Looking Back: US Assay Office in New York City Rocked by Explosion!

My silence the last few weeks has been because of a family crisis. My mother was diagnosed with Lupus 15 years ago and has been trying to fight the attacks over the years. This week, the Lupus won and she died quietly with her husband (my father), sister, and a rabbi at her side. I will write more about her later. But I wanted to post something now.

The following was written by WoodenJefferson on the NGC Forums. I thought it was a good story and received his permission to share it with my readers.

On September 16, 1920, the flood of Wall Street lunch goers did not even notice a nondescript man on a red horse-drawn cart outside the U.S. Assay Office. After the man quickly disappeared into the crowd, the cart suddenly exploded, killing more than 30 people and injuring nearly 400 as metal fragments rained from the sky. Both the horse and wagon were entirely destroyed in the noon time blast.

Speculations of conspiracy and terrorism abounded, but crews cleaned the damage overnight (not realizing they were destroying crucial evidence), leaving almost no clues behind.

The best tip came prior to the explosion. A letter carrier found four crudely spelled and printed flyers in the area from a group demanding the release of political prisoners. The group, called the “American Anarchist Fighters,” resembled the Italian Anarchists that used similar flyers in two prior bombing campaigns.

The FBI originally suspected followers of Italian Anarchist Luigi Galleani, but the case could not be proved and promising trails became dead ends.

The Wall Street Explosion occurred in New York City at one minute before noon on the day of the explosion, across from the headquarters of the J.P. Morgan Company on Wall Street near the corner of Broad Street. The junction was the financial epicenter of the United States—the J.P. Morgan Company, the N.Y. Stock Exchange, the U.S. Assay Office, the Sub-Treasury Building all surrounded the site. It was a system bitterly hated by the radicals and known anarchists.

Although persons were killed or injured in the street, no one inside the surrounding buildings were harmed. Ironically, the bomb that rocked the entire lower end of Manhattan claimed not the reviled financial giants but rather the “little people”: the clerk, the stenographer, delivery boys. Wall Street was in utter shambles. A huge crater was blown into the street.


Thousands of people lined up the streets to see the blood-soaked avenue. The New York Daily News photographer George Schmidt was among the first to arrive and photographed the scene.

The New York Assay Office was rebuilt and opened in April, 1921 with a vault capable of holding $5 billion in gold. Today, that vault area is used by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The New York Assay Office was established by the Act of March 3, 1853. It opened in 1854. The Treasury closed this office on December 31, 1982.

Image of US Assay Office of New York was published in The Site of the Assay Office on Wall Street by William E. Verplank, 1921
Photo of the aftermath of the 1920 explosion is courtesy of Iconic Photos.
Click on the image to enlarge.

If You Missed It...

Yesterday was the first day that the new Professional Life Lincoln Cents were released. Aside from the ceremony in Springfield, Illinois, the US Mint sold rolls at Union Station in Washington, DC. The event passed without much notice.

When the Formative Years, or Rail Splitter cents were released, there was a rush of people to Union Station that caught the notice of the media. Local and national news outlets descended on Union Station to take capture the scene. It was such a happening that it broke through the political games that were going on within yards of Union Station.

Other than an article from the State Register-Journal of Springfield, there was little notice elsewhere. Even the Mint’s hometown Philadelphia Inquirer buried a paragraph about the coin’s release at the bottom of the “Business news in brief” page.

It is the bicentennial birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the president that is credited with holding the country together during its most tumultuous times. We should be celebrating Lincoln. But there seems to be less excitement for these coins than there were for the Westward Journey nickle program.

Discounting the fact that I work “inside the Beltway” and hear more about politics than any other news, there seems to be a focus on other issues and not numismatics. Even the numismatic press has been covering issues of the market and issues of metals values.

This year, the proof sets have 18 coins. When the Mint Sets are released, there will be 36 coins. With coins from the Lincoln Bicentennial Cents, DC and Terrotories Quarters, Presidential Dollars, and the Native American $1 Coin it is the most coins in these sets in the Mint’s history.

Has all of these coin programs jumped the shark?

