John Adam Eckfeldt (June 15, 1769 – February 6, 1852) was a worker and official in the early days of the United States Mint. A lifelong Philadelphian, Eckfeldt served as the second chief coiner of the Mint, from 1814 until 1839. Eckfeldt's father owned a large smithy and involved himself in early attempts at American coinage. Adam Eckfeldt built early presses for the Mint, engraved some of its early dies, and was responsible for the designs of early American copper coinage, as well as the 1792 half disme which some authorities consider the first United States coin. He was appointed assistant coiner of the Mint in 1796, and became chief coiner on his predecessor's death in 1814.
Introduction
Adam Eckfeldt
Adam Eckfeldt | Introduction
1792 half disme He was responsible for the designs of early American copper coinage Cents and half cents. E.arly American copper coinage, as well as the 1792 half disme.
who was adam eckfeldt?
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John Adam Eckfeldt was a worker and official of the United States Mint.
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when did he start designing coins?
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1793
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which coins did he work on in the mint?
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Eckfeldt operated his screw press to strike these roughly 1,500 pieces on July 13, 1792. Since the first Philadelphia Mint was still under construction at the time, these coins were produced in the cellar of John Harper, saw maker, at Sixth and Cherry Streets in Philadelphia. In his annual message to Congress late that year, Washington noted the ongoing construction of a mint building and stated: "There has also been a small beginning in the coinage of half dismes, the want of small coins in circulation calling the first attention to them." Eckfeldt also produced a pattern disme, of which only a few were struck.
Adam Eckfeldt | Coin designer and Mint official
When the Mint's first cents (produced in 1793) were found to be excessively crude and attracted public ridicule, Eckfeldt was called upon to design replacements. He placed a wreath on the back of the cent instead of the original chain, and placed a trefoil under Liberty's head on the obverse. He also engraved the first half cent dies later the same year. Eckfeldt continued to work intermittently for the Philadelphia Mint; in 1793, he built a device for automatically feeding planchets into the die collar and ejecting the struck coins, and the mint's records reveal that he did piecework there in July 1795.
Adam Eckfeldt | Coin designer and Mint official
Eckfeldt served a quarter century as chief coiner, during which time the Philadelphia Mint moved to new premises. As he set aside unusual coins brought in as bullion, he started the Mint's coin cabinet, which evolved into the National Numismatic Collection. Even after his 1839 retirement, Eckfeldt continued to perform the duties of chief coiner; his death in 1852 caused his replacement, Franklin Peale, to seek an assistant.
Adam Eckfeldt | Introduction
During Eckfeldt's childhood, the thirteen British colonies along the Atlantic coast of what is now the United States revolted, and so the United States of America secured its independence. After the United States Constitution was ratified, Congress and many government offices came to be housed in Philadelphia, including the newborn Mint of the United States. Adam Eckfeldt built the first screw press for the new facility in 1792, the same year that the Mint Act of 1792 was passed by Congress authorizing a mint, and cut the obverse die for the experimental Birch cent of that year. He also built other machinery for the Mint, and helped superintend the early coining.
Adam Eckfeldt | Coin designer and Mint official
John Adam Eckfeldt (June 15, 1769 – February 6, 1852) was a worker and official in the early days of the United States Mint. A lifelong Philadelphian, Eckfeldt served as the second chief coiner of the Mint, from 1814 until 1839. Eckfeldt's father owned a large smithy and involved himself in early attempts at American coinage. Adam Eckfeldt built early presses for the Mint, engraved some of its early dies, and was responsible for the designs of early American copper coinage, as well as the 1792 half disme which some authorities consider the first United States coin. He was appointed assistant coiner of the Mint in 1796, and became chief coiner on his predecessor's death in 1814.
Adam Eckfeldt | Introduction
The new mint building was at Juniper and Chestnut Streets, only six blocks from Eckfeldt's home at Juniper and Vine.
Adam Eckfeldt | Chief coiner
On the death of the first chief coiner, Henry Voigt, in early 1814, Eckfeldt was appointed by President James Madison as successor. He served in that capacity for a quarter century. During his tenure, he continued to improve the machinery at the Philadelphia Mint. Eckfeldt set aside "master coins"—coins struck with extra care using new dies and polished planchets. He also put aside interesting foreign coins sent to the mint as bullion. These pieces became the Mint's Cabinet, or coin collection. To fill gaps in this collection, he used old dies to strike postdated coins. Specialists have discovered that some dies he chose for this purpose had not been used together to strike coins for commerce, thus creating unique specimens.
Adam Eckfeldt | Chief coiner
Among the pieces acquired for the Mint was a Brasher doubloon, of which only six are known today. Eckfeldt often spent from his own funds to acquire the coins for the Mint. The collection eventually evolved into the Smithsonian Institution's National Numismatic Collection. In 1828, Eckfeldt again became involved in the real estate transactions to expand operations at the Philadelphia Mint. For $1,000, he purchased one of the lots he had rented in 1805. After the mint moved to new premises in the 1830s, Eckfeldt discovered that the lot he had purchased had a cloud, or irregularity, on its title; he was able to clear it and sold it in 1837 for the same sum for which he had bought it.
Adam Eckfeldt | Chief coiner
By October 1795 he was on the mint's payroll, as a die forger and turner, at a salary of $500 per year. On January 1, 1796, Mint Director Elias Boudinot appointed him as assistant coiner, with the consent of President Washington. His duties in that capacity were broad. In 1805, at Boudinot's request, Eckfeldt eliminated a security problem for the Mint by renting two houses adjacent to its operations, allowing it to shut an internal alley to public access. The following year, new Mint Director Robert Patterson requested a pay increase of $200 for Eckfeldt, writing to President Thomas Jefferson that Eckfeldt had "the management of the whole coining department".
Adam Eckfeldt | Coin designer and Mint official
When the dies used proved too brittle and cracked easily, Eckfeldt came up with the idea of spraying water on the face of the die so the steel would temper evenly.
