Dahlonega Mint Coins

The Georgia gold rush

Gold was found in the north Georgia mountains in 1829, setting off the Georgia Gold Rush, one of the earliest in American history. Thousands of prospectors poured into land that belonged to the Cherokee Nation. Georgia divided the territory into lots and distributed them by lottery in the early 1830s. The pressure for Cherokee land helped drive the forced removal that followed in 1838, now remembered as the Trail of Tears.

The town of Dahlonega grew up at the center of the gold district. Its name comes from a Cherokee word for yellow money or gold. Like the North Carolina miners, Georgia miners had to ship gold far away to have it coined, so the region pushed for a mint of its own.

The Dahlonega branch mint

Congress created the Dahlonega mint in the same 1835 act that founded the Charlotte and New Orleans branches. The building, a two-story brick structure, opened for coinage in 1838. Like Charlotte, Dahlonega struck only gold: quarter eagles, half eagles, gold dollars from 1849 and three-dollar gold pieces in 1854 only. The 1854-D three-dollar coin, with a mintage of just 1,120, was a one-year issue for the mint.

By the late 1840s many Georgia miners were heading for California. A local assayer, Matthew Stephenson, is popularly credited with urging them to stay with a speech that gave rise to the phrase there's gold in them thar hills. Whatever its exact origin, the line has been tied to Dahlonega ever since.

Confederate coinage and the end of the mint

Georgia seceded in January 1861 and Confederate authorities took over the mint. The remaining bullion was coined into 1861-D gold dollars and half eagles. Every 1861-D gold dollar was struck under Confederate control, which makes it one of the most historically significant American gold coins. The mint never reopened after the war.

In 1871 the building was given to the new North Georgia Agricultural College. It burned in 1878 and Price Memorial Hall was built on its foundations the following year. The site is still part of the University of North Georgia.

Dahlonega gold dollars by type

Dahlonega struck gold dollars every year from 1849 to 1860. All are scarce. Type 1 coins from 1849 to 1854 have the small Liberty head. The 1855-D is the only Type 2 gold dollar struck at Dahlonega and with just 1,811 made it is the rarest Type 2 issue. The Type 3 coins from 1856 to 1860 are notoriously weak, often with mushy hair and indistinct dates, because the larger head design was hard to bring up on the mint's equipment.

Many Dahlonega coins have a greenish or brassy tint. This is usually attributed to the high natural silver content of Georgia gold, which was not fully refined out before coining.

D for Dahlonega or D for Denver

The Dahlonega D is easy to place once you know the dates. Dahlonega struck only gold, only from 1838 to 1861 and only quarter eagles, half eagles, gold dollars and one year of three-dollar coins. Denver did not strike coins until 1906. Any US gold dollar with a D mint mark is a Dahlonega coin, because the gold dollar ended in 1889.

The D on a gold dollar sits on the reverse below the wreath. On Dahlonega coins it is often small and sometimes weakly impressed, so check it under magnification.

On Dahlonega quarter eagles and half eagles of 1838 and 1839, the D sits on the obverse above the date rather than on the reverse. Charlotte coins of those years follow the same pattern with a C. From 1840 the mark moved to the reverse, below the eagle, where it stayed until the mint closed.

Collecting Dahlonega coins

Collectors of southern gold usually look for coins with original color and surfaces, minimal rim damage and a strike typical of the date. Gold dollars were popular as jewelry, so look closely for signs of a removed loop or a filled hole near the rim. Counterfeits exist for most dates, especially the rare ones, so certification by a major grading service is strongly recommended.

The Dahlonega Gold Museum in the town's 1836 courthouse displays local gold and Dahlonega coins. It is a good place to see the mint's work alongside the mining history that produced it.

Frequently asked questions