New Orleans Mint Coins

The Esplanade Avenue mint

The New Orleans Mint was one of the three branches created by the Act of 1835 and the only one of them to coin silver as well as gold. Its Greek Revival building on Esplanade Avenue, at the edge of the French Quarter, was designed by William Strickland, the same architect behind Philadelphia's second mint. Coinage began in 1838, starting with Seated Liberty dimes. New Orleans never struck copper cents. It concentrated on silver and gold, much of it refined from metal arriving through the port.

By the 1850s the mint was a major producer of half dollars and quarters for the South and the Mississippi valley. Its gold coinage grew after the California Gold Rush brought western gold through the port. Over its life the mint struck gold dollars, quarter eagles, three-dollar pieces, half eagles, eagles and double eagles.

Seizure in 1861 and the Confederate half dollars

Louisiana seceded in January 1861 and state forces took control of the mint along with its bullion. The state soon transferred it to the Confederacy. Workers kept striking half dollars from the regular United States dies through the spring of 1861, so 1861-O halves were made under three different authorities. Specialists separate them by small die markers.

The Confederacy also had a new reverse die made with a shield and the words CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA. Only four Confederate half dollars were struck with it before bullion ran out and coining stopped. After Union forces captured New Orleans in 1862, a local man named William Mumford was hanged on the mint grounds for tearing down the United States flag that had been raised over it.

Reopening for Morgan dollars

The building served as an assay office after the war and reopened as a mint in 1879, largely to strike silver dollars under the Bland-Allison Act. New Orleans struck Morgan dollars from 1879 to 1904 and Barber dimes, quarters and half dollars from 1892. Coinage ended in 1909, the assay office closed in the 1940s and the building is now a Louisiana State Museum site.

New Orleans Morgans have a reputation for flat strikes, with weak hair above Liberty's ear and soft breast feathers on the eagle. Some dates were thought rare until the Treasury released stored bags in the early 1960s, when large quantities of uncirculated 1898-O, 1903-O and 1904-O dollars came out of the vaults. Others, such as the 1893-O and 1895-O, remain scarce in mint state.

Famous O mint coins

The 1838-O half dollar is one of the great American rarities. About 20 were struck as specimen coins, apparently to test the new presses. The O sits above the date on the obverse. The 1853-O half dollar without arrows and rays is even rarer, with only a handful known. The 1851-O three-cent silver is the only branch mint issue of the trime. Among Morgans, the 1900-O/CC is a popular over mint mark: after Carson City closed, some of its unused dies were shipped to New Orleans and repunched with an O.

How to collect New Orleans coins

Most collectors start with Morgan dollars, where every New Orleans date is available in circulated grades. Barber quarters and halves with an O are the next step and are often found well worn, because the South used them heavily. The pre-war Seated Liberty quarters and halves are harder and sometimes show rough surfaces from storage in a humid climate. Look for the O below the eagle on Seated and Barber coins and above the DO of DOLLAR on Morgans.

Because New Orleans strikes are often soft, two coins with the same amount of wear can look very different. Judge wear by luster breaks on the cheek and the high points rather than by how much hair detail is visible.

Frequently asked questions