1830-1831
Two hundred yards west, on the north side of Washington Street is the site of the first private mint in the United States to manufacture gold coins in dollar values. During the Georgia gold rush, trade suffered due to a shortage of sound money. There were few coins in circulation and most business was by barter. Templeton Reid (ca. 1787-1851),Milledgeville silversmith and expert machinist, saw an answer to the problem. He decided to buy raw gold, refine it and stamp coins of proven value, acceptable in any transaction. In 1830 he came to Gainesville, Georgia and opened an assay office. Withmachines and dies of his design and make he began to strike coins of $2.50, $5.00, and $10.00 denominations. Although questioned by many, this was legal under the U.S. Constitution. The business was not profitable and closed in 1831. The Reid gold coinsminted in Gainesville are extremely rare and are eagerly sought by collectors.| HM Number | HM9NW |
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| Tags | |
| Marker Number | HCHS-2 |
| Year Placed | 1979 |
| Placed By | Hall County Historical Society |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Monday, October 6th, 2014 at 1:48am PDT -07:00 |
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 17S E 239807 N 3798970 |
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| Decimal Degrees | 34.29938333, -83.82706667 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 34° 17.963', W 83° 49.624' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 34° 17' 57.78" N, 83° 49' 37.44" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 678, 404, 770 |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 102 Washington St SW, Gainesville GA 30501, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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