
and Night
By Ellis H. Martin.

And no story of money is NOR
interesting than its transition
from the days of 40 to the pres
ent in San Francisco.
No chapter in California's early
romantic days of the gold lure Il
more fascinating than those Of San
Francisco's Anglo Saxon rebirth
when banks and financial houses
issued their own money and gov
ernment thousands Of miles away
in distance and many months In
time complacently permitted the
practice.
San Francisco still makes her
own money, but now in United
States mint which has coined close
to $4,000, 900, 900 in domestic and
foreign pieces since 1t was estab-
lished and carries something like
$3.50, ,000,0 in its vaults. Just
now this money factory of Uncle
Sam is running night and day
turning out 100000 silver dollars
every "a hours.
San Francisco Mint.
For years San Francisco had
It's own way Of doing business, OF
incurring debts and settling them,
of handling coin and gold dust and
computing values and Of deifying
gold and scorning copper and nick
ell, said J. Leland Steinman, sec
retary Of the Pacific Coast Numis-
matte society, recently, discussing
the early and romantic gold days,
Because Of its remoteness and
the astonishing character OF It's
first years Of growth, San Francis
90 was by no means flush OF cur !
rent coin In its puioneer days.
Previous to the discovery of gold
and the consequent rapid influ&
of population there was little coin
In circulation In California and
that little in the towns of Monte
rey, San Diego and Los Angeles.
Payments through the coun-
try were frequently made in cat
tie. hides and farm products.
Mexican Influence.
with its Mexican memories It
was natural that California should
retain many of its old tokens of as
sociations. and 1t so happened af-
ter the secession Mexican doub-
looms or ounces and Mexican pesos
or pillar dollars were the princi-
pal coins in use.
THE original value OF the doub-
loon was $16, but in San Francisco
L was received for s15.75. After
The discovery OF gold that metal
In It's natural state became the
Gold dust was the com
non form in which 1t was dealt
IN, and in 1S4S and 1849 the bank
RS rates were:
For grain dust, $3.50 to
I17.75 an ounce.
Quicksilver dust, $14.50 to
'l4,75 an ounce.
This was when coin was paid
or the dust, When the banks re-
elved 1t on deposit they valued II Q
i SIG an ounce and repaid IL at
he same rate.
Everything Was Gold. 4
Everything was gold. There
vas actually more of it than peo-
lie knew what to do with. Bags
4 gold dust were handed about as
reely as cake. The gamblers at
ne public saloons used them as
takes and guessed at the weight. :
len had sublime indifference to-
he smaller coins and talked indif- u
ertly of dust and dollars. There =
'as nothing less received for any :
erylce, however slight, than a
ollari for any article however :
rifling than 25 cents. y
The smaller silver coins of "
ihateyer denominations and of
very country were all alike bits +"
nd passed for the same value. y y
. for copper money, II was a cur >
lsity and had no value. this kind =
money being supposed to cause .
ard luck for its owner. =
With gold matters were ouite y
ifferent. Dust continued to be n
ientiful, but coin continued to be e"
'aroe, Finally the banks took
old. and as the only way to settle
he difficulty began the coinage of
rivate gold. B
Fifteen Private Mints. h,
There were fully fifteen prl- y,
ate mints In California which on =.
rated from iS4S up TO aud includ. "a
V 1855. Numerous varieties of n
rivate issues. differing in design Z,
ON the regular United States n,
'ins only in trifling minor de- 4
Ills that would escape the atten- u
on OF the casual observer, were n,
reulated by them. II
The best known Of these MO y,
aer coins is the quintuple eagle 4,
SSol, or as 1t is generally known al
the euphonious title slug The tc
rst OF this specie was issued by N
offat 6 Company in 1851. This -
As the oetagonal coin, bearing
e stamp of United States Assay
Augustus Humbert."
A northwest Methodist eonven-
n nf fhn nn..Ah... 49,. 2