The Charlotte Mint: Its History and Significance

Davidson Scholars and DavidsonLearns invite you to hear from Thomas Cole, PhD as he shares an interesting story in the history of Charlotte - The Charlotte Mint: Its History and Significance. Dr. Cole is a Genealogy and History Librarian for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library as well as an adjunct faculty member in the History Department at UNC-Charlotte.  

Following the first documented discovery of gold in the United States, the country's first gold mine was established in North Carolina at the Reed Gold Mine in Cabarrus County. As no mints existed in the Charlotte area, miners had to send their gold dust to Philadelphia to be melted and coined. The transportation process was difficult, slow, expensive, and dangerous, and frustration with this system led to the creation of private gold coining operations in the Charlotte area. The process of making gold into local money had its own inherent problems, such as accurate weighing and determining fineness. In the spring of 1831, North Carolina merchants and miners petitioned Congress for a branch mint in the Charlotte region to reduce the risk of transporting gold. They received no response until three years later when the United States Treasury began to investigate private coining operations and recognized North Carolina's need for more federal coverage. The Charlotte Mint opened for business in 1837.

Event Details

Wednesday, September 15 at 1:00 PM 

Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87616139868?pwd=ODdtVjRGUzVkTndjV2h1TDdIbFB5UT09

Meeting ID: 876 1613 9868  

For technical assistance, please email specialevents@davidsonlearns.org.