these circulated freely through the South, and they were brought to the United States Mint in Philadelphia for deposit and remelting in quantities. The assayer reported in 1842 that the $10 gold pieces of T. Reid weighed 248 grains, contained 942 parts of pure gold in 1,000 parts of metal, and the intrinsic value slightly exceeded the nominal value, being worth $10.06. These coins are now quite rare.
In 1831 Christopher Bechtler, of Rutherfordton, N. C, followed Mr. Reid's example on a larger scale, and in a few years he had issued several million dollars' worth of gold coins of denominations of $10, $5, $2.50, and $1.[1]
In 1842 the Mint assay ers stated that "coining is still carried on by Bechtler, although there is a branch United States Mint less than eighty miles distant." This was located at Charlotte, N. C.
In 1851 the assay ers reported that "several of the private issues of gold coins from California are close imitations of the national coin; some assay nearly up to the nominal value, but many fall below."
 | ||
| $5 gold piece. California gold. S. M. V., 1850. |
$5 gold piece. Pike's Peak gold. Clark & Co., Denver, 1860. | |
A $10 piece of the Pacific Company only yielded $7.86 in gold. A lot of different denominations aggregating $562.50, nominal value, yielded at the Mint in Philadelphia $479.20.
One interesting gold coin, a $50 piece (some were octagonal), issued by Augustus Humbert, United States assayer at San Francisco, yielded the full nominal value. All of these private issues have now been stopped, and strict laws have been passed punishing any attempt to imitate the coins of the nation; even the toy money formerly made for children of gilded paper has been prohibited by the Government authorities.
The National Coinage.—The Mint was established in Philadelphia in 1792 and in its first year issued pattern pieces only; coining of copper cents and half cents commenced regularly in 1793, and stamping of the other denominations of money, as already named, in 1794 and 1795.
Many persons believe that the so-called "dollar of the daddies," weighing 412
12
grains (nine tenths fine), having a ratio to gold of "16
- ↑ In 1840 Mr. Bechtler stated that the amount of his coinage to date was $2,241,840.
