Show I An Old Stringency in Mormon Coinage in a e Money M ne t One hears much these days of ot stringency In the money market and ono wonders what one ono would do were there no money at all Would one swap beads and warn wampum pumas pum as the Indians do or rely on evidences of ot credit Once on a time and It has been only half halt a ago there was no money In Jn Utah to speak of at least there t ere was none In circulation and conse consequently consequently consequently there was no medium mediums of ot exchange and a deal of ot annoyance in connection with the transaction of ot business I The absence of or the presents of ot coins 7 and currency was one of or the problems with which In 1849 Brigham Young and his associates were confronted but they seem to have met It fairly and squarely and solved It as they overcame so many r of the tho other apparently insurmountable obstacles which aro the tho portion of or the thet t pioneer be he Mormon Jew or Gentile When Money Was Scarce One day in 1849 Brigham Young awoke to the realization that he have hao any money mone a condition sadly obtaining with other men and women even evenin in these days das of d prosperity Not hav hay having lag ing any money and needing some pretty badly Young decided to mako make some And AndIe he lie Ie did He built for tor the church or at any rate he established esta a mint which turned out currency and coin as they were needed There is a piece of ot doggerel that once and again Is perpetrated on the unsuspecting by artists that runs something like this I made a hundred thousand dollars yes yesterday yesterday at noon I would have hae made a million if It I I quit so soon II But the whistle blew for dinner Now N w cant you take the hint rm Pm the man who makes the U e money at atthe atthe atthe the mint Plant Is Complete There Is no reason to believe that thai the themen themen themen men who worked in the Utah mint fifty years ago knew anything about this song and every reason to believe that they would have condemned the spirit of or the writing and the writer for tor these people were face tace to face tace with a n condition and not a theory t eory They needed a medium of ot circulation n and the only way they could get It was to supply it To that end therefore a complete minting plant crude of ot course was established In a building just east of or the old Deseret News build building buildIng building ing at the corner of South Temple and Main Large number numbers of or gold coins were turned out and distributed The gold coins were mostly In the denominations of or 5 10 and 20 It is written In the office of or the church historian that Elder Eider Alfred B Lambson forged the dies and punches and in fact tact everything In connection with the mint except the drop or hammer which was forged by Martin H Peck John H Kay cut the dies assisted by Thomas Clayton and William Bullock as accountant and For Local Circulation Joseph F Smith Jr in charge charle of or this division of ot the historians office was shown a clipping cUpping froin fro a recent issue oft ot the New York Sun giving iving an account of ot the Utah coinage Mr Smith said that while he was not familiar with the details contained In the article many of ot them were correct Was the money minted here used in general exchange exchanger Oh no It was purely local In Its use It is stated in the Sun article that the Inscription ascription or on the coins in included Included eluded the words pure put gold which the writer says Is open to question Mr Smith says sas that it Is his under understanding understanding understanding standing that the coins were as nearly ab absolutely absolutely pure as It was possible to make them without the loss of ot hardness necessary necessary necessary sary to resist wear Has Valuable Collection There is in Salt Lake Lak a a collection of r these thee coins that cannot perhaps be he bought for tor love or money D A Callahan is the possessor of ot the rare assembling Mr Sir Callahan Is a numismatist of or the keen and eager sort In the vaults of or the Com Commercial Commercial mercial National bank Mr Callahans collection is under lock and key and combination com combination When the St Louis exposition people suggested to Mr Callahan that he send his collection to that fair for tor exhibition exhibition exhibition tion he declined the honor with thanks pointing out that no matter how Jealous Jealously ly guarded these collections are they are apt to tobe be not In the place where they were before when the owner comes to look for them as shown in the Instance of ot the stolen British coins which have never yet been found There are many Inaccuracies In the article which you have handed me said Mr Callahan yesterday although in the main maln it Is true In the first place Mor Mormon Mormon Mormon In Instead Instead instead mon gold pieces stead of being worth 1755 as indicated here are worth not more than 33 3 d This talk about 1310 for the Ormsby specimen is all rot Stamped on Lead LeadIr Mr Ir Callahan declares that there are many specimens of the 50 Issue and some of the 5 3 of or 49 9 50 SO and 60 and at least one 10 and 20 The die with which a good deal of ot the Mormon money mone was made Is still In exist existence existence existence ence It is fashioned after the manner of ot a aseal seal used by a notary public It is not generally known indeed It Is scarcely known at all that some of the Mormon money was of ot lead Mr Calla Callahans Callahans hans bans collection contains specimens of the lead coins They were of ot various denom denominations Incidentally In it may ma be stated that Mr Callahan Is a philatelist who has the goods to show for tor his energies Four Fourteen Fourteen Fourteen teen thousand stamps are in the collection collection collection tion Mr r Callahan also has a complete series of ot the Pikes Peak issue of ot coins Designs of the Coins The designs on the Mormon coins are characteristic ch of r the period and people the words representing a religious spirit The collected data prepared by the Sun presented in brief brier form follows While a two dollar and a half halt gold piece issued In Utah in 1849 1819 recently sold for tor It Is by no means the rarest of the coins struck by the Mormons ns The Mormon coinage consisted of the denominations denomInations denominations nations of ot 5 10 and amI 0 20 embracing several varieties of design and