At the same time as events were transpiring in Dahlonega, Georgia, the discovery of gold in the southeastern United States also prompted miners in North Carolina to call for a facility that would ease their disposal of gold. In fact, the situation in North Carolina was even more acute as that state led the nation in gold production until the California Gold Rush of 1848. At the same time that Congress authorized the Dahlonega Mint, it also authorized a Branch Mint in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Charlotte Branch Mint commenced operations on March 28, 1838 when it struck its first $5 Half Eagle gold piece.

Coins were minted at the facility uninterrupted until North Carolina seceded from the Union on May 21, 1861 and the Confederacy took control of the Mint. The building was used as a hospital and headquarters by the Confederacy during the war. The facility never re-opened as a Mint but, after the Civil War, from 1867 to 1913, it operated as a U.S. Assay Office. Today the structure houses an art museum.

Charlotte Mint Gold

Along with the Dahlonega Mint, the Charlotte Mint was one of only two facilities whose production was restricted to gold coinage. Today, all of the Charlotte Mint's coinage is considered rare. Some of it is extremely rare in fact and, because of the coinage's special historical significance and investment potential, Charlotte Gold is coveted by investors and collectors alike. An example is the 1849-C "Open Wreath" Gold Dollar. Not only is this coin the rarest Charlotte Mint issue today, it is also one of the rarest of all U.S. gold coins. This issue is so rare that it is one of the few missing pieces of the otherwise "complete" Louis Eliasberg collection of U.S. gold coins.

In analyzing the Quarter Eagle and Half Eagle mintage figures below, you may notice that no coins were produced in 1845. There is a clear explanation for this. Perhaps the most significant date in the history of the Charlotte Mint, other than the opening and closing dates, is July 27, 1844. On that day, virtually the entire structure burned to the ground in a fire. The Mint did not recommence operations until October 1846.

The Charlotte Mint produced gold coinage in three denominations during its 23 years of operation. As previously mentioned, the Charlotte Mint began minting Half Eagles in 1838. The Mint also began producing Quarter Eagles that year. When the Gold Dollar denomination was introduced in 1849, the Charlotte Mint began minting that coin as well. Unlike the Dahlonega Mint, there is no record of the Charlotte Mint ever producing $3 gold pieces.

Charlotte Mint Gold Issues

Charlotte Gold Dollar

Nine distinct issues of Gold Dollars were produced at Charlotte from 1849-1859. The Type I Gold Dollar was produced from 1849 to 1853, with two varieties leaving the presses in 1849: the "Closed Wreath" and the famed "Open Wreath" variety. The Type II Gold Dollar was produced only in 1855, while the Type III saw production in the years 1857 and 1859. The highest mintage year was 1851, when 41,267 Gold Dollars were struck (not at all a large number). The lowest mintage year was 1859, when just 5,235 Gold Dollars were struck.

Charlotte Quarter Eagles

Two distinct designs of Quarter Eagles were produced at Charlotte. In 1838 and 1839, William Kneass' "Classic Head" design was produced. There were three varieties over those two years, the 1838-C and the 1839-C-and the 1839/8-C as well. This is pronounced "Eighteen thirty-nine over eight" and is literally referred to as such because this 1839 issue used an old 1838-C obverse in production which was overstruck with the current date. Like the Dahlonega Mint Classic Head Quarter Eagles, the Charlotte Mint Classic Head Quarter Eagles are distinctive in that the "C" mintmark appears on the obverse of the coin, underneath the date. On all subsequent Quarter Eagles, the mintmark appears on the reverse. Starting in 1840, the Classic Head design was replaced by Christian Gobrecht's Liberty, or "Coronet" design. The largest annual mintage figure is for 1843, when just 26,064 Quarter Eagles were struck. The smallest production run occurred in 1855, when only 3,677 Quarter Eagles were minted.

Charlotte Half Eagles

As with the Quarter Eagle, the Charlotte Mint produced two designs of Half Eagles during the course of its operations: the Classic Head and Liberty motifs. The Classic Head motif was produced only in 1838 and was superseded by the Liberty motif in 1839. The 1838-C and 1839-C remain the only two issues on which the mintmark appears on the obverse. On all subsequent dates, the mintmark appears on the reverse. The high water mark for Half Eagle mintages was 1847, but only 84,151 pieces were even minted in that year. The lowest mintage figure is understandably for the last year of operations, 1861, when the Mint coined just 6,879 examples.

Special Opportunities: "One-Year Type Coins"

Similar to the Dahlonega Mint, the Charlotte Mint produced two issues that were single-year mint runs. These two issues represent a special opportunity for collectors and investors today:

1855 $1 Gold-Type II-This issue was the only Type II Gold Dollar struck by the Charlotte Mint.

1838 $5 Half Eagle-1838 was the only year in which Classic Head Half Eagles were struck at Charlotte.

Very Low Mintages

None of the 51 Charlotte Gold issues had a mintage run that could be considered anything even approaching large. In fact, the highest mintage for any Charlotte issue is the 1847 $5 Half Eagle with a mintage of just 84,151. Most other mintages were much lower, as the table below clearly illustrates. Please note that the mintage of 4 given for the 1854-C Gold Dollar is somewhat misleading in that none of these coins has ever surfaced.

Charlotte Branch Mint Mintage Figures

Charlotte Gold Set Building Strategies

Charlotte Gold Denomination Set

This set contains one example each of the three denominations produced at Charlotte: the Gold Dollar, the $2.50 Quarter Eagle, and the $5 Half Eagle. A more advanced version of this collection would include examples of all three denominations with the same date; the possibilities include 1849-1853 and 1855.

Charlotte Gold Type Set

There were seven type coins struck at the Charlotte Mint. This set includes an example of each and, though it requires extreme patience to build, is one of numismatics' major historical treasures that tells the entire story of the Charlotte Mint.

Complete Denomination Sets

Some investors and collectors prefer to concentrate on one denomination and Charlotte Gold offers some attractive, and challenging, opportunities:

Charlotte Gold Dollar Set: an 8-coin set made up of an example of each gold dollar minted in Charlotte, with the exception of the 1854-C, no examples of which have ever been seen.

Charlotte Quarter Eagle Set: a 19-coin set made up of an example of each Quarter Eagle minted in Charlotte.

Charlotte Half Eagle Set: a 23-coin set made up of an example of each Half Eagle minted in Charlotte.

The Complete Charlotte Gold Set

This 50-coin set is made up of an example of each surviving coin minted at Charlotte from 1838 to 1861. Believe it or not, for a collector or investor with the means-and the patience-this set is still achievable today.

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