Information AboutNew Orleans Mint |
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The U.S. Mint in New Orleans operated as a branch of the United States Mint from 1838 to 1861 and from 1879 to 1909 , and now serves as a branch of the Louisiana State Museum . It is located at 400 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116-2015. HISTORY Antebellum period, 1835-1861 Background The city of New Orleans , Louisiana has been an important Commercial center practically since it was founded along the banks of the Mississippi River , near the Gulf Of Mexico , in 1718 . This fact was reinforced when the United States Federal Government established a branch Mint there on March 3 1835 , along with two other Southern branch mints at Charlotte, North Carolina and Dahlonega, Georgia . Such action was deemed necessary for many reasons. For one, in 1832 , President Andrew Jackson had vetoed a rechartering of the Second Bank Of The United States , an institution which he felt extended Credit to northeastern commercial Tycoon s at the expense of the ordinary Frontiersmen of the Old Southwest , a region with which Jackson, a Tennessean , strongly identified. Second, in 1836 , Jackson had issued an Executive Order called a Specie Circular which demanded that all land transactions in the United States be conducted in Cash . Both of these actions, combined with the Economic Depression following the Panic Of 1837 (caused partly by Jackson's fiscal policies) thus increased the domestic need for minted Money . New Orleans' strategic location along the Mississippi River made it a Magnet for commercial activity. Much gold from Mexico also passed through its Port annually. In fact, in the early Nineteenth Century , New Orleans, which was the fifth-largest city in the United States, conducted more Foreign trade than any other city in the nation. It was also located relatively near to gold deposits recently discovered in Alabama . While the Mint in Philadelphia produced a substantial quantity of coinage, in the early nineteenth century it could not disperse the money swiftly to the far regions of the new nation, particularly the South and West. In contrast to the other two Southern branch mints, which only minted Gold coinage, the New Orleans Mint produced both gold and Silver coins, which perhaps marked it as the most important branch mint in the Country . The Mint's location occupies a prominent place in Civic history. Because it sits at the northeastern edge of the French Quarter , which used to be the entire city, or Vieux Carré , of New Orleans, under French and Spanish rule the area was home to the defenses of the city. In 1792 , the Spanish governor François Louis Hector, Baron De Carondelet , erected Fort San Carlos (later Fort St. Charles ) there. The fort was demolished in 1821 and the nearby area named Jackson Square in honor of Andrew Jackson, who, as a general in the United States Army , had saved the city from invading British forces on January 8 1815 in the famous Battle Of New Orleans , the last battle of the War Of 1812 . Architectural history es provide the structural support for the floors of the Mint.]] '' in 1867 showing the Smokestack built behind the New Orleans Mint. Remains of the smokestack's foundation can still be seen today.]] The Mint building, which was constructed in red Brick , was designed by Architect William Strickland in the Neoclassical style, like most 19th-century public buildings in the United States. Strickland was a student of the architect Benjamin Latrobe , a famous disciple of Neoclassicism who had helped design the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Strickland himself, based in Philadelphia , had already designed the Philadelphia Mint building and (ironically) the Bank Of The United States , and would go on to design the Charlotte and Dahlonega facilities, meaning he was the architect of the first four U.S. mint buildings. Martin Gordon supervised the building's construction, which was undertaken by Benjamin F. Fox , the master Carpenter and joiner, and John Mitchell , the master Mason and builder. On the north Façade the mint building features a central Ionic Portico supported by four monumental Columns that are flanked at the ends by square Pillar s. The top of the portico contains a simple Entablature , crowned by a simple, unadorned triangular Pediment . This entrance, which sits on top of a Basement story, fronts the rectangular central core of the facility and is flanked by two large wings of multiple bays of rectangular Window s. These Wing s wrap around the central rectangular Core to form a "W" shaped structure with two square Courtyard s at the rear. Balconies framed by iron railings and posts adorn the sections of the building's south façade that adjoin the courtyards. Although the building contains the essential elements of classical Architecture --proportioned columns, an entablature with moldings, and a symmetrical plan, for example--its Neoclassicism differs from other styles such as Baroque , Beaux-Arts , or Rococo in that it uses severe, simple straight Line s and Geometric Form s, and remains devoid of almost any significant Ornament ation. On the Interior , Strickland placed the grand Staircase that connects the three Level s in the central core of the Structure , immediately behind the Portico . Many of the ceilings, also made of brick and sometimes covered in plaster use Catalan Arch es in