The Old Granite Lady: The San Francisco Mint
One of my favorite commemorative coins is the "Old Granite Lady", remembering the former San Francisco Mint.
My Favorite is the reverse, with the "retro" silver dollar design. It's fascinating seeing it so pristine, most coins with this design (being over 100 years old) will have some wear on it, especially in the eagle feathers. But this is perfect condition.
Any coin collector has noted that distinctive "S" mint mark, this is where most of those coins have come from.
The Old Granite Lady Today
IF I ever found myself in San Fransisco, I would tour the "Old Granite Lady" as it's being renovated. They're doing a great job and I'm happy to see it's being preserved and restored. It's a magnificent structure.
Image Courtesy Urban Explorations
Wide courtyards, tall ceilings, tall windows, spacious rooms. It's an amazing building.
Image Courtesy Urban Explorations
This was a time when wealth (silver / gold) was being transacted throughout the country. The banks and mints were providing real money with intrinsic value, unlike today's printing presses which are nothing but fancy designed stiff cloth with perfume.
Off Topic, But a Fun Theory
I have a theory that newly printed notes are infused with some sort of scent. If you've ever gotten fresh fed notes from an ATM, they're crisp with sequential serial numbers. They also have a distinct smell to them. Perhaps it's the ink that's used, perhaps it's the "paper". But my theory is that they are actually scented. Imitating the scent of an old book.
My theory is that this is done to increase the desire for these notes, making them more than just desirable for their amazing ability to trade, since "cash is king" even though cash has no cloths on.
The joke is that money smells like cocaine, but that's not true - it's an urban legend. We see movies where people snort cocaine with dollar bills, so we just assume most money has drug residue on it.
The people who design money know there is no intrinsic value, so there is a subtle attempt to create some. But only for "new" money, payday money. The kind that comes from the ATM. The kind that often gets spent within a few days. The kind that businesses will interact with, making their cash drawers smell nice.
Old money looses it's attractive scent and is not as desirable - that is old "new" money. Actual historical old money has it's own unique scent.
Do you think that money is scented? Does my fun theory hold any water?
Benjamin Turner: God fearer. Rooted in Messiah. Husband of @lturner. Father of SIX wonderful children. The guy behind the camera. Blockchain enthusiast.
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Nice coin! I'm glad they're finally really taking care of the old mint. It's a very cool building with so much history!
Yes! I agree!
Wow! I can see why it’s your favorite. I enjoyed reading all through!
Thanks for reading!
You’re welcome 🤝
Thank you for your comments, they're appreciated!
Beautiful coin, but is it silver ?
I'm glad you asked!!! Yes, it's 90% silver and 10% copper. Only 500K ever minted.
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Thanks for sharing about the "Old Granite Lady." Coins are an interesting topic of discussion on their own, and one can also delve into the meaning of money and currency.
A beautiful commemorative of the original mint.
When Canada changed over to a polymer plastic technology borrowed from the Australians, the banknotes both smelled and felt weird. I remember how some Vending machines rejected my plastic $5 note and the odd issue with the ATM.
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I like the coin!
So true!
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Old Granite Lady is a beautiful coin. Excellent for collecting !
That's a nice Commemorative Coin... I walked by the Old Mint in San Francisco quite a few years ago, but it wasn't opened for touring... I would have loved going inside... I'm a Big Fan of Coins with the San Francisco Mint Mark...
I was in San Fran some years before the pandemic, if I had time I would have loved to check out the old mint and get on a tour of the current one.