CHARLOTTE MINT WORKING VOLUME

 

Charlotte Mint Working Volume in the Eric P. Newman Correspondence Files Showcase Auction

The Eric P. Newman collection has revealed one surprise after another, as the largest and most significant cabinets tend to do. The present Heritage Auctions sale, Selections from the Eric P. Newman Correspondence Files, lot 52096, presents a heretofore unknown working volume from the earliest days of the Charlotte Mint. This would be a remarkable find even within the National Archives, and, within private hands, the opportunity to acquire this important volume is especially noteworthy.

Signed by the first Superintendent of the Charlotte Mint, John H. Wheeler, on the front flyleaf, the volume documents the legislation related to the establishment of the Charlotte Mint and includes extensive annotations. An interleaved copy of the January 18, 1837 Act Relative to the Mint and Coinage, which enacted the Branch Mints, shows Wheeler making careful notes on the U.S. coining laws. Also present is a December 15, 1830 Senate report summarizing the state of coinage in the U.S., and subsequent congressional documentation that outlines the rationale for establishment of the branch Mints. Contemporary clips and geological reports provide further background relative to the Charlotte Mint. The volume concludes with a summary table of Charlotte Mint gold deposits and coinage production for 1837-1841, likely in Wheeler's hand.

In an era of slow communication, this volume effectively served as the bible of the Charlotte Mint. Superintendent Wheeler clearly made extensive use of the work, and it is hard to imagine a more significant historical document within the context of the Charlotte Mint operation. As such, the volume will appeal both to Charlotte Mint gold specialists as well as advanced literature collectors. This sale concludes on March 25, 2024.

Image: Charlotte Mint table of gold deposits and coinage production for the year 1840

Link to the Charlotte Mint working volume, lot 52096, at Heritage Auctions:
https://coins.ha.com/itm/miscellaneous/united-states-government-bound-volume-of-mint-publications-interleaved-with-annotations-for-use-at-the-charlotte-mint-in-its-early-years/a/63247-52096.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

Link to the Newman Correspondence Files Showcase Auction sale home page:
https://coins.ha.com/c/auction-home.zx?saleNo=63247&ic=breadcrumb-coins-121913-interior

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