In addition to producing $298,660,707 worth of gold and silver coins during 71 years of operations, the New Orleans Mint was witness to a fascinating series of events and has served the nation in more capacities than any other Mint in American history.

The New Orleans Mint anchors scenic Esplanade Avenue to the Mississippi River at the edge of the world-famous French Quarter. It was on this same 1.6-acre plot of land that General Andrew Jackson inspected his troops prior to the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. Before the Mint was built, the land was made into a park named for Jackson. Ironically, it was during the final year of President Jackson's term in office that the Act of Congress was passed on March 3, 1835 authorizing the construction of the New Orleans Mint.

It was also at this same time that Jacksonian Democracy called for westward expansion beyond the Mississippi River. President Jackson knew that providing hard currency to the region would help stimulate that westward growth. At the same time, he was able to convince Congress that New Orleans was the single most important port in the entire nation. This helped set the stage for the construction of the Mint.

William Strickland, a prominent architect of the period who designed the new United States Capitol Building and the Philadelphia Mint, designed the handsome Greek revival structure. The construction was so well done that, 120 years later, during the Cold War, the Mint was still considered New Orleans' best fallout shelter. The three-story structure closely resembles a fortress and was one of the most prestigious buildings in the entire south following its completion.

In 1838, after a construction that cost $300,000, the New Orleans Mint began production. During that year, the Mint was able to produce $440,242 in gold coinage using gold from Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, the Carolinas and foreign sources via the port. The Mint's machinery was powered by hand until 1845, when steam was introduced. After the massive discovery of gold in California in 1848, the New Orleans Mint's coin production increased substantially and, in 1851, the Mint produced its largest quantity of coinage totaling more than $10,000,000.

By the time Louisiana seceded from the Union in 1861, the New Orleans Mint had produced a total of $40,148,740 in gold coinage and $29,764,353 in silver coinage. Unlike the Charlotte and Dahlonega Branch Mints which were also taken over by the Confederacy, the New Orleans Mint still had bullion available to continue minting coinage after the Civil War began and managed to produce $1,356,136 of coinage during its brief tenure under the Confederacy. Because New Orleans fell to the Union Army in 1862, the Mint was only in Confederate hands for about a year. During the rest of the war, the facility produced no coinage, but served as headquarters in New Orleans for Union forces.

The New Orleans Mint holds the distinction of being the only southern branch mint to have survived the Civil War. Both the Charlotte and Dahlonega Mints ceased coinage production in 1861 and were never reopened for the purpose of minting coins. The New Orleans Mint reopened following the period of Reconstruction in 1878 and produced coinage for three more decades. By 1909, the Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Denver Mints rendered the New Orleans Mint obsolete. After a total production of just under $300 million in gold and silver coinage, the New Orleans Mint struck its last coin. The facility served as a U.S. Assayer's Office until 1932, when it became a Federal prison, a purpose which it served until 1943. During the rest of World War II, the U.S. Coast Guard took over the building.

When World War II ended, the Mint was abandoned, but remained under the authority of the Coast Guard as a storage facility. Over the next 20 years, the building fell into a state of decay, deterioration and disrepair. In 1965, the State of Louisiana took over the building at no cost, subject to the condition that it be renovated and restored within 10 years. Today the Mint serves as an historical landmark and museum and welcomes thousands of visitors from around the world each year.

New Orleans Mint Gold

The New Orleans Branch Mint was the only Southern Branch Mint to mint each of the six denominations of U.S. gold coinage: $1, $2.50, $3, $5, $10, and $20. The first gold coins to be struck were $2.50 Quarter Eagles in 1839. $5 Half Eagles were first struck in 1840, followed by $10 Eagles in 1841, Gold Dollars in 1849, $20 Double Eagles in 1850, and $3 Gold Pieces in 1854. During its entire lifetime, the Mint struck 51 separate issues of gold coins.

In analyzing the mintage data below, you will notice that they reflect the much longer mintage run of the New Orleans Mint due to its operations after the Civil War and Reconstruction. Also apparent is the fact that the very earliest mintages were small, mainly due to the hand-powered coinage machinery in use until 1845.

Pre-Civil War New Orleans Mint Gold is particularly sought after by investors and collectors today due to its relatively low survival rates and low original mintages. An interesting oddity are coins dated 1861. During the first half of 1861, the Mint produced $20 Double Eagles under the authority of the U.S. government. During the remainder of 1861, the Mint continued to produce such coins under the government of Louisiana and the Confederacy. Unfortunately, all of these coins were struck using the same dies, thus there is no way to tell which coins were struck for which government!

New Orleans Mint Gold Issues

New Orleans Gold Dollars

The New Orleans Mint struck the Type I Gold Dollar from the denomination's inception in 1849 until 1853. In 1855 it struck the Type II Gold Dollar. The highest mintage years were 1851 and 1853, when 290,000 examples were struck. The lowest mintage year was 1850, when just 14,000 examples were struck.