Adam Eckfeldt | Coin designer and Mint official
In 1792, the Mint acquired three balances from Eckfeldt, who also lent the Mint his lathe (used for turning dies). Eckfeldt is believed to have made the die from which the 1792 half disme, considered by some the first official U.S. coin, was struck—in 1829, a visitor to the Mint met Eckfeldt and later described him as "an artist [who] made the first die used in it". Other later accounts document Eckfeldt's role in this striking: an 1863 auction sold a half disme supposedly given by Eckfeldt to demonstrate his work. Eckfeldt is given as the source for the tradition that the half dismes were struck at the request of President George Washington to be used as presents.
Adam Eckfeldt | Coin designer and Mint official
In response, parliamentary law ordered close examination of the weight and fineness of coins worldwide, which determined that coins produced in the United States were more uniform than the coins of other nations, a finding which enhanced Eckfeldt's worldwide reputation as an assayer. Appointed to his post during Andrew Jackson's presidency, Eckfeldt held that position until his death.
Jacob R. Eckfeldt | Formative years
Born in Philadelphia in March 1803, Jacob R. Eckfeldt was a son of Adam Eckfeldt, chief coiner at the United States Mint. He followed his father into the same area of government service, entering the U.S. Mint during an early period in his life. He then steadily worked his way up at the Mint until becoming chief assayer. During his tenure, he reported problems with certain lots of English sovereigns that had been sent to the mint for recoinage, noting that these particular lots fell below the Mint's standard. Denied by English authorities as "impossible" because the London mint "makes no mistakes," Eckfeldt was vindicated by the resulting investigation which confirmed Eckfeldt's findings.
Jacob R. Eckfeldt | Formative years
Eckfeldt married twice. No children were born of his brief first marriage in 1792 to Maria Hahn, which ended with her death; his second marriage to Margaretta Bausch produced six children. Among them were his daughter Susanna, who married William Ewing DuBois, first curator of the Mint's coin collection. Jacob Reese Eckfeldt, one of Adam's sons, was for forty years (1832–1872) Assayer of the United States Mint. Jacob's son Jacob Branch Eckfeldt exceeded both forebears in time of service, working at the Mint for 64 years, from 1865 to 1929. Adam Eckfeldt had a taste for horticulture and owned rural property in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, which was inherited by his two sons after his death.
Adam Eckfeldt | Private and family life
Jacob Reese Eckfeldt (March 1803-August 9, 1872) was an assayer for the United States Mint in Philadelphia.
Jacob R. Eckfeldt | Introduction
Taxay noted that this was only true because the retired Adam Eckfeldt was still performing the duties of that office without salary, and this ceased in February 1852 when Eckfeldt died after a brief illness. The death of his predecessor caused Peale to write "a frantic letter" to the new Mint Director (Patterson had retired), George N. Eckert, stating that he urgently needed an assistant.
Franklin Peale | Downfall
The coin design had not been approved by Congress. Coin production on a large scale did not begin until 1793. Rittenhouse resigned from the Mint on June 30, 1795, due to poor health. In 1871 Congress approved a commemorative medal in his honor.
David Rittenhouse | United States Mint
In 1820, he became an assistant to his father at the museum, and managed it after Charles Peale's death in 1827. In 1833, Peale was hired by the Mint, and was sent for two years to Europe to study and report back on coining techniques. He returned with plans for improvement, and designed the first steam-powered coinage press in the United States, installed in 1836. Peale was made Melter and Refiner of the Philadelphia Mint that year, and Chief Coiner three years later upon the retirement of the incumbent, Adam Eckfeldt, who continued in his work without pay. Eckfeldt's labor allowed Peale to run a medal business using Mint property.
Franklin Peale | Introduction
After a competition among artists who submitted designs: Nicholas Guy Antoine Brenet (1773-1846), André Galle (1761-1844), Romain-Vincent Jeuffroy (1749-1826), the design by the Swiss, Jean-Pierre Droz (1746-1823) was selected. The coins were the work of Joseph Pierre Tiolier (1763-1819), who was appointed Chief Engraver of the Paris Mint on 1 April 1803. There were no reducing machines at the time and the entirety of the engraver's work was completed by directly cutting into the die face with punches and gravers. In Year XI the government invested in a different method of minting pioneered by Jean-Pierre-Joseph Darcet (1777-1844). And in 1807, new minting equipment was introduced under the supervision of Philippe Joachim Gengembre (1764-1838), Inspector General of the Mints.
Napoléon (coin) | Notes on varieties of Napoleon coins
David Rittenhouse was treasurer of Pennsylvania from 1777 to 1789, and with these skills and the help of George Washington, he became the first director of the United States Mint. On April 2, 1792, the United States Mint opened its doors, but would not produce coins for almost four months. Rittenhouse believed that the design of the coin made the coin a piece of artwork. The first coins were made from flatware that was provided by Washington himself on the morning of July 30, 1792. The coins were hand-struck by Rittenhouse, to test the new equipment, and were given to Washington as a token of appreciation for his contributions to making the United States Mint a reality.
David Rittenhouse | United States Mint
Robert Scot was commissioned Chief Engraver of the United States Mint on November 23, 1793, after the tragic death of non-commissioned engraver Joseph Wright from the yellow fever epidemic of 1793. To continue his obligations for Dobson's "Encyclopædia", Samuel Allardice was made partner with Scot, and the engraving firm of Scot & Allardice would utilize apprentices to finish a large number of book illustrations until their partnership ended in 1796. The Coinage Act of 1792 mandated design requirements for United States coins, including an obverse "emblematic of liberty" and a reverse with "the figure or representation of an eagle." Scot's initial coinage designs included the Liberty Cap half cent and the Flowing Hair silver coins.
Robert Scot | Chief Engraver of the United States Mint
Most coin collectors became aware of the 1804 dollar in 1842, when Jacob R. Eckfeldt (son of Adam Eckfeldt) and William E. Du Bois published a book entitled "A Manual of Gold and Silver Coins of All Nations, Struck Within the Past Century". In the volume, several coins from the Mint's coin cabinet, including an 1804 dollar, were reproduced by tracing a pantograph stylus over an electrotype of the coins. In May 1843, numismatist Matthew A. Stickney was able to obtain an 1804 dollar from the Mint's coin cabinet by trading a rare pre-federal United States gold coin. Due to an increase in the demand for rare coins, Mint officials, including Director Snowden, began minting an increasing number of coin restrikes in the 1850s.
