High cost of coining at Carson Mint 0

[RWB]

The Carson Mint has long been recognized as something of an "orphan" in the US Mint system. It was isolated, had limited personnel and supply resources, and was expensive to operate. According to this table, prepared by Mint HQ in Washington D.C., the cost per coin at Carson was from two to three times that at San Francisco. Later data show that it never got much better. Maybe the place should have stayed closed after 1885?

Edited April 2, 2020 by RWB

[GoldFinger1969]

When did it close permanently ?  I know you covered that in FMTM, but I forget.

You would think they would have saved some $$$ on minting costs from being so close to the Comstock Silver mines.  Not sure what drove up the minting costs....it's basically labor costs plus the transportation costs of silver (which should have been much lower than the other mints).

Edited April 3, 2020 by GoldFinger1969

[Conder101]

Except the railroads charged more for hauling silver to Carson than they did to haul it to San Francisco.  Supplies also often had to go all the way to San Francisco by sea and then overland to Carson causing additional expense to run Carson.  Being relatively out in the middle of nowhere it also cost more to hire personnel and staff the mint.  Think of it as a "hardship" posting.  I'd have to check on this but I believe there was also the problem of payment.  Miners shipping to San Francisco I believe were paid in cash on the spot, in Carson they were paid in drafts payable in San Francisco or Philadelphia.  This encouraged the shipping to San Francisco.

 

As for when Carson closed, it ceased coining as a mint in 1893.  I'm not sure what if anything it was from June 1893 to Jan 1898, but in Jan 1898 it was reopened for the acceptance of deposits of gold or silver, and accepted them through Nov 1898.  Carson was officially demoted to an Assay Office  on July 1899 and ceased all operations June 30, 1933  It was sold to the State of Nevada May 22, 1939.

Edited April 3, 2020 by Conder101

[GoldFinger1969]

Thanks Conder...I tried to LIKE your post but I used up my daily allotment. 

NGC Mods, what's with the LIKE quota ?  It's like it costs you $$$ or something.  Either make it unlimited or raise the numbers....not fair that on a busy day here we can't give proper thanks and credit to quality posts.

Edited April 3, 2020 by GoldFinger1969

[RWB]

The price paid for silver bullion was fixed in Washington based on the London closing. As Conder101 notes, transportation was a major factor along with the ability to get drafts on SF or NY. It cost as much per ounce to ship 0.999 silver as it did to ship the same weight of 0.175 silver. This resulted in Carson getting too much doré (low grade) bullion from local workings to operate efficiently.

When Carson closed in 1893 large quantities of unrefined doré bullion had to be sent to San Francisco.

[Treasurer of the US and Sec of Treasury often fiddled with policies that impeded efficient operation of the Mints. This included bullion fund requirements, credit/non-credit for silver in native gold, availability of eastern exchange for western deposits, special conditions for certain Assay Offices, and other foolishness. Much of this came from lobbyists for special interests or for political influence struggles.]

Edited April 3, 2020 by RWB