The Wandering Disciple

If you look closely at coins minted in the United States, there is a little letter code on the face of the coin that will tell you where it was made.  The most commonly found codes are D for Denver and P for Philadelphia.  But in late 1800's there was a letter O in circulation and that was for the New Orleans Mint.  Located in the French Quarter presses like the one pictured here turned out a steady supply of coins all pressed with the letter O.  The New Orleans Mint had two operational periods, one from 1836 to 1861 and the other from 1879 to 1909.  During this time, the mint produced over 427 million gold and silver coins with a face value of over $307 million US Dollars.  While mint is no longer in operation, you can still visit it today and see some of the equipment used to make coins in the mint museum.  The building also houses the New Orleans Jazz Museum and Louisiana Historical Center.  (Photo: November 21, 2017)

A coin press sits on display in the basement of the Old US Mint in New Orleans.  A small museum in here pays tribute to the New Orleans Mint that was in operation from 1838-1909.  The mint was the only one in the country to print currency for two nations, the United States of America and the Confederate States of America.  (Photo: November 21, 2017)