Draped Bust dollar | Collecting
Rittenhouse was dissatisfied with Eckfeldt's designs, and with the criticism of the Chain cents fresh in his mind, he hired Joseph Wright to do yet another redesign in the denomination's troubled first year. Wright's design faced Liberty to the right and "tamed" her wild hair. The Phrygian cap was added as an ancient symbol of freedom. The reverse design was revised to a recognizable laurel wreath, and future Chief Engraver Robert Scot had a hand in several minor revisions to the design over the next three years. This design was more successful and it was continued into 1796. In 1795, planchets became too thin for the edge lettering because of a weight reduction, so the mint stopped edge lettering on the cent, and the rest of these coins were made with a plain edge.
Large cent | Liberty Cap cents (1793–1796)
In 1795, Scot engraved designs for the first gold coins of the U.S. Mint that included a drapery for Miss Liberty. The drapery was continued with silver coins starting in 1795, with the famous Draped Bust design. After several reverse issues for silver and gold coins with small eagle designs, Scot introduced the Heraldic Eagle reverse in 1796, a modification of the Great Seal of the United States. Upon request, Robert Scot penned a four page letter to Congress in 1795 outlining his responsibilities as Chief Engraver. Robert Scot received a salary of $1200 for each year that he was employed by the United States Mint.
Robert Scot | Chief Engraver of the United States Mint
Though the designer of the coin is unknown, artist Gilbert Stuart is widely acknowledged to have been its creator; Mint Director James Ross Snowden began researching the early history of the United States Mint and its coinage in the 1850s, during which time he interviewed descendants of Stuart who claimed that their ancestor was the designer. It has been suggested that Philadelphia socialite Ann Willing Bingham posed as the model for the coin. Several sketches were approved by Mint engraver Robert Scot and de Saussure and sent to President George Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson to gain their approval.
Draped Bust dollar | Design
Three days before the signing of the 1890 act, Barber wrote to the superintendent of the Philadelphia Mint, Oliver Bosbyshell, setting forth proposed terms of a competition to select new coin designs. Barber suggested that entrants be required to submit models, as opposed to drawings, and that the designs be in low relief, which was used for coins. He proposed that the entries include the lettering and denomination, as submissions without them would not adequately show the appearance of the finished coin. He received a reply that due to other work, the Mint would not be able to address the question until the spring of 1891.
Barber coinage | Inception
Only about a quarter of the coins were from Anglo-Saxon mints in Britain. The remainder are from mainland Europe, mostly from Merovingian mints around the mouth of the Rhine. The owner may therefore have been a Frisian merchant travelling along the Icknield Way.
Aston Rowant | Archaeology
Then I got much more sophisticated—I got the guy who did the gumball machines at the drugstore to sell me all the coins. Now we started to get this thing organized! I could sort through large quantities. I was 12." He soon branched out into the area of American colonial coinage and political memorabilia, and later wrote several reference works in this field.
Kenneth W. Rendell | Early life
During the years 1807-1817, Assistant Engraver John Reich was employed by the United States Mint, and engraved the coin designs of those years. Robert Scot did all of the coinage die engraving at the United States Mint from Reich's resignation until his death in 1823.
Robert Scot | Chief Engraver of the United States Mint
When Adam Eckfeldt retired in 1839, he recommended Peale as his successor. As the Senate was not sitting, Peale was given a recess appointment as Chief Coiner of the Philadelphia Mint by President Martin Van Buren on March 27, 1839. On January 23, 1840, after the Senate reconvened, Van Buren nominated Peale; the Senate gave its approval on February 17. Despite his retirement, Eckfeldt continued to come to the mint every day until shortly before his death in February 1852, performing the function of Chief Coiner and leaving Peale with time on his hands. Soon after his appointment, Peale began to engage in a private business on the Mint's premises.
Franklin Peale | Appointment and early years
As early as 1914, Victor David Brenner, designer of the Lincoln cent, submitted unsolicited designs for the silver coins. He was told in response that Secretary of the Treasury William G. McAdoo was completely occupied with other matters. On , an interview with Philadelphia Mint Superintendent Adam M. Joyce appeared in the "Michigan Manufacturer and Financial Record":
Walking Liberty half dollar | Inception
The design of the original 1850 coins was due to Alexander Hutter for the copper coins (realised by Jean-Jaques Barre of Paris), to Karl Friedrich Voigt of Munich (1800–1874) for the billon coins, and to Friedrich Fisch of Aarau for the silver coins (the "seated Helvetia" motif). Voigt's design for the reverse side, consisting of the coin value in wreaths of grapes, oak leaves and gentian, remains in use in the current coins, while his design of the federal coat of arms on the obverse was replaced in the 1870s. The designs of the coins in current use, other than the 5 francs coin, are due Albert Walch (1816–1882).
Coins of the Swiss franc | History
In 1794, Congress lowered the chief coiner's bond to $5,000 and the assayer's to $1,000, and President Washington's appointees to those positions were able to qualify and take office. Silver coinage began that year. The first deposit of gold to be struck into coins was made at the Mint in February 1795, by Moses Brown of Boston. Around May 1795, the first Mint director, David Rittenhouse, set engraver Robert Scot the task of preparing dies for an issue of gold coins. Rittenhouse resigned in June, before the work came to fruition, and was replaced by Henry deSaussure. The new director took office on July 9, 1795, and pressed to have the gold coin project completed with great speed.
Turban Head eagle | Inception
In September 1836, Chief Coiner Adam Eckfeldt began sinking the working dies that would be used to strike the coins. However, before production could begin, Patterson ordered that Gobrecht's name be added to the dollar. His name appeared as "C. GOBRECHT F", short for "Christian Gobrecht Fecit", meaning "Christian Gobrecht made it". The Gobrecht dollar was first struck in December 1836. Several pieces were produced and distributed throughout Philadelphia. Despite a positive reception for the overall design, many criticized the prominent display of Gobrecht's name on the coin. Gobrecht requested that his name be removed entirely from the face of the coin; instead, the engraver was instructed to change its size and placement at the behest of Patterson.