Originally, I thought this would be an exciting year. But the near monthly release of new coins seems to have faded into the background like rain on a tin roof.

And we have yet to see the 2009 24-karat Gold Buffalo.

Unfortunately, next year will begin the National Parks quarters. Modeled after the successful State Quarters program, congress did not think we needed a break and passed this law anyway.

It’s not like the Mint has been creating “awe inspiring designs.” Now we have to contend with another 11 year state series from the designers that gave us such winners as the Ohio hanging astronaut and the Montana’s dead animal skull.

Numismatic history has not looked too kindly on the early commemorative era. There were too many coins with only marginally interesting commemorations that wore out collectors. We seem to be doing the same with these circulating commemoratives. History is going to show that we overdid the circulating commemorative concept these last ten years. I hope that when these programs end we are granted a break.

News from the ANA World's Fair of Money

It is no surprise that there have been a few announcements at the American Numismatic Association’s World’s Fair of Money.® Of the announcements, I found three very interesting stories.

I think the biggest announcement is that the US Mint and the Smithsonian Institution’ National Museum of American History jointly announced that they have partnered to create traveling exhibits from the National Numismatic Collection. The Mint and Smithsonian Institution wants to create exhibits that will highlight U.S. history through its coinage.

The National Numismatic Collection is the largest collection in the world with over 1.6 million coins, notes, tokens, and medals. The collection spans from ancient times to modern days with the bulk of the materials being donated from the Mint’s transfer of its core holdings in 1923. The display of the National Numismatic Collection closed in August 2004 in preparation for the renovation of the American History Museum building. Although selected pieces were incorporated into other exhibits, the collection remains out of public view. Bringing the collection out to the public is a wonderful idea and I look forward to seeing how the curators at the Smithsonian and US Mint display the collection.

In another interesting announcement, the Numismatic Guarantee Corporation will begin to provide detailed grading to problem coins. In the past, NGC would “body bag” coins that were scratched, cleaned, or had other problems. If you wanted these coins encapsulated, the coins would have to be sent to their sister company, the Numismatic Conservation Service. NCS would be able to either conserve the coin and cross it to NGC or would encapsulate the coin with detailed grading. With this announcement, NGC will provide the grading services while NCS will continue to perform conservation.

This new service will simplify the grading and encapsulation of problem coins. Rather than have to wait for the submission to NCS to be processed and possibly NGC, NGC will do it all in one submission. It is also a good idea to include why the coin could not be graded in plain English on a different color label. I think this is a better idea to embedding cryptic code on a label that is not as easily identifiable, especially on the bourse floor of a busy show. More information that is easily understood is always better.

Finally, I want to congratulate Julian Leidman for being awarded the inaugural Harry J. Forman Dealer of the Year Award. Julian is a wonderful person, knowledgeable dealer, and an annual speaker at my local coin club where he talks to our membership about the state of the industry. Julian is one of the few dealers who always has people around his table talking coins or just kibitzing. Congratulations Julian on a well deserved honor.

Pothole Cause Armored Truck To Spill Quarters

The rear door to an armored truck failed after hitting a bump causing three $500 bags of quarters to spill on the road south of downtown Dallas.

The police were called to close the street too keep the nearby homeless population away so that the guards and city workers could pick up the quarters. Workers were seen using shovels and vacuum cleaners to pick up the coins.

The video of the scene is amusing and something that I hope will help brighten your Friday.

Video from NBC Dallas-Fort Worth local website.

Left Out of Left Coast

I am not attending the American Numismatic Association’s World’s Fair of Money® this week. I would like to attend, but the show is in Los Angeles, which is about 2,690 miles from the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Although this is closer than the 2,800 miles I would have had to travel to Portland, Oregon for this year’s National Money Show,™ both were too far to travel—especially in this economic climate.

I know the ANA had to make it up to Portland for moving the 2007 National Money Show to Charlotte. However, by doing this, the ANA has prevented a few people from attending at least one show this year.

Although I would not mind both shows being East Coast affairs, I can understand the need for a national organization to hold its conventions to make it accessible to both coasts, but to hold both on the West Coast reduces accessibility for those of us in the east.

