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.

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!