In the year 1836, there was a massive shortage of domestically-minted coinage.  This was very quickly throwing America into a recession, and as a result, President Andrew Jackson signed a Presidential Executive Order called Specie Circular. This required that any American who wished to buy land in the newfound West must do so in hard cash, exclusively with gold or silver. 

This led to some major supply chain issues throughout the country, primarily because the Philadelphia Mint struggled to deliver coins to the West quickly. The time required to ship to the nearest frontier town in the West was around a 10 months round trip. Thus, the New Orleans Mint was born. The New Orleans Mint was able to greatly expedite production and delivery times to the Western frontier.



It was widely known as the most important mint in the United States for a number of years due to the fact that it was the only branch mint that was authorized to mint both gold and silver coins. Due to the mint being within close proximity of two major rivers, it was crucial in the expansion and growth of our great nation.

New Orleans minted millions of coins during the time of its operation, below are a few unique examples of coins struck at the New Orleans Mint. These distinctive coins just stick out from the rest.



1851-O 3 Cent

This is a coin that was only minted for one single year at the New Orleans Mint. That makes it an odd piece, to say the least. With over 720,000 coins struck, only around 500 examples have been graded by NGC. Most known examples came out of production struck very weakly on the borders and the centers. However, even with this coin being well over 170 years old, a high-grade example is relatively easy to get your hands on at an inexpensive price, making these extremely undervalued. 



1849-O - 1855-O $1 Liberty

Most novice collectors are not familiar with the $1 Liberties, especially from the New Orleans Mint. New Orleans only struck these coins for 6 years; 1849 to 1853 and once again in 1855. The Gold Dollars minted at New Orleans are some of the rarest of the entire Gold Dollar series due to the fact that the New Orleans Mint, while being one of the most important mints for the idea of Manifest Destiny, was mostly focused on the quantity of coins minted rather than the quality. When a collector is afforded the opportunity to come into a coin of this caliber, they better be ready to jump on it.


1854-O $3 Princess

As far as The Oddities of New Orleans are concerned, the primary example is the 1854-O $3 Princess. This coin was a product of a US Postal Service and US Mint collaboration. In 1853, the Postal Service lowered the price of a single stamp to three cents, therefore making a book of 100 cost $3.00. At the time the only coins available as tender were the $2.5 and $5 Liberties. This $3 Indian Head Princess was only minted for one year at the New Orleans Mint, and as a whole, the $3 piece was not very popular amongst the American public. Additionally, in 1854, the US Mint put all of the gold they would ever put into the series into circulation, and at the end of every year, the Postal Service would submit the coins back to the Mint to be melted down and struck into the following years coins. That means that this coin had to not only survive the Confiscation of 1933, but an additional 35 meltdowns before it. It is a miracle that collectors of the modern era are allowed to own one of these coins.


1909-O $5 Indian Head

While production of gold coins at the New Orleans Mint essentially came to an end in 1906, they bid the mint farewell with a final coin, a single Indian Head gold piece struck at their premises in 1909. The design of Augustus St. Gauden's classic Indian Head gold was the final gold coin to be struck at the New Orleans Mint. Uncirculated examples are known to be particularly scarce and hard to find, but an example in an About Uncirculated condition could be readily available and relatively affordable for the right collector.


The downfall of the New Orleans Mint is the quality of its coins, due to the rush to get currency out to the new frontier. Quality was sacrificed for quantity. However, all is not lost, because this general lack of quality coins means that the ones that survived in high grades are some of the most sought after by any collector, big or small. No matter the person, no matter the portfolio, no one should be without a piece of history from the mint that made it possible for America to become the great nation that it is today