New Orleans Mint Quarter Eagles

The New Orleans Mint struck two design types of Quarter Eagles: the Classic Head Type (1839) and the Liberty Head Type (1840-1857). The 1839-O issue is especially significant as it was the first gold coin struck by the Mint and it was the only year of the Classic Head design. Moreover, this issue is the only one in which the "O" mintmark appears on the obverse of the coin; all subsequent issues have the mintmark on the reverse.

The highest mintage year for Quarter Eagles was 1843 when 364,002 were struck. The lowest mintage year was 1845 when 4,000 examples were struck.

New Orleans Mint $3 Gold

The $3 Indian Princess was introduced in 1854 and that was the only year in which the New Orleans Mint produced the coin. The total mintage figure was just 24,000 pieces.

New Orleans Mint Half Eagles

Three types of Half Eagles were struck by the New Orleans Mint. From 1840 to 1857, the "No Motto" Liberty Half Eagle was produced. From 1892-94, this same design was minted, but with the addition of the motto "In God We Trust" on the reverse. Finally, in 1909, the Indian Half Eagle was minted, the only issue with the Indian Head motif produced in New Orleans.

The highest mintage year was 1844, when 364,600 Half Eagles were struck. The lowest known mintage year was 1841, when 50 were struck. No 1841-O Half Eagles are known to survive today.

New Orleans Mint Eagles

More Eagles were struck at the New Orleans Mint than any other gold denomination. Two types were struck: the "No Motto" Liberty Eagle prior to the Civil War and the "With Motto" Liberty Eagle after Reconstruction. The highest mintage year was 1847 when 571,500 were struck. The lowest mintage year was 1883, when just 800 were struck.

New Orleans Mint Double Eagles

The $20 Double Eagle denomination was introduced in 1850 as a result of the increase in gold supplies coming out of the California Gold Rush. The New Orleans Mint was the only Southern Branch Mint to produce these large coins, chiefly because its location was much further west than Charlotte and Dahlonega and also because it was such an important port. New Orleans minted the Double Eagle right from the start in 1850. Two types of Double Eagles were minted in New Orleans. In the pre-Civil War period the Mint produced the Type I Liberty Double Eagle, which did not have the motto "In God We Trust" on the reverse. In 1879, the Double Eagle denomination made a one-year comeback in New Orleans, this time as the Type III version, which differed from the Type I by the addition of the motto on the reverse and the denomination spelled out on the reverse as well ("Twenty Dollars").

The highest mintage figure for New Orleans Mint Double Eagles came in 1851 when 315,000 were struck. The lowest mintage figure came in 1856, when 2,250 were struck.

Special Rare Opportunities: "One Year Type Coins"

The New Orleans Mint issues include many significant rarities that are coveted by investors and collectors to this day. Chief among these are so-called "One-Year Type Coins," which are single-issue coins that rank among the rarest gold coins on the market today.

New Orleans Mint One-Year Type Coins

1855 Type II $1 Gold-1855 was the only year in which the New Orleans Mint struck the exceedingly rare Type II Gold Dollar.

1839 $2.50 Classic Head Quarter Eagle-This is the only Classic Head issue to be struck in New Orleans.

1854 $3 Gold Indian Princess-1854 was the only year in which the New Orleans Mint struck $3 gold pieces.

New Orleans Mint Gold Mintages

Generally speaking, the New Orleans Mint had higher mintages prior to the Civil War than its sister Southern Branch Mints. This was partially because more California gold found its way to New Orleans than to Georgia or North Carolina. It was also partially due to New Orleans' status as America's busiest port and fifth largest city.

New Orleans Branch Mint Mintage Figures

New Orleans Gold Set Building Strategies

New Orleans Gold Denomination Set

This set contains one example of each of the six gold denominations minted in New Orleans: $1, $2.50, $3, $5, $10, and $20. This is one of the most practical ways to collect New Orleans Mint Gold.

The New Orleans Gold Type Set

Since the New Orleans Mint was in operation for a much greater period of time than the Charlotte and Dahlonega Mints, more types of gold coins were produced there. A New Orleans Gold Type Set would consist of the following 12 coins:

Complete Denomination Sets

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

• New Orleans Gold Dollar Set: a 6-coin set made up of an example of each gold dollar minted in New Orleans. This is a very popular set.
  
  
• New Orleans Quarter Eagle Set: a 14-coin set made up of an example of each Quarter Eagle minted in New Orleans. This set is somewhat challenging and will require a certain amount of patience to complete.
  
  
• New Orleans Half Eagle Set: a 16-coin set made up of an example of each surviving Half Eagle minted in New Orleans. This set is very challenging and will require plenty of patience and discipline to assemble. As a result, the potential rewards are great as well.
  
  
• New Orleans Eagle Set: a 38-coin set made up of an example of each $10 Eagle minted in New Orleans. This set is extremely challenging and will require years of patience to build, but it is not impossible.
  
  
• New Orleans Double Eagle Set: this 13-coin set is the most challenging of all Complete New Orleans Denomination Sets to assemble.

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