The first private gold coinage in the
19th century was struck by Templeton Reid, a jeweler and gunsmith, in
Milledgeville, Georgia, in July 1830. To be closer to the mines, he
moved to Gainesville, where most of his coins were made. Although
weights were accurate, Reid's assays were not and his coins were
slightly short of claimed value. Accordingly, he was severely attacked
in the newspapers and soon lost the public's confidence. He closed his
mint before the end of October in 1830; his output had amounted to only
about 1,600 coins. Denominations struck were $2.50, $5, and $10.
The enigmatic later issues of
Templeton Reid were probably made from California gold. Reid, who never
went to California, was then a cotton-gin maker in Columbus, Georgia,
where he died in 1851. The coins were in denominations of ten and
twenty-five dollars. Struck copies of both exist in various metals. The
only example known of the twenty-five-dollar piece was stolen from the
cabinet of the U.S. Mint on August 16, 1858. It was never recovere.
A skilled German metallurgist,
Christopher Bechtler, assisted by his son August and his nephew, also
named Christopher, operated a private mint in Rutherford County, North
Carolina. Rutherford County and other areas in the Piedmont region of
North Carolina and Georgia were the principal sources of the nation's
gold supply from 1790 until the California gold strikes in 1848.
The coins minted by the Bechtlers were
of only three denominations, but they covered a wide variety of weights
and sizes. Rotated dies are common throughout the series. In 1831, the
Bechtlers produced the first gold dollar in the United States. The U.S.
Mint struck its first circulating gold dollar in 1849. Bechtler coins
were well accepted by the public and circulated widely in the Southeast.
The inscription AUGUST 1.1834 on
several varieties of five-dollar pieces has a special significance. The
secretary of the Treasury recommended to the Mint director that gold
coins of the reduced weight bear the authorization date. This was not
done on federal gold coinage, but the elder Christopher Bechtler
evidently acted on the recommendation to avoid difficulty with Treasury
authorities.
K-6, R-4. PCGS:12,000. Red Book AU = 13,500. More
>>>
The first private gold coinage in the
19th century was struck by Templeton Reid, a jeweler and gunsmith, in
Milledgeville, Georgia, in July 1830. To be closer to the mines, he
moved to Gainesville, where most of his coins were made. Although
weights were accurate, Reid's assays were not and his coins were
slightly short of claimed value. Accordingly, he was severely attacked
in the newspapers and soon lost the public's confidence. He closed his
mint before the end of October in 1830; his output had amounted to only
about 1,600 coins. Denominations struck were $2.50, $5, and $10.
The enigmatic later issues of
Templeton Reid were probably made from California gold. Reid, who never
went to California, was then a cotton-gin maker in Columbus, Georgia,
where he died in 1851. The coins were in denominations of ten and
twenty-five dollars. Struck copies of both exist in various metals. The
only example known of the twenty-five-dollar piece was stolen from the
cabinet of the U.S. Mint on August 16, 1858. It was never recovere.
A skilled German metallurgist,
Christopher Bechtler, assisted by his son August and his nephew, also
named Christopher, operated a private mint in Rutherford County, North
Carolina. Rutherford County and other areas in the Piedmont region of
North Carolina and Georgia were the principal sources of the nation's
gold supply from 1790 until the California gold strikes in 1848.
The coins minted by the Bechtlers were
of only three denominations, but they covered a wide variety of weights
and sizes. Rotated dies are common throughout the series. In 1831, the
Bechtlers produced the first gold dollar in the United States. The U.S.
Mint struck its first circulating gold dollar in 1849. Bechtler coins
were well accepted by the public and circulated widely in the Southeast.
The inscription AUGUST 1.1834 on
several varieties of five-dollar pieces has a special significance. The
secretary of the Treasury recommended to the Mint director that gold
coins of the reduced weight bear the authorization date. This was not
done on federal gold coinage, but the elder Christopher Bechtler
evidently acted on the recommendation to avoid difficulty with Treasury
authorities.
