"U.S. Mint at Frisco Makes Coins for China," ca. 1935
Eureka! Gold was discovered in California in 1848, kicking off a wave of migration into the state. Unfortunately, those who were lucky enough to make their fortune faced the daunting and dangerous task of transporting their gold to the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. In response, Congress authorized the San Francisco Mint in 1852, and it opened its doors in 1854, producing $4,084,207 in gold pieces in just its first year. The San Francisco Mint has been operating continuously since, although sometimes as a Mint and sometimes as an Assay Office. Today, it boasts the oldest U.S. mint mark currently in use and uses a robotics loop to triple coin output.
For two months, employees of the San Francisco Federal Mint worked behind the bullet-proof enclosures making more than 10 million coins for the Chinese government. After the mint in Shanghai closed, the Chinese sent 150 tons of silver and copper alloys to San Francisco so that the money could be made. More than three million dollars and twice as many half-dollars were ordered. This photograph shows Peter J. Haggerty, Superintendent of the Mint, looking over part of the production of Chinese coins.
Additional selected images from the San Francisco Mint Photographs (ca. 1885-ca.1938) are available online. The National Archives at San Francisco holds over 350 cubic feet of records from the San Francisco Mint dating from 1853-1978.
"U.S. Mint at Frisco Makes Coins for China," ca. 1935. National Archives Identifier: 296602.
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