Talk:United States Assay Commission

Confederate coins?

Clarification needed - were the coins from the Charlotte mint sent by Confederate authorities, and returned to them? Or were they sent by loyal Unionists, and then kept in Philadelphia? Textorus (talk) 00:03, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

We don't know who sent them. It isn't clear how many of them were destroyed in the assay, but any remainders would not have been returned but they would have placed in circulation from Philadelphia. And they would have had the standard US designs, all the engravers were in Philadelphia and Charlotte had no diemaking facilities.--Wehwalt (talk) 17:27, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

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Just to make sure...

Hi User:Wehwalt, me again. Section "Later years (1873–1949)", last paragraph: "It was not filled by the coins put aside for the 1934 Assay Commission, of which there were 759 with a total face value of $12,050. This had increased by 1940 to 79,847 coins, all silver as gold coins were no longer being struck"

Is this means: They're 759 coins with a total face value of $12,050, or they're 759 wooden boxes, each contain one type (different face value or design etc.) or patch (same face value or design etc.) of of coins? I'm asking because if there's only 759 coins, is should be over 15 dollars face value per coin, sounds too much for coins, but 759 type of coins also sounds too much... and six years later we have nearly 80 thousands coins, over 100 times more. I just want to make sure that I'm understand it correctly.--Jarodalien (talk) 08:07, 22 June 2020 (UTC)

That's 759 coins with a face value of $12,050. The figures seem to be accurate. Many of them were 1933 double eagles, $20 gold pieces. Q. David Bowers wrote in an April 2012 article in The Numismatist, "We also know that hundreds of 1933 double eagles were on hand at the 1934 Assay Commission meeting." At the time, due to The Depression, not much silver was being coined. There were no 1933 dimes or quarters for example, and no silver dollars. So all they had were $20, $10 and half dollars. It's quite possible that this was the highest average coin face value in the history of the Assay Commission, though I don't have statistics to back that.--Wehwalt (talk) 12:20, 22 June 2020 (UTC)

And next section, "a discovery of a bum coin hasn't occurred in years", what is "bum coin", poor quality one?--Jarodalien (talk) 08:39, 22 June 2020 (UTC)

Yes, one outside the allowed variance in its specifications.--Wehwalt (talk) 12:20, 22 June 2020 (UTC)

Section "Functions and activities", "Congress in 1828 had required that the weights kept by the Mint Director be tested for accuracy in the presence of the assay commissioners each year." Weights of what? Coins wait to be assay?--Jarodalien (talk) 12:09, 22 June 2020 (UTC)

Just weights, to be put on a balance scale. That is how things were weighed in the 19th century. If you do not have accurate weights, all the testing that the commissioners performed would be useless. This followed the purchase by the US minister in London of a very accurate one-pound weight that was the official one-pound weight for the US.--Wehwalt (talk) 12:20, 22 June 2020 (UTC)

Thanks, I have just figure out last two questions.--Jarodalien (talk) 12:26, 22 June 2020 (UTC)