continuous Vault s, which makes them very strong structurally. On the second floor, many of the larger rooms which were used for coining and melting contain ceilings with beautiful high arches supported by the Wall s and freestanding Pier s. The smaller rectangular Room s on the second level (and the basement), such as the former Superintendent 's Office , also contain these arched Ceiling s with a single Groin Vault . The Basement formerly contained the Boiler s inside a brick cage, but now contains museum Exhibit s devoted to the minting activity as well as the Coin Vault at the Mint, a coin Shop . Unfortunately, Strickland did not take into account the Swamp y lowland and high Water Table that characterizes the Terrain around New Orleans, and so during its career the New Orleans Mint building has encountered numerous structural problems from the shifting Soil beneath its Foundation . In the 1840s the building was reinforced with Iron Rod s inserted between the Floor s. Then, in 1854 , the Federal Government hired the recent West Point Engineering graduate (and Louisiana native) Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard to fireproof the building, rebuild the arches supporting the basement ceiling, and install Masonry flooring. Beauregard completed the work in conjunction with Captain Johnson K. Duncan by 1859 . During this period, the Mint's heavy machinery was converted to Steam power, and so a Smokestack (since demolished) was built at the rear of the structure to carry away the fumes. Less than two years later, Beauregard would rise to national fame as the Confederate General who ordered the April 1861 assault on Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, South Carolina , thus beginning the American Civil War . It was during the war that Beauregard would secure his place in American History as one of the Confederacy 's most capable generals. Early operations at the New Orleans Mint Operations at the New Orleans Mint began on , Half Dime s, dimes, Quarter s, Half Dollar s, Silver Dollar s, gold Dollar s, $2.50 Quarter Eagles , Three-dollar Gold Pieces , $5 Half Eagles , $10 Eagle s, and $20 Double Eagle s. Many interesting characters served at the Mint during the early years of operation. One was John Leonard Riddell, who served as melter and refiner at the Mint from . Throughout the nineteenth century the New Orleans Mint was frequently featured in Magazine s, Newspaper s, and other print Publication s. Articles discussing and images picturing the Mint, in addition to the one by Riddell noted above, were featured in '' Ballou's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion '', published in Boston , and the widely-circulated '' Harper's Weekly ''. Civil War and recommissioning, 1861-79 Secession and the rebel seizure of the Mint The New Orleans Mint operated continuously from 1838 until January 26 1861 , when Louisiana seceded from the United States. On January 29 , the Secession Convention reconvened at New Orleans (it had earlier met in Baton Rouge ) and passed an ordinance that allowed Federal employees to remain in their posts, but as employees of the state of Louisiana. In March, Louisiana accepted the constitution of the Confederate States Of America , and the Confederate government retained all the mint officers. They used it briefly as their own coinage facility--the only one of the three Southern mint facilities that was used by the Confederacy. The Confederates struck many of the silver 1861-O half dollars themselves; in fact, it is impossible to tell which of the 2,532,633 1861-O half dollars were struck under Federal occupation and which were struck after the Confederates seized the building. Later that year the Confederates designed alternate reverse Die s which they used to strike their own half dollars at New Orleans (see image). The exact number of half dollars struck by the Confederates with the alternate reverse is unknown; only four of the Confederate coins are known to exist today. One of them, which was recently sold at auction for a very large sum, was once owned by Jefferson Davis , the only President of the Confederacy. They continued this process from April 1 until the bullion ran out later that month. The staff remained on duty until May 31 . After that the mint was used for quartering Confederate troops until it was recaptured, along with the rest of the city the following year largely by Union naval forces under the command of admiral David G. Farragut . The Mint after recapture by Union Forces For many Southern sympathizers, the Mint soon became a symbol of their hatred for the Union occupation. After , a visitor to the city named Edward King mentioned it in his description of the structure. The mint reopened as an Assay Office in 1876 . Its machinery was evidently damaged during the war, but because of its importance, unlike the mints at Charlotte and Dahlonega, in 1877 U. S. Mint agent James R. Snowden asked superintendent of the office, Dr. M. F. Bonzano, to report on the condition of the facility for minting. Upon receipt of Bonzano's report, new minting equipment was shipped to New Orleans. The building was refurbished and put back into active minting service in 1879 , producing mainly silver coinage, including the famed Morgan Silver Dollar from 1879 to 1904 . A second chance, closure, and transformation, 1879-present New Orleans coinage During this second period of operation, the mint also