Gobrecht dollar | Production
After approval was received, the designs were sent to artist John Eckstein to be rendered into plaster models; during that time, plaster models were used as a guide to cutting the dies, which was done by hand. Eckstein, who was dismissed by Walter Breen as a "local artistic hack" and described by a contemporary artist as a "thorough-going drudge" due to his willingness to carry out most painting or sculptural tasks at the request of clients, was paid thirty dollars for his work preparing models for both the obverse Liberty and reverse eagle and wreath. After the plaster models were created, the engravers of the Philadelphia Mint (including Scot) began creating hubs that would be used to make dies for the new coins.
Draped Bust dollar | Design
He designed and modeled John Quincy Adams, the sixth coin in the series, and modeled the fourth, a James Madison obverse. He designed and modeled Dolly Madison obverse for the First Spouse gold coin, 2007, Elizabeth Monroe obverse, 2008, and modeled the Martha Washington reverse. U.S. commemorative coins he has designed or modeled include the obverse portrait of the Benjamin Franklin Founding Father silver dollar, 2006; Little Rock Central High School Desegregation silver dollar reverse, 2007; Jamestown 400th Anniversary silver dollar obverse, 2007; the Bald Eagle Silver Dollar obverse, 2008 the $5 Gold Bald Eagle reverse.
Don Everhart | Coin models for mints
All coins (copper and silver) bore the same obverse. Robert Scot, Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint, 1793–1823, transformed a portrait of a society lady by Gilbert Stuart into a rather buxom Ms. Liberty. Some accounts identify the woman as Philadelphia socialite Ann Willing Bingham. She remained essentially unchanged for several years with the exception of an extra curl added to her flowing locks in 1798.
Draped Bust | Obverse
On , Woolley wrote Weinman that the designs, both for the dime and half dollar, were accepted by the Mint. During June, the Mint's engraving department, headed by Barber, reduced the models to coin-sized hubs and prepared dies for experimental pattern coins, which were subsequently struck. Woolley hoped to begin production of the new coins of all three denominations by , but the grant of time to Weinman required the Mint to act with greater speed. Burdette suggests the haste with which the dies were prepared caused coins struck with them to appear worn and without sharp detail. By , Weinman had viewed the first patterns, as he wrote to Woolley stating that he did not like the way the word "Liberty" on the obverse had turned out, and asking for the loan of two patterns so he could redo the lettering.
Walking Liberty half dollar | Preparation
As early as 1914, Victor David Brenner, designer of the Lincoln cent, submitted unsolicited designs for the silver coins. He was told, in response, that Secretary of the Treasury William G. McAdoo was completely occupied with other matters. On January 2, 1915, an interview with Philadelphia Mint Superintendent Adam M. Joyce appeared in the "Michigan Manufacturer and Financial Record":
Standing Liberty quarter | Inception
John Adam Eckfeldt was born in Philadelphia on June 15, 1769, the son of John Jacob Eckfeldt, a large-scale manufacturer of edge-tools and implements. At the time, it was common for those of German descent to bear the first name "John" but be referred to by middle name. The elder Eckfeldt and his wife Maria Magdalena had immigrated from Nuremberg, Bavaria, around 1764. John Jacob Eckfeldt, in his large smithy, made dies for the 1783 coinage under the Articles of Confederation authorized by Philadelphia financier Robert Morris. Adam was his father's apprentice, and became skilled in iron work and machinery.
Adam Eckfeldt | Early life
Tanner designed a sixpence for the Royal Mint during the reign of King George II, the coin became popularly known as the "tanner" and this appellation preserved until decimalisation in 1971.
John Sigismund Tanner | Introduction
Harding. Sketches were prepared by commission chairman Reverend John Baer Stoudt and converted to plaster models by the Mint's aging chief engraver, George T. Morgan. The models were initially rejected by the Commission of Fine Arts, which required revisions under the supervision of Buffalo nickel designer James Earle Fraser. Of the 300,000 coins authorized by Congress, fewer than half were actually struck, and of these, 55,000 were returned to the Mint and released into circulation. The coin excited some controversy because of its sponsorship by a religious group. The choice of William the Silent and Gaspard de Coligny to appear on the obverse was also questioned as the men are considered martyrs by the Huguenots and died decades before the voyage of the "Nieuw Nederlandt".
Huguenot-Walloon half dollar | Introduction
(A term that Jöns Jacob Berzelius would later coin.)
Gottlieb Kirchhoff | Introduction
The sizes of these coins varied, but they were approximately the size of a modern half-dollar.
Samuel Higley | Introduction
In 1859, James Ross Snowden unsuccessfully requested permission from the Treasury Secretary to create patterns and restrikes of rare coins for sale to collectors, and in that year, dealers began offering plain edge 1804 dollars to the public. At least three were offered for sale by various dealers in 1859, and coin dealer Ebenezer Locke Mason claimed that he was offered three by Theodore Eckfeldt, a Mint employee and nephew of Adam Eckfeldt (who had died in 1852). After the public became aware that Mint officials had permitted restrikes, there was a minor scandal which resulted in a Congressional investigation and the destruction of outdated coinage dies.
1804 dollar | Later restrikes
In addition to striking the pattern coins in 1849, officials at the Philadelphia Mint continued to experiment with three-cent silvers. The matter was caught up in ongoing conflict between Mint chief coiner Franklin Peale, and the chief engraver, James B. Longacre, who each prepared designs. Peale produced a coin depicting a Liberty cap, based on a design prepared by Longacre's late predecessor, Christian Gobrecht, in 1836. Longacre prepared a design similar to the coin that was eventually released. On March 2, 1851, the day before the legislation was passed, Longacre, with the reluctant permission of Patterson (a Peale ally) sent Treasury Secretary Thomas Corwin samples of his proposed three-cent piece, along with a letter explaining the symbology.
