Getting Our Bearings in a Fabled City
My wife Beth and I had a panoramic view of the Mississippi River from our 10th floor hotel room at the historic Hotel Monteleone in the heart of the French Quarter. It was sothrilling to be in New Orleans for the first time! I had heard many wonderful childhood stories from my father about New Orleans and had always wanted to visit this special place.However, we almost cancelled our trip because of growing coronavirus concerns. With one eye on the news and aware we might need to return to New Jersey any day, we decided to makethe most of the short time we did have in the Crescent City, March 8-13, 2020.

As I studied a hand-drawn map of the French Quarter (courtesy of our tour guide), I noticed the Old U.S. Mint on the far right side of the page. Today, the structure primarilyserves as the New Orleans Jazz Museum. But in the 19th century it embodied

Perhaps we would see shipwreck coins at the mint due to the history of hurricanes and lost ships in the Gulf of Mexico. I couldn't wait to see the mint in person!

The Old U.S. Mint
We walked around thirteen blocks through the French Quarter to the Old New Orleans Mint. A stop at an open air market vibrant with artisans making colorful jewelry and potteryyielded a delicious muffuletta lunch with olives and melted cheese. It also got us completely turned around! Luckily, the Mississippi River helped us get our bearings. Despite thetemptations of Café du Monde and its beignets on the way, we finally located the imposing red brick structure of the mint.

I tried to imagine what it was like to put in a long daily shift at the mint. What were the smells like in this facility during operations, which involved "treasury,melting and refining, assaying and coining"? (Winter, p. 12). Operating heavy machinery, with metal dust in the air combined with the subtropical climate of New Orleans, musthave made for challenging working conditions.

As Beth and I checked our phones for COVID-19 updates, I recalled New Orleans' history of yellow fever epidemics. How had these impacted mint workers and coin production? Andwhat would happen if we ended up in a modern-day quarantine in this city? Worries for both our fellow tourists and the many gracious New Orleanians who welcomed us to theirhometown would linger throughout our time here.

I was intrigued by the machinery at the mint. The adjusting process was used to prepare planchets for the coinage phase of the operations. Planchets were tested for properweight before coining. Underweight planchets were returned to the melting department, and overweight planchets were designated for adjustment. From mint displays, I learned thatbetween 1879 and the mint's closing in 1909, it was women who played the central role in the adjusting process. Women would file off excess metal until each planchet met theweight requirements. (Winter, pp. 14-15). Women played a prominent role in running the coining presses, as well.

Also of interest were a display of coins from the SS New York shipwreck. These coins were certified by NGC.

To view all of Jeff's Mint photos, see:
Jeff Burke's New Orleans Mint Visit March 2020(https://www.flickr.com/photos/coinbooks/albums/72157713627009527)

James H. Cohen and President Ford
I also discovered some pirate treasure on Royal Street. I was meandering down the block and noticed a sign for antique weapons and rare coins. The next day, I decided toinvestigate the shop and ended up learning about a modern day assayer. Not sure what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised to find a wide range of U.S. type coins, ancients, 16thand 17th century European coins, an ANA 75th anniversary medal, obsolete paper money, shipwreck coins, Louisiana currency, Civil War tokens and currency, along with many othernumismatic items of interest.

I discovered a small showcase display dedicated to James H. Cohen, a distinguished numismatist who died at the age of 91 in 2017. Stephen and Jerald, his sons, kindly told memore information about their late father. Four generations of Cohens have owned and run this store!

James was appointed to the United States Assay Commission by President Gerald Ford in 1975. Jerald told me a fascinating story about his father's commission letter, which wason display in a glass counter case. Over the years, the President's signature had begun to fade. In 1994, a customer came into the store and also noticed the fading ink. Thestranger told James that he knew President Ford and could get the letter re-signed by him. James took a leap of faith and agreed to the proposal. Several weeks later, there-signed letter arrived in the mail, along with a personal note from the former president!

Jerald told me that his father served as General Chairman of the ANA Convention in New Orleans in 1972. Jerald will be getting his 50-year ANA membership pin in a few years! Asyoung boys, Stephen and Jerald worked in the shop with their father. Both boys developed an expert knowledge of numismatics from hands-on shop training from James and by travelingwith their parents to trade shows in other parts of the country. (Gilkes, Paul "Veteran Numismatist Jimmie Cohen Dies in Louisiana," Coin World, April 9, 2017).The Cohen family has had a long and storied numismatic history in the beautiful city of New Orleans.

We achieved our dream of visiting New Orleans! I loved seeing the architectural styles in the French Quarter. Touring the mint gave me a deeper appreciation for the complexoperations required to produce coins. Discovering the Cohen shop on Royal Street was a pleasant surprise! We also toured the Hurricane Katrina exhibit in the Presbytere Museum.Many people perished and property was destroyed when Katrina struck New Orleans on August 29, 2005. Yet, New Orleanians showed resolve, steadfastness and resiliency in the face ofthis tragedy and made a magnificent comeback. As we face the coronavirus pandemic, we can look to their courage in adversity as a model for our country.

Acknowledgements: My thanks go to Stephen and Jerald Cohen for sharing memories of their father with me. I am also grateful to Jerald for pulling some family pictures andother documents from a display case to share with me. The Cohen brothers read through a draft of this piece for the sake of accuracy.

To visit the James H. Cohen & Sons, Inc web site, see:
https://cohenantiques.com/