Richard Kelly and Nancy Oliver Update New Orleans Treatise

Previously published as Treatise of the early era of the New Orleans Mint, Richard Kelly and Nancy Oliver have released an updated version of their New Orleans Mint history, The Early Years of the Louisiana Mint, 1837-1861. The work is formatted chronologically and serves as a useful companion to the related correspondence from the National Archives. The authors have extracted extensive data on die shipments and coining production, which will allow future researchers to directly reference the correspondence of interest. Contemporary media accounts supplement the work.

Taking the year 1842, for example, the authors have summarized about 40 individual pieces of correspondence, which detail the various comings and goings of Mint personnel, coining dies, and internal politics. Along the way tidbits appear, such as this comment on the 3-cent piece: "November 8th, Patterson reported that Riddell has proposed a 3-cent piece of silver and copper, but Patterson thought it an objectionable coinage." Patterson was ultimately overruled on this point, as the 3-cent silver piece eventually appeared in 1851. Kelly and Oliver's summary of the correspondence will facilitate working with handwritten material that remains to be transcribed.

Newman Portal acknowledges Robert W. Julian, who acquired the related National Archives scans, operating under a grant from Central States Numismatic Society. Roger Burdette contributed image post-processing, while Nicole Fry rearranged the correspondence chronologically.

Images: 1840-O With Drapery 25c, Large-O, PCGS MS64 CAC. Ex. Tom Bender Collection (Heritage Auctions, August 2022), lot 3784, realized $14,400. Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

Link to The Early Years of the Louisiana Mint, 1837-1861 on Newman Portal:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/632304

Link to Branch Mint correspondence from the National Archives (record group 104, entry 11):
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/archivedetail/515205