coined dimes, quarters, half dollars, $5 half eagles, $10 eagles, and, in 1879 only, 2,325 double eagles. The New Orleans Mint, whose coins can be identified by the "O" mint mark found primarily on the reverse of its coinage, earned a reputation for producing coins of a mediocre quality; their luster is usually not as brilliant as those of other mints, and center areas tend to be flattened and not sharply struck. As a result, today well-struck New Orleanian coinage is prized in the numismatic world. It should also be noted that the New Orleans Mint was used by the Federal authorities in 1907 to coin over five and a half million silver twenty-centavo pieces for the Mexican government as part of the American government's program of producing foreign coinage. Social history and the Mint Men , not surprisingly, made up the Majority of the workers at the Mint, in such Jobs as coiners, Melt ers, pressers, Cut ters, and rollers. The Mint was overseen by a Superintendent , who was always male. He was a political appointee whose Term usually did not last much longer than the Party in the White House remained in power. But it was also during the mint's second tour of Duty that Women began to find Work at the New Orleans Mint. Several women workers were sent from the Philadelphia Mint to teach those in New Orleans how to adjust money. About this time, the Mint employed Forty-four women. Thirty-nine worked as adjusters--employees who weighed the unstamped coin Planchet s to make sure they were the proper Weight before coining. These women would sit at long narrow Table s, filing the planchets down to the proper weight, wearing special Apron s with pouches attached to the Sleeve s and the Waist to catch the excess Dust . Five women served as counters and packers before the coins were shipped to Washington, D.C. . Eventually, some women began to be employed at the coining presses. The women did not work long s were probably unbearable by modern standards. New Orleans endures a very warm, wet Climate , which would necessitate opening the windows to Ventilate the building, especially during the summer. The process of adjusting, however, required the utmost Attention to the Scale s' Balance , and the slightest Draft could upset it. The draft could also carry off the silver dust from the coin planchets the women would file. For this reason, the windows and doors were almost always kept shut. This must have made the building feel like a Steam y Oven to the workers inside, and on top of that, the absence of ventilation meant that the workers constantly inhaled the Poison ous silver dust from the coins they adjusted. Workers relied on Water Cooler s to provide relief from the Heat and avoid Dehydration . Despite this horrible Environment for Labor , the women Mint employees were still judged to enjoy better working conditions than many other American women workers in the late Nineteenth Century . Odd jobs: The Mint in the twentieth century By the early twentieth century, the U. S. Treasury had mints operating in New Orleans, Denver , San Francisco , and the main center in Philadelphia , which more than met the demand for minted money. And so, despite the facility's years of faithful service, in 1909 Treasury officials halted minting activity in New Orleans. In 1911 , the New Orleans Mint was formally decommissioned and the machinery was transferred to the main U. S. Mint facility in Philadelphia, a sad event which stuck in the minds of Louisianans. Twenty years later Governor Huey Long would rail against this loss when he ran for the office of U.S. Senator against incumbent Joseph Ransdell , who Long claimed had allowed this ignominious closing of the mint to occur. At some point, however, the original New Orleans machinery was lost, and, at present, has not been located. After the mint closed, it performed a variety of functions for the Federal government. It was first downgraded to an assay office for the United States Treasury as it had been from 1876-79. Then, in 1932 , the assay office closed and the building was converted into a Federal prison, in which capacity it served until 1943 . The Coast Guard then took over the building as a nominal storage facility, though in truth the structure was largely abandoned and left to decay until it was transferred to the state of Louisiana in 1965 . Nonetheless, during the Cold War , when many believed there to be a high risk of nuclear war, the old Mint was considered to be the best Fallout Shelter in the city. The state agreed to save the structure from demolition on condition that it be renovated and converted to some other purpose within fifteen years. Between in 2005 . It is not known at this time if any museum pieces were damaged. COINAGE PRODUCED Silver coins Three-cent pieces Silver Three-cent pieces
Half dimes Liberty Seated Half Dimes:
Dimes Liberty Seated Dimes:
Barber Dimes:
Quarters Seated Liberty Quarters:
Barber Quarters:
Half dollars Capped Bust Half Dollars:
Liberty Seated Half Dollars:
Barber Half Dollars:
Dollars Liberty Seated Dollars:
Morgan Dollars:
Gold coins Dollars Liberty Head:
Indian Princess:
Quarter Eagles ($2.50) Classic Head:
Liberty Head:
Three dollars Indian Head:
Half Eagles ($5) Liberty Head:
Indian Head (incuse):
Eagles ($10) . 1894 saw one of the highest mintage totals for Eagles at the New Orleans Mint.]] Liberty Head:
Double eagles ($20) Liberty Head:
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