A combination of the discovery of gold in the southeastern United States in the early nineteenth century and the subsequent political machinations resulting from this newfound wealth led to the establishment of United States Branch Mints at Dahlonega, Georgia and Charlotte, North Carolina. Officially mandated to coin “gold only” by the Congressional Act in 1835, the two branch mints soon opened for business, producing their first gold coinage in 1838. Today, their most tangible legacies are the gold coins themselves, which are among the most avidly collected in all American numismatics. This numismatic loyalty stems from the fact that these “southern gold mints” operated during America’s first gold rush for only a short period of time, 24 years. They produced exceptionally low mintage gold coins with very distinctive characteristics, and had as a backdrop to their demise, the most turbulent conflict in American history, the Civil War. In the numismatic world, nothing could be more romantic.

One unique characteristic that the Dahlonega and Charlotte gold coins possess, is often a greengold cast due to the alloy’s high silver content and are typically struck on irregular planchets. As unappealing as this may sound to a novice, these traits give the coins charm and character like no other.

Gold was found all the way from Virginia to Alabama, and a particular rich belt was discovered on Cherokee Indian land in Georgia, near what was to become Dahlonega in 1828, causing a huge influx of miners. This gold belt also continued from Georgia into North Carolina. There were several private coiners, including Templeton Reid and the Bechtler’s, that had attempted to alleviate the problem of converting the raw gold to a more readily accepted medium. There was considerable political pressure for a universally accepted Federal coinage.

In 1835, the United States Congress signed an appropriation bill of $50,000 for the construction and outfitting of the Charlotte Mint. The mint was to be a two-story brick structure, having a basement constructed of “good dressed” stone. Although the plans for the Charlotte and Dahlonega mints were the same, the Charlotte Mint did not suffer the construction difficulties of its sister mint. The Commissioner of construction for the Charlotte Mint was Major Samuel McComb, who visited the Philadelphia Mint in an effort to better understand the task at hand. This action combined with the fact that Charlotte, located in Mecklenburg County, an established town with reliable supply of materials and labor, contributed to a fairly smooth construction process. A site was chosen near the western edge of town and construction began December 1835. The Philadelphia Mint sent Franklin Peale to inspect the Charlotte Mint in 1837. Although he encountered some construction difficulties, within a month he was ready to declare the Charlotte Mint ready for operation. The first coins were produced between March 26 and March 31, 1838. The first coins to be struck were 678 $5 half eagles, and later that year, the first $2.5 quarter eagles were executed.

On July 27, 1844, the Charlotte Mint experienced its low point when a fire was discovered in the wing of the building that housed the coin presses. The fire started slowly, and there was ample amounts of water in the reservoirs in the upper story of the building, but the water was not used. This resulted in an almost complete destruction of the building and its contents.

After the election of 1844, President James K. Polk, with known ties to Charlotte’s Mecklenburg County and a “hard money” advocate, spurred on rebuilding the severely damaged facility. Due to the extensive damage, only the steam engine and a single coining press was all that could be salvaged. The Superintendent, G. W. Caldwell, directed that the reconstructed facility only have one story above the basement.