Kolbe & Fanning
Auction 160 22 May 2021
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The 1850 Mint Report
United States Government. MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, COMMUNICATING THE REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE MINT, SHOWING THE OPERATIONS OF THE MINT AND BRANCH MINTS DURING THE YEAR 1850. 31st Congress, 2d Session. Ex. Doc. No. 21. Washington, DC, February 4, 1851. 8vo, self-covered. 19, (1) pages. Removed from previous binding and somewhat stained. Good or better. The 1850 Mint Report, as transmitted by President Millard Fillmore and written by Mint Director Robert Patterson. The influx of gold from California is starting to be felt in earnest, and Patterson's comments on this subject are both interesting and important. After providing an overview of operations and production at the Philadelphia and branch mints, Patterson writes, "From these tables it may be perceived that the operations of the mints during the past year have been unprecedented in our history. The largest coinages before executed were in 1847 and in 1843-the total amount at all the mints being, in the former year, $22,657,672; in the latter year $11,967,830. But the coinage of 1850 exceeded that of 1847 by over $11,000,000, and was nearly three times that of 1843. At the Philadelphia mint the coinage of the past year was nearly twice that of 1847, and over four times that of 1843. The increase in the proportion of our gold to our silver deposites, and the enormous amount of the former, derived from the mines of the United States, are deserving of especial notice. Of the bullion received the silver comprised less than a twentieth part of the whole value; and even of this small proportion as much as one-eighth was derived by separation from the California gold. Of the deposites of gold received, only about one thirty fifth part was in foreign coins or bullion. The remainder, amounting to $36,938,314, was of United States production, of which $36,273,097 were from California. The entire receipts from that source, from the discovery of the mines to the close of 1850, were $42,469,758." Mint Reports from this period are decidedly scarce. This is a very important Mint Report, reflecting the extraordinary effects of the Gold Rush on this nation's economy.
United States Government. MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, COMMUNICATING THE REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE MINT, SHOWING THE OPERATIONS OF THE MINT AND BRANCH MINTS DURING THE YEAR 1850. 31st Congress, 2d Session. Ex. Doc. No. 21. Washington, DC, February 4, 1851. 8vo, self-covered. 19, (1) pages. Removed from previous binding and somewhat stained. Good or better. The 1850 Mint Report, as transmitted by President Millard Fillmore and written by Mint Director Robert Patterson. The influx of gold from California is starting to be felt in earnest, and Patterson's comments on this subject are both interesting and important. After providing an overview of operations and production at the Philadelphia and branch mints, Patterson writes, "From these tables it may be perceived that the operations of the mints during the past year have been unprecedented in our history. The largest coinages before executed were in 1847 and in 1843-the total amount at all the mints being, in the former year, $22,657,672; in the latter year $11,967,830. But the coinage of 1850 exceeded that of 1847 by over $11,000,000, and was nearly three times that of 1843. At the Philadelphia mint the coinage of the past year was nearly twice that of 1847, and over four times that of 1843. The increase in the proportion of our gold to our silver deposites, and the enormous amount of the former, derived from the mines of the United States, are deserving of especial notice. Of the bullion received the silver comprised less than a twentieth part of the whole value; and even of this small proportion as much as one-eighth was derived by separation from the California gold. Of the deposites of gold received, only about one thirty fifth part was in foreign coins or bullion. The remainder, amounting to $36,938,314, was of United States production, of which $36,273,097 were from California. The entire receipts from that source, from the discovery of the mines to the close of 1850, were $42,469,758." Mint Reports from this period are decidedly scarce. This is a very important Mint Report, reflecting the extraordinary effects of the Gold Rush on this nation's economy.