dated 1849 1843 isso and 1860 1800 1 60 Early in 1349 1819 the need of or a circulating medium was felt for tor all the available cur currency currency currency rency was about 60 worth of ot fractional coin in the possession of or Brigham Young A paper money issue was first made con consisting consisting consisting of the denominations of or 50 51 cents and 1 the designs for which were type typeset typeset set These notes were made payable pa able in ingold Ingold ingold gold and redeemed by a certain sum sum spin st sit aside by the Mormon authorities Then dies for gold coins of ot the denomination denomination denomination nation of 5 were engraved en raed by Robert Campbell and still others were designed by James M Barlow a jeweller and den dentist dentist There Is some uncertainty as to the Campbell designs as the only records obtainable ob obtainable say that the first dies made ade were broken while coins were being struck Whether any pieces were struck is not definitely known own The Barlow designs were similar In Inmany Inmany Inmany many respects all the denominations d of ot 1849 and 1850 showing the same general de design design design sign with trifling variations The gold piece showed on the ob verse an eye eje above which was of ot a Mormon bishop surrounded by the Inscription Holiness to the Lord On the reverse the he principal p device was two clasped hands han s the date and the initials G C CS S L 1 CM CP C P G or Great Salt SnIt Lake City Pure Gold Cold while at the bottom were the words Twenty Dollars First 20 Gold Pieces It has always been the boast of or the Mormons that they were the first to Issue a gold piece of ot the denomination of 3 30 as a matter of fact is the truth In 1849 James B Longacre designed the present pres present ent United States double eagle but only orly one ona specimen of it was struck in gold from the dies In that year This solitary specimen Is now regarded as the rarest coin in the American series The regula regular coinage of these pieces did not begin till 1850 1550 A number of the Mormon lar gold pieces pl ces Were struck In 1849 and widely circulated throughout that part of ot the country While bearing the stamp of ot Pure Gold this statement Is open to question These early coins Tere pero ere first struck I from gold brought from alifornia c by the Mormon battalion that sieved served s ved in the lean scan war dust and nuggets is being melt melted d dand dand and refined In the cellar of or an old build ing on South Temple street Salt Lake City On the first floor of ot the same hulM ing was the primitive coinage colna e machine which like the dies was of or man mall manufacture It Is a fact that the California gold contains a high per percentage percentage percentage of ot silver sliver It is said that all tho the Utah coins up to 1800 varied greatly In fineness containing silver to the extent of ot the average of ot California gold Their av average average average of fineness was about Intrinsic Value of Coins The intrinsic value of ot the lar piece ranged from 16 to 18 and the fineness from to The value of or an specimen to toa a collector is I now placed at 50 but it would probably bring more if offered for sale The gold piece of ot the same series dated 1849 of ot similar design de Is the rarest of o all aU the th Mormon denominations and so far as known there are not more than two in existence Up to about R Ism J there was not a single specimen In the possession of ot any of the big coin collectors tors tom Some time after that yeas year a specimen specimen specimen men was offered at an auction sale and no one apparently being aware of Its rarity rarity ity it was sold for 22 2 Should such a coin be sold now its price would probably equal the highest premium ever eer paid for a territorial gold goldcoin goldcoin goldcoin coin This was 1310 paid for a sped specimen specimen men of ot the J S Ormsby gold piece struck at about the same time In Sacramento C J The only specimen of or orthe the Mormon go now located Is in inthe Inthe inthe the possession of or a coin collector named nam d Callahan at present living in to Salt Lake City CIt who has a I complete series of or the Mormon gold issues I The piece of 1849 is the same I In design as the two preceding pieces i but shows Five Do on the lower part of or orthe the reverse The Intrinsic value of ot this coin varied between 4 and I It Is not nearly so rare as some of or the others of the same series The 20 piece bore the same game design as the others but had Two and Half Do Doon Doon Doon on the th reverse This coin like the rest of the 1549 1119 series had a plain edge edgeIn In there was struck another va variety variety variety of or te the gold piece This sowed showed S a different form of or the eye eyo and ana mitre and around this central design was wasa a circle of or nine stats stars In fine condition condition n this coin is now held at about O OIn 20 In 1858 1854 President Brigham Young de desired desired desired sired a change c ange In the design de of ot the five dollar gold piece and new dies were pre prepared prepared prepared pared On the obverse side of ot this coin was a representation of ot a lion reclining on the ground Around the edge was an Inscription in Mormon charac characters characters characters meaning Holiness to the Lord Be De low Is the date when the coin was first struck 1569 On the tho t e reverse reverie was vas an eagle or phoe phoenix nix wit wUa a beehive in JI t f u nt t wV 1 u r the edge was Inscribed Deseret Assay Of ot Office flee fice Pure Gold o JJ 11 J TOt S u o Oi t tG too a coin was needed and a fine specimen is isnow Isnow isnow now worth about 40 41 Before this new design was issued a t pattern piece was struck In 11 gold from the dies and prec pr presented Anted to BH B im m v L This coin showed the regular obverse with the usual inscription tiu aru ua u t t the reverse was plain pin In with the tho of ot the central device of eagle and be hive Mr Young wore this coin as a a charm on his watch chain and upon his death the watch chain and coin oln were sold Hold J by his executors for tor 0 The dies for tor the later Issue of coins are said to be still In the possession of or the tha Mormon authorities at Salt Lake Ity lt Tho entire Mormon coinage was wall suppressed bv by b the tee same national law that put an end t to the tho i j o n f nd cold coins by private persons in California |