SILVER DOLLARS IN NEVADA CASINOS

My mother, Phyllis, was one of the first female blackjack dealers in Nevada. She and her sister, Clare, worked for Harold's Club in Reno in the early 1940s. General Manager Raymond "Pappy" Smith was the first Nevada casino owner to hire female blackjack dealers to work in the clubs. His reasoning was, if casinos hired female dealers, more GIs from the Reno Army Airbase would be attracted to the clubs. In modern times, female dealers are common.

In those days, casinos used composite chips nearly as much as they do today. However, they also used the common medium of exchange in Nevada at that time, the silver dollar, for many of their table games. Winners were paid out in silver dollars as were tips and even sometimes wages.

When I started school in Sparks, hot lunch was 20 cents per day or $1 for the whole week. Every Monday, Mom, being a blackjack dealer, would give me one silver dollar from her tip money for my weekly lunch. I soon noticed in addition to the Peace dollars minted from 1921 through 1935, most were the much older Morgan dollars minted off and on from 1878 through 1904 and again in 1921.

I was fascinated so many of the silver dollars given to me for lunch money were made back in the 1800s. One day, I noticed to my surprise that one of the silver dollars she gave me was a Carson City silver dollar dated 1890. I went all week without lunch and kept the old Carson City silver dollar. I can honestly say I still have the first dollar I ever saved. Since then, I have found or acquired several more. Silver dollars make great gifts to grand children.

In 1999, my crew and I uncovered the amazing stash of over 500 coin dies that had been buried in the ground at the Nevada State Museum, formerly a branch of the U.S. Mint. Many of these dies were used to strike the Carson City silver dollars and Trade Dollars. Some of these rusted dies have been cleaned and displayed at the museum. I believe that were it not for my fascination for silver dollars, the buried coin dies would not have even been noticed by my employees. On the cover of my book, Chronicles of the Comstock, are color photos of several of my Carson City silver dollars, including the one given to me by Mom for lunch money and an unusual Carson City Trade dollar. The book has many stories about the Comstock era and the historic old mint. At the museum, you can see the coin press where the coins were struck, along with a display of nearly every gold and silver coin ever produced there. Chronicles of the Comstock makes an excellent gift for people interested in Nevada History.

To read the complete article, see:
Dennis Cassinelli: My fascination for silver dollars (https://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/opinion/dennis-cassinelli-my-fascination-for-silver-dollars/)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS HISTORIC COIN PRESS NO. 1 (https://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n27a14.html)

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