James Crawford: Master of the Mint at Carson City: A Short Full Life - Hardcover

Goe, Rusty

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0974616923 ISBN 13: 9780974616926

Publisher: Southgate Coins, 2007

Synopsis

Book by Goe, Rusty

About this title

About the Author

In 2004, Rusty Goe authored The Mint on Carson Street, a book about the Carson City Mint and the many fascinating coins produced there. He is a noted Nevada historian and an authority on the Carson City Mint and the coins produced there. Goe has written numerous articles that have appeared in such publications as The Coin Dealer Newsletter and Curry’s Chronicle. He is the president and founder of the Carson City Coin Collectors of America and has lectured on many occasions at such venues as the Nevada State Museum and the Carson City Historical Society. He has bought and sold millions of dollars worth of rare numismatic items and has assisted in building some of the finest collections of Carson City coins of all time.

From the Back Cover

For ten years-from 1874 through 1885-James Crawford supervised the production of approximately 48 million coins with a face value of nearly $33 million at the legendary Carson City Mint. While collectors are all-too- familiar with these pieces of silver and gold money with the "CC" mintmark, unfortunately there is little known about the men and women involved in creating them. In "James Crawford: Master of the Mint at Carson City, a Short Full Life," the author has brought life to one of the most extraordinary figures in the annals of Nevada's coin factory.

This instructive and illuminating volume provides an insider's grasp into the life and times of James Crawford. From his early years in Kentucky and Illinois to his pursuit of riches in California's Gold Rush Country, to his initial entry into Nevada, to his ascendancy to the superintendancy of the Carson City Mint, this book traces one man's journey through the corridors of history. Drawing heavily from hundreds of newspaper articles spanning a period of three decades, this unique learning experience will reveal everything you always wanted to know as well as everything you ought to know about a truly exemplary individual.

The pages of this book are spiced with stories of investigations conducted by the Treasury Department into charges of embezzlement and misconduct at the San Francisco and Carson City Mints, as well as accounts of a tragic accident that almost ruined James Crawford's life. Extensive information about coinage from the Carson City Mint is provided, including statistics about a twenty-cent piece valued in 2007 at $500,000, and details about the celebrated "CC" silver dollars sold by the U. S. government during the 1970s.

From cover to cover, this gripping, definitive work on the man who served as superintendent at the Carson Mint longer than any other will unlock secrets to the coining process, and at the same time familiarize you with a person you will surely come to admire and respect. Whether you have ever heard of James Crawford, or not, this touching tribute will draw you closer to him in a way that will cause you to never forget him or the mint where he fulfilled his destiny.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

At the dawn of this new year Crawford expectantly positioned himself in love's way by serving on a coordinating committee charged with the task of setting up a citywide social event designed to attract a company of ladies, many of them single. If successful, perhaps a few amorous matches made in heaven might ensue.

James needed a diversion like this New Year's Day social affair to take his mind off the stifling suspension of coinage activities at the mint. He had no idea when operations would resume, and in the meanwhile, he had to carry the weight of knowing that half his workforce remained unemployed. Unbearable burdens of another kind also awaited him, as nefarious acts of defamation perpetrated by disgruntled employees would prove dismaying. Then, later in the year, an innocent accident would grip his heart with grief, causing him more anguish than he had ever experienced. Had James Crawford known what lie ahead in 1880, he might not have enjoyed the leap year festivities celebrated on the first day of that year quite as much.

Edition details

• Publisher: Southgate Coins
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0974616923
• ISBN 13: 9780974616926
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 658