When did the Franklin Mint begin striking foreign coins?
The first were the 1969 1 dinar silver coins for Tunisia. The original order was 20,000, but eventually they struck 35,000. After that, the Franklin Mint struck coins for a number of countries and also provided coin dies to a number of government mints.
Do you have a list of the items that were placed in the cornerstone of the current Philadelphia Mint?
The cornerstone was laid Sept. 18, 1968. Placed in a box in the cornerstone were the following items: 1968-dated cents from Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco; a 1968-D and a 1968-S nickel; 1968 and 1968-D dimes; 1968 and 1968-D quarters and a 1968-D half; a 1967 Special Mint Set; a 1963 and 1968 proof set; an 1891-CC dollar; a “Mint Story” booklet; a copy of Secretary Fowler’s speech at the ceremony; copies of several coin publications; and other documents.
Were there any coins minted at the Denver “mint” after it was purchased from Clark, Gruber and Company?
No. One of the original purposes of the purchase by the U.S. government was a face saving method of putting Clark, Gruber out of business as a mint. The firm had minted $2.50, $5, $10 and $20 gold pieces, most of which were of finer gold than the U.S. Mint product.
Why were so many coins minted at San Francisco during World War II?
Although Philadelphia set most of the production records during the war years, San Francisco out-produced Denver in many instances because of the large military payrolls and the concentration of defense industry on the West Coast, which increased the demand for coins. Coins were also shipped as far east as Chicago to meet the demand.
Wasn’t there some kind of a mysterious fire at the New Orleans Mint in 1893?
A fire occurred in the cashier’s vault at the New Orleans Mint while it was closed for the weekend in June of 1893. The cashier, J.M. Dowling, claimed that $25,000 in paper money was destroyed. A government expert identified $1,182 in charred currency. The belief was that the cashier had set the fire to hide a shortage in his funds, but when he was arrested and tried, he was acquitted of the charge of embezzlement.
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