Three-cent silver | Preparation
According to Herodotus, and most modern scholars, the Lydians were the first people to introduce the use of gold and silver coin. It is thought that these first stamped coins were minted around 650–600 BC. A stater coin was made in the stater (trite) denomination. To complement the stater, fractions were made: the trite (third), the hekte (sixth), and so forth in lower denominations.
Economic history of the world | The introduction of coinage
Bechtler's mint produced coins in three denominations: $1, $2.50, and $5, and the coins were struck in three Fineness: 20 carats, 21 carats, and 22 carats. At the time and within the limits of the existing technology, the coins were considered of honest weight.
Christopher Bechtler | Coinage
Christian Gobrecht (December 23, 1785 – July 23, 1844) was the third Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1840 until his death in 1844. He was responsible for designing the famous "Seated Liberty" designs, which were in turn the direct inspiration for the design of the Trade Dollar. He also designed the Gobrecht Dollar, which was struck in small quantities from 1836 to 1838 and later inspired the Flying Eagle cent. He also designed the obverse sides for the Liberty head (aka Coronet Head) Quarter Eagle, Half Eagle, and Eagle gold coins, as well as the "braided hair" type Half cent and Large cent coins.
Christian Gobrecht | Introduction
Such coins were designed by Boston sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt at the request of the President's friend, William Sturgis Bigelow. After some difficulty, the Mint was successful in this work, though Pratt was unhappy at modifications made by the Mint's engravers, headed by longtime Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber.
Indian Head gold pieces | Introduction
Leech had spoken with Saint-Gaudens on the same subject; the sculptor stated that only four men in the world were capable of executing high-quality coin designs; three lived in France and he was the fourth. Leech announced the decision to have Barber do the work in July, stating that he had instructed the engraver to prepare designs for presentation to Secretary of the Treasury Charles Foster. In a letter printed in the "New York Tribune", Gilder expressed disappointment that the Mint was planning to generate the new designs in-house, feeling that the Mint, essentially a factory for coins, was ill-equipped to generate artistic coin designs.
Barber coinage | Preparation
Aubin Olivier went to Augsburg to learn the technique and Henry II of France made him chief engineer of a mechanized mint in Paris, called the Moulin des Étuves, on 27 March 1551. This mint produced well-struck and perfectly round gold and silver coins. Having perfectly round coins made it easy to detect clipping, but the coiners establishment would have none of this and within a decade the Moulin des Étuves’ ex-employees were finding work in Navarre and England. In England, a 1560 proclamation of Elizabeth I exchanged old debased coins for new pure coins. The Tower Mint added machinery to its hammering for this "great recoinage".
Milled coinage | Introduction
After that several smaller treasurers produced their own coins with less value, too. This was very obvious in the case of the Groschen and half-Groschen coins. These often were silvered on the outside only, e.g.- the coins of the Anhaltian principalities.
Ephraimiten | Imitations
Stoudt supplied the concept for the coins, as well as sketches. Rather than seeking a private designer to produce plaster models, the Huguenot-Walloon commission approached the Mint's chief engraver, George T. Morgan, who turned 78 in 1923. Morgan, best remembered for his 1878 design for the Morgan dollar, had been chief engraver since 1917, following forty years as an assistant, mostly under Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber. Both Barber and Morgan felt that coins should be designed by the Mint's engravers, and were sometimes hostile when private sculptors were engaged to do the work. Morgan's models were transmitted on October 26, 1923, to the Commission of Fine Arts, charged with rendering advisory opinions on coins by a 1921 executive order by President Harding.
Huguenot-Walloon half dollar | Preparation
After consulting with Chief Coiner Adam Eckfeldt (who had worked at the Mint since its opening in 1792), Moore determined that the last silver dollars struck were dated 1804. Unknown to either of them, the last production in March 1804 was actually dated 1803. Since they believed that the last striking was dated 1804, it was decided to strike the presentation pieces with that date as well. It is unknown why the current date was not used, but R.W. Julian suggests that this was done to prevent coin collectors from being angered over the fact that they would be unable to obtain the newly dated coins.
Draped Bust dollar | 1804 dollars
Mints designed for the manufacture of coins have been commonplace since coined currency was first development around 600 BC by the Lydian people of modern-day Turkey. The popularity of coins spread across the Mediterranean so that by 6th-century BC nearby regions of Athens, Aegina, Corinth and Persia had all developed their own coins. Methods used at mints to produce coins have changed as technology has developed, with early coins either being cast using moulds to produce cast coins or struck between two dies to produce hammered coin. Around the middle of the 16th century machine-made milled coins were developed allowing coins of a higher quality to be made.
List of mints | Introduction
Several coins dated to the early 1st century C.E., with none dated later.
Sheberghan | History
While working with the U.S. Mint, his 18 designs have been accepted for new coins and medals.
Joel Iskowitz | Transition to coins and medals
The Mint began preparation for the reduced-diameter dollar coin in 1976. Although no legislation had yet been introduced, Treasury officials anticipated a positive reception from Congress, and the coin had near unanimous support from the Mint and the vending machine industry, an influential lobby in the area of coin design and creation. In 1977, Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal publicly endorsed a smaller dollar coin and suggested that an allegorical representation of Liberty would be a suitable subject for the coin. Chief Engraver Gasparro was tasked with creating a design for the proposed coin. His obverse design depicted a bust of Liberty, while his reverse depicted a soaring eagle.
Susan B. Anthony dollar | Liberty design
In 1729, the Master of the Mint admitted, with some apprehension, that John Croker, Chief Engraver to the Mint since 1705, was then "the only man now living who has hitherto made Puncheons for the Head on the Coin" and recommended the appointment of an assistant in the shape of Tanner, then aged only 24. When Croker died on 21 March 1741, Tanner succeeded him. After 1739 he engraved most of the dies for the coins of George II and George III. Tanner died on 14 March 1775, after retiring from the Mint.
John Sigismund Tanner | Life
In 1662, after previous attempts to introduce milled coinage into Britain had failed, the restored monarch Charles II recalled Peter Blondeau to establish a permanent machine-made coinage. Despite the introduction of the newer, milled coins, like the old hammered coins they suffered heavily from counterfeiting and clipping. To combat this the text "Decus et tutamen" ("An ornament and a safeguard") was added to some coin rims. After the Glorious Revolution of 1688, when James II was ousted from power, parliament took over control of the mint from the Crown, which had until then allowed the mint to act as an independent body producing coins on behalf of the government.