Next year, the National Money Show will be in Fort Worth, Texas and the World’s Fair of Money will be held in Boston. Fort Worth, home of a branch of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, will be more accessible from the West Coast than Boston. Although not perfect, it is better than if both shows would be on the East Coast.

I hope that in the future the ANA will make every attempt to diversify the location of their shows so that everyone can be included.

Endearing Art Duplicated Over 450 Billion Times

On Monday, August 2, 1909, people lined up at banks and other distribution points in America’s major cities. It was an event like the country has never seen before. For the first time in the United State’s history, a coin minted for circulation was to carry the portrait of a real person. Sure, the US Mint produced a coin with other portraits, but they were commemoratives and not intended for circulation, even though some did circulate.

But this was different. This was the portrait of one of our greatest presidents. Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president, was being honored on the cent the year the country celebrated the 100th anniversary of his birth.

The new Lincoln Head Cent featured a portrait by Lithuanian immigrant, Victor David Brenner. Brenner, who came to the United States in 1890, learned engraving in New York City and spent the rest of his life honoring his adopted home with beautiful portraits of Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and other leaders.

Even with the excitement the release was not without controversy. Almost instantly, the public did not like the prominence of the artist’s initials “V.D.B.” on the reverse of the coin. On August 5, 1909, Treasury Secretary Franklin MacVeagh ordered production halted in order to remove the initials from the coin’s reverse.

When production was halted, over 27 million were struck in Philadelphia but only 484,000 were struck in San Francisco. With the rumors that the US Mint would recall the VDB cents, speculators saved as many coins as possible. But with only 484,000 minted, the 1909-S VDB became an instant key date in the new Lincoln Cent series.

Chief Engraver Charles Barber removed the initials from the master die but did not add them anywhere else claiming it would too difficult and would take too much time. When George Morgan was named Chief Engraver following Barber’s death immediately and effortlessly added Brenner’s initials to the trunk of the bust.

Brenner’s design lasted 50 years even with a one-year composition change in 1943. In order to preserve copper for the war effort, over 1 billion coins were struck in 1943 on zinc-coated steel planchets—which were not popular when they were circulated.

For the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s birthday, the US Mint’s Tenth Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro redesigned the reverse of the coin to show the Lincoln Memorial. The obverse would continue to use the Brenner portrait of Lincoln.

As we celebrate the Bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth, the reverse of the coins were redesigned for the celebration. But as it has been since it was introduced in 1909, the cents feature the portrait of Lincoln designed by Victor David Brenner.

Since August 2, 1909, the US Mint says that they have struck over 450 billion Lincoln Cents. This probably makes the Brenner portrait of Lincoln the most duplicated of any portrait in history. Talk about history in your hands!

Well... It Was Shiny

Continue to search through my change looking for 2009 coins. Since leaving Charlotte, I have not been able to find another 2009 coin.

When I go to a store, I become a little excited as the cashier hands me shiny coins. If I cannot take a quick glance, which is becoming more difficult as my eyes are showing their age, I put the coins in my pocket and check when I get home.

Earlier this week I went to a local grocery store and paid with cash. I noticed the shiny copper coin that was dropped into my hand. I looked at the coin with excitement and thought I saw a Log Cabin Lincoln Cent. But there was a line and I was in a hurry to go home.

Later that evening I emptied my pocket and found the coin. Rather than seeing a log cabin it was coat of arms. A closer look was that it said “Commonwealth of the Bahamas” with the year of 2004. The reverse of the coin has star fish and the denomination of “1 Cent.”

According to The National Bank of the Bahamas, the coin is 19.05 mm in diameter and 1.58 mm thick. The Lincoln Cent is also 19.05 mm in diameter but only 1.55 mm thick. Both coins are made from copper-plated zinc.

The Central Bank of the Bahamas ties its currency to the US Dollar making it an even exchange between the currencies. In this case, a cent is worth one cent and I broke even.

Even though it was nice to find a Bahamian coin in pocket change, I am still waiting to find my first 2009 quarter, nickel, and dime.