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.
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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.