Royal Mint | 1660 to 1805
Because of President Washington's connection with these early coins, numismatic folklore holds that the portrait on the obverse is that of First Lady Martha Washington and that some of the coins were struck using melted-down silverware from the Washington household. However, there is no solid evidence for either of these assertions.
1792 half disme | Origins
Imhoff also collected coins and he cataloged the coin collection of Duke Albert V of Bavaria.
Willibald Imhoff | Introduction
Industrial techniques and steam-power was introduced to coin manufacture by Matthew Boulton in Birmingham in 1788. By 1786, two-thirds of the coins in circulation in Britain were counterfeit, and the Royal Mint responded to this crisis by shutting itself down, worsening the situation. The industrialist Mathew Boulton turned his attention to coinage in the mid-1780s as an extension to the small metal products he already manufactured in his factory in Soho. In 1788 he established a Mint as part of his industrial plant. He invented a steam driven screw press in the same year (his original machinery was being used at the Royal Mint until 1881, almost a century later), which worked by atmospheric pressure applied to a piston.
Mint (facility) | Industrial minting
Mint. He struck the official portraits of Presidents James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren. He also executed the first recorded American Jewish medal, to commemorate the death in 1816 of the patriot and religious leader Gershom Seixas.
Moritz Fuerst | Introduction
DeSaussure also publicized that the Mint would be striking gold pieces, the new nation's first; the first half eagles (five-dollar pieces) were struck 22 days later. Dies for the eagle coinage were prepared, most likely by Scot and by long-time Mint employee Adam Eckfeldt.
Turban Head eagle | Inception
President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904 expressed his dissatisfaction with the artistic state of American coins, and hoped to hire sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to beautify them. Saint-Gaudens, before his death in 1907, designed a new eagle and double eagle, which entered circulation that year; the cent, quarter eagle, and half eagle were redesigned by other artists and were released into circulation by 1909. That year, Mint Director Frank Leach instructed Barber to make pattern coins for new nickels. Most of these coins featured the first president, George Washington. However, the project was discontinued when Leach left office on November 1, 1909, to be replaced by Abram Andrew.
Nickel (United States coin) | Buffalo or Indian Head (1913–1938)
Thwaites had already begun in a modest fashion to assist Hickes in the preparation of his "Thesaurus", which was published in 1705. In 1708 he had privately printed his "Notae in Anglo-Saxonum nummos" (Oxford). The coins described were from the collection of Sir Andrew Fountaine, another Oxford contemporary, friend, and fellow contributor to Hickes's "Thesaurus." In 1709 appeared at Oxford an edition of Ephrem the Syrian. In 1711 Thwaites returned to Anglo-Saxon, dedicating to his old pupil, Christopher Rawlinson, his "Grammatica Anglo-Saxonica, ex Hickesanio Linguarum Septentrionalium Thesauro excerpta" (Oxford).
Edward Thwaites | Works
coinage in the new century to have a more modern look, and also solicited designs from artists outside the U.S. Mint, this does not mean that he had a personal dislike of the man. The descendants of Charles Barber possess artifacts that prove a warm personal relationship existed.
Charles E. Barber | Introduction
I should think also it might be the coin of which the greatest numbers are in circulation. Soon afterwards, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Abram Andrew announced that the Mint would be soliciting new designs. Well-known sculptor James Earle Fraser approached Treasury officials, who were impressed by his proposals. Mint Director Roberts initially asked Fraser for a design featuring a bust of Lincoln, which he produced, mainly to please Roberts, but Fraser also developed a design featuring a Native American on the obverse, with an American bison on the reverse. This design was given preliminary approval by MacVeagh on January 13, 1912, and would come to be known as the Buffalo nickel.
Liberty Head nickel | Replacement
Later, in 1835, Mint officials began preparations for a series of silver dollars which, unlike the 1804 dollar, were intended to enter circulation in order to determine whether the denomination would be well received by the public. In June 1835, Moore resigned his post as director, and was replaced by Robert M. Patterson. Shortly thereafter, Director Patterson approached two well-known Philadelphia artists, Titian Peale and Thomas Sully, to create a design that would be used to overhaul most of the American coins then in production. Mint Chief Engraver Kneass prepared a sketch based on Patterson's conception, but soon suffered a stroke, leaving him partially incapacitated.
Gobrecht dollar | Design
The coin was later bought by an unnamed California collector for US$5 million on April 25, 2007. Another is the 1873-CC no-arrows Liberty Seated dime. This coin is also notable for being the last coin needed to complete the Eliasberg collection. He possessed at one time a 1933 $20 gold coin (one of three then known to be owned by private collectors, including King Farouk of Egypt). Upon learning that the government believed the coins had not been legally issued by the mint and was recalling them, Mr. Eliasberg voluntarily returned his coin to the government in 1952 without compensation.
Louis E. Eliasberg | Introduction
Frustrated at the competition's outcome, Leech on June 11, 1891 instructed Barber to prepare designs for the half dollar, quarter, and dime. As the Morgan dollar was then being heavily struck, the Mint director decided to leave that design unaltered for the time being. For the obverse of the new coins, Leech suggested a depiction of Liberty similar to that on the French coins of the period; he was content that the current reverses be continued. Leech had previously suggested to Barber that he engage outside help if the work was to be done at the Mint; the chief engraver replied that he was aware of no one who could be of help in the preparation of new designs.
Barber coinage | Preparation
Most of the artists conferred in New York and responded in a joint letter that they would be willing to participate, but not on the terms set. They proposed a competition with set fees for sketches and designs submitted by the invited artists, to be judged by a jury of their peers, and with the Mint committed to replace the Seated Liberty coins with the result. They also insisted that the same artist create both sides of a given coin, and that more time be given to allow the development of designs. Leech was unable to meet these terms, as there was only enough money available for the single prize.
