BULLION BLURB - A Glimpse of History, Welcome to Dahlonega – Part 2: “Here Comes the Mint”

Posted on June 26, 2017

To continue our Dahlonega history lesson, we start in 1832. The gold rush is well on its way and thousands of people have flooded the area causing small towns to pop up throughout North Georgia. Many of these towns became eclipsed by the epicenter of the area, Dahlonega.

Gold discovered in North Georgia was brought into Dahlonega and then sent to the Philadelphia Mint to be made into coins. It stayed this way until 1835 when the U.S. Government established the Dahlonega Mint.

The Dahlonega Mint produced $6 million in gold coins between 1835 to 1861 while in operation. It was shut down at the start of the Civil War. These coins are known as branch mint coins. Branch mint coins is the term used to describe the coins minted in Dahlonega, Charlotte, New Orleans and San Francisco. No branch mint coins were made after the 1870 San Francisco issue.

Despite the positives surrounding the gold rush, it also brought tragedy to the area. The U.S. Government sent troops in the area and force the Cherokee Indians out west ion 1838. The stolen Cherokee land was split into 35,000 gold lots and over 133,000 qualified citizens were registered for a chance to win.

This event, known as the Trail of Tears, is not a bright spot in our countries history and can be directly attributed to the Georgia Gold Rush that captivated not only the entire country, but also the world.

Check back next week for another Bullion Blurb and the wrap up on Dahlonega!

Submitted by Andy Fox