Barber coinage | Inception
Before milled coinage gained precedence in Europe, the irregular and crude hammered coinage was relatively easy to counterfeit and subject to clipping, an act which involved removing valuable metal from the edge of a coin before placing it back into circulation. In the sixteenth century, the French engineer Aubin Olivier introduced to France the coin press, to which he added a split collar capable of creating edge lettering. In order to remove the newly struck coin, the collar had to be disassembled, which was a time-consuming process. In addition, the upper coinage die was prone to strike the collar on its descent, causing expensive damage.
Jean Castaing | Castaing machine
Had the coins been placed anywhere else in the excavation site, the archaeologists would have been able to tell that they were planted there.
Per Inge Torkelsen | Introduction
1827), 1978: Henry Dunant (b. 1828), 1979: Albert Einstein (b. 1879) in two versions, 1980: Ferdinand Hodler, 1981: Stanser Verkommnis (1481), 1982: Gotthard railway (opened 1882), 1983: Ernest Ansermet (b. 1883), 1984: Auguste Picard (b. 1884), 1985: "European Year of Music", 1986: Battle of Sempach (1386), 1987: Le Corbusier (b. 1887), 1988: Olympic Movement, 1989: Henri Guisan (general mobilisation 1939), 1990: Gottfried Keller (d. 1890). Swissmint has produced an increasing variety of commemorative coins beginning in the 1990s. All of these coins are technically legal tender, but are not in actual circulation, as their metal or collector's value will exceed their nominal value.
Coins of the Swiss franc | Commemorative coins
In 1912, he served on the Assay Commission for the United States Mint, which reviewed Mint operations by examining and testing coins for weight and fineness.
Warren Austin | Early career
On July 31, 1792, the foundation stone of the Philadelphia Mint was laid by newly appointed Mint Director David Rittenhouse. Machinery and personnel began occupying the new building by September 1792, and production began on cents in February 1793. In the first year of production at the Mint, only copper coins were minted, as the prospective assayer could not raise the required $10,000 surety to officially assume the position; the 1792 Coinage Act stated that both the chief coiner and assayer were to "become bound to the United States of America, with one or more sureties to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury, in the sum of ten thousand dollars".
Flowing Hair dollar | Establishment of the Mint
The three sculptors met with Woolley on at the New York Assay Office to be formally told of the outcome of the competition, including the change in the outcome for the quarter, and to receive back rejected models and sketches. Polasek, who received his participation fee of $300 on , never again had any connection with the Mint or coinage design. Until a plaster model of one of his submissions was discovered at the Polasek Museum (formerly his house) in 2002, his participation was known only through the Mint's records. After Weinman's success in the competition, he visited the Mint to discuss the conversion of his models to finished dies.
Walking Liberty half dollar | Preparation
Even among coins issued by the same state the image, location and spelling of the legend may change, because the dies used for the coins were all handmade.
Palmbaumtaler | Introduction
The coins have a diameter of 25 millimeters and a weight of 16.5-17 grams. The obverse usually shows various depictions of a head or a pair of heads. The reverse usually shows a horseman, but various mythological and real animals also occur.
Biatec | Introduction
Both types of pattern coin were sent by Patterson to Corwin on March 25, 1851, with the Mint director's recommendation that the chief engraver's design be selected. The next day, acting Treasury Secretary William L. Hodge approved Longacre's design. Knowing there was a large demand for the new coins, Patterson thought it best to build up a stock of 500,000 before beginning distribution.
Three-cent silver | Preparation
Everhart modeled coins of realm for foreign governments at the Franklin Mint for coin sets sold to collectors. Countries he did work for include Guyana, The Philippine Islands, Panama, Jamaica, The Netherlands Antilles, Papua New Guinea, Barbados, and Cook Islands. For the United States Mint, (2004 – present), he created (designed and modeled) Statehood Quarter reverses for Nevada, Hawaii, New Mexico, and has modeled California, Montana and Idaho designed by other artists. Other circulating coins include the 2005 nickel obverse profile of Thomas Jefferson, the first new obverse design on the nickel in 67 years. For the new U.S. Presidential Dollar series, beginning in 2007, he designed and modeled the Statue of Liberty reverse to appear on all issues.
Don Everhart | Coin models for mints
Michaut stood out as an exception. In a stroke of genius he shaped, with his écu featuring Louis XVIII, a truly wonderful piece of clarity and elegance»".
Auguste-François Michaut | Coin-engraver for Louis XVIII
The Mint considered a two-cent piece again for the second time in 1836. Second Engraver Christian Gobrecht and Melter and Refiner Franklin Peale both conducted experiments for the coin, and concluded that the piece was to be made of billon (similar to the 1806 proposal). Although the coin was proposed in early drafts of the Mint Act of 1837, this the proposal was dropped when Peale showed that the coin could be easily counterfeited.
Two-cent billon | Inception
In 1889 he was created a baronet, of Wetherby Gardens in the Parish of St Mary Abbots, Kensington, in the County of London. In 1887, he designed and executed the model for the dies for a series of coins, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the queen's reign. The coins are signed J.E.B. below the shoulder. This design was severely criticised by his peers as well as the public. It was replaced in 1893. The coins depicted the royal arms in the order of the garter on the reverse. As a result, the sixpences were frequently gilded and passed off as gold half sovereigns.
Joseph Edgar Boehm | Career
Under the Mint Act of 1792, the largest-denomination coin was the gold eagle, or ten-dollar piece. Also struck were a half eagle ($5) and quarter eagle ($2.50). Bullion flowed out of the United States for economic reasons for much of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The eagle's size made it convenient for use in international transactions, and, faced with the likelihood that most being struck were exported, the Director of the Mint Elias Boudinot ended its production in 1804. In 1838, coinage resumed after Congress revised the weight and fineness of American gold coins. The new eagle was struck to a design by Christian Gobrecht, who was one of the Mint's engravers.
Liberty Head double eagle | Inception
Mint Director George E. Roberts wrote to Saint-Gaudens on May 25, 1907: "It is now settled ... the design for the Eagle shall be the feather head of Liberty with the standing eagle". Saint-Gaudens and his assistants moved quickly on the revision, and he sent models of the new coin on June 1 with a letter stating that the relief of the new models should be coinable by the Mint. The double eagles were then being delayed because Saint-Gaudens had twice sent the Mint models with too high a relief that could not be struck in one blow, as required for circulating coinage.
Indian Head eagle | Inception
The small eagle on the reverse was added as an afterthought, when Mint officials realized that the Coinage Act of 1873 required one to be displayed on all coins of greater value than the dime. The Mint sought comments on the designs from the Commission of Fine Arts, which was provided with a lead striking of the obverse and a view of the reverse; Taxay suggests they were shown a plaster model. On December 1, 1947, Commission chairman Gilmore Clarke wrote to Ross saying that they had no objection to the obverse, in which they recognized Sinnock's "good workmanship". As for the reverse,
Franklin half dollar | Background and selection
In 1839 the coin was redesigned again. The new obverse was designed by Christian Gobrecht and is known as the "Liberty Head or "Coronet head". The reverse design remained largely the same, although the value was changed from "5 D." to "FIVE D.". For those struck at the Philadelphia Mint, there was no longer any silver in the coin - its composition was now .900 gold and .100 copper. However, gold ore used at the southern branch mints of Charlotte and Dahlonega had a high natural silver content, and many of these coins contained up to five percent silver, giving them a distinct so-called "green gold" color.
Half eagle | Liberty Head
The reverse of the coin, throughout its existence, showed "" beneath a crown and over the date, all contained within a wreath. The obverse of coins minted between 1834 and 1837 show the right-facing portrait of King William IV with the inscription . The obverse of the later coins bear the left-facing portrait of Queen Victoria, with the inscription .
Three halfpence (British coin) | Introduction
Finding its premises at the Tower of London too cramped and unsuited to the new technology, the Mint moved to a new building on Tower Hill, and first struck coins there (for the East India Company) in 1811. The coinage was made by steam power, with equipment supplied by Boulton's firm. At the beginning of the Great Recoinage of 1816, only gold and silver coins were produced; the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nicholas Vansittart, deemed there to be enough official coppers in commerce to serve. Thus, it was not until after the death of George III in 1820 and the accession of his son George IV that the copper coinage was recommenced.
History of the British penny (1714–1901) | Regal issues (1825–1860)
He began to experiment with the mechanisation of French coin production, developing improvements in the 'balancier' presses introduced from Nuremberg in Germany for striking coins and promoting a 'mill and engines which will prevent counterfeiting' which he submitted to the Paris authorities in 1615. In that year he published 'Raisons, moyens et propositions pour faire toutes les monnaies du royaume, a l'avenir, uniformes, et pour cesser toutes fabrications, etc.' He promoted the coining press to replace the traditional hammer-striking methods of coinage production, the prototype of which is generally attributed to the engraver Antoine Brucher who had first tried it about 1553 for the coining of counters in the court of Henri III.
Nicholas Briot | France
Cleveland is credited with fifteen designs for United States coins and medals. His most notable work is the reverse design of the 2007 American Platinum Eagle. Cleveland’s full United States Mint Coin Design Credits are:
Thomas S. Cleveland | Work
Where these coins were minted is still uncertain. One suggestion is they were minted at the Tower of London. When these coins were minted has been the subject of debate for the past two hundred and sixty years. Proposed dates for these coins have been 1641–1642; 1667–1669; 1672–1674. The current thinking is they were minted between 1646 and 1660 before the official reign of Charles II of England, while he was in exile, due to new documents recently discovered by John N. Lupia and published in the C4 Newsletter 2008. Who coined them and the circumstances surrounding them is still uncertain.
St Patrick halfpenny | Unknown origin
Guido Bruck (11 November 1920, Vienna – 13 March 1966, Melk) was an Austrian Numismatist In 1948, he obtained his Doctorate in Philosophy. In the same year, he was appointed to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna where he worked as a curator until his early death. He is noted for his groundbreaking work "Die spätrömische Kupferprägung", "Late Roman Copper Coinage", which provides a key to coins of the late Roman period through its analysis of the iconography present on the Obverse and reverse, allowing an identification even in the case of worn mintmarks. This work has served as a basis for other studies and is frequently cited as a resource for the identification of worn late Roman coins.
Guido Bruck | Introduction
The problem was found on the pattern half dollars as well. On , von Engelken wrote to Assistant Secretary Malburn, using information that Burdette suggests came from Barber: Von Engelken's letter caused concern in the Secretary's office—McAdoo feared that if the Mint proved unable to successfully issue new coins, the Republicans might exploit the failure as an issue in the presidential race. The Secretary enquired how long it would take "our Mr. Barber" to produce new designs; after consultation with officials at the Philadelphia Mint, von Engelken replied that it would take six to eight months. The two officials decided that Weinman must be asked to modify his design for the half dollar—it was hoped that if Weinman shrank the figure of Liberty, and lowered the relief, the piece would prove coinable.
Walking Liberty half dollar | Modification
According to Burdette, "agitation to replace Barber's banal 1892 Liberty head began almost before the first coins were cold from the press." In 1894, the American Numismatic and Antiquarian Society, in conjunction with various artistic and educational institutes, began to advocate for better designs for U.S. coins, but no change took place in the remainder of the 19th century. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt started to push for improvements to U.S. coins, and arranged for the Mint to engage Saint-Gaudens to redesign coins which could be changed under the 1890 act. Before his death in 1907, the sculptor provided designs for the double eagle and eagle, though the double eagle required adjustment by Barber to lower the relief before it could be released as a circulating coin.
Barber coinage | Replacement
Curtis was well aware of the difficulties with the Mint's failed competition for new silver coins in 1891, which had led to the issuance of the Barber coinage, designed by Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber. The new coins were widely criticized, and Curtis counseled Ellsworth to gain control of the commemorative coin's design process, to ensure both a better design and the use of the Lotto portrait. No United States coin had depicted an actual person, although the goddess of Liberty had often been portrayed. By May 1892, it was apparent that additional funds were needed to complete the fair's buildings.
Columbian half dollar | Inception