Christopher Bechtler, Sr.
photo from: http://visitncgold.com/home
In 1830, the United States
refused to put a mint in the southern
states after multiple appeals. Meanwhile, an immigrant from Germany moved in with plans on staying. Christopher Bechtler, 47, and his sons, Augustus and Charles, and a nephew Carl, landed in New York. They immediately applied for
citizenship and headed to Rutherfordton, NC. Carl changed his name to Christopher, so the two Christophers distinguished themselves by Senior and Junior.
“Naturalization papers granting U.S. citizenship to Christopher Bechtler, Sr., to Augustus, and to Christopher Bechtler, Jr., numerous deeds and other land records, Christopher Bechtler, Sr.’s last will and testament, and an inventory list of property assembled following his death were all filed at the court house in Rutherfordton. Many of those records survive today” (Production Partners Underwriters, 2011).
Upon arriving in Rutherfordton, the Bechtlers opened a jewelry and clock-making store. Senior began buying land in the
gold-mining areas of Rutherford County. “Deed books from the 1830s show that Bechtler purchased several thousand acres of land over the next few years, always along a stream or river where gold was most likely to be found” (Production Partners Underwriters, 2011). It could be said he caught the gold fever.
One year after arriving in Rutherfordton, Bechtler was mining gold in such a huge manner, he used a stamp mill, “more often used in vein mining of rock than in placer mining” (Production Partners Underwriters, 2011).
refused to put a mint in the southern
states after multiple appeals. Meanwhile, an immigrant from Germany moved in with plans on staying. Christopher Bechtler, 47, and his sons, Augustus and Charles, and a nephew Carl, landed in New York. They immediately applied for
citizenship and headed to Rutherfordton, NC. Carl changed his name to Christopher, so the two Christophers distinguished themselves by Senior and Junior.
“Naturalization papers granting U.S. citizenship to Christopher Bechtler, Sr., to Augustus, and to Christopher Bechtler, Jr., numerous deeds and other land records, Christopher Bechtler, Sr.’s last will and testament, and an inventory list of property assembled following his death were all filed at the court house in Rutherfordton. Many of those records survive today” (Production Partners Underwriters, 2011).
Upon arriving in Rutherfordton, the Bechtlers opened a jewelry and clock-making store. Senior began buying land in the
gold-mining areas of Rutherford County. “Deed books from the 1830s show that Bechtler purchased several thousand acres of land over the next few years, always along a stream or river where gold was most likely to be found” (Production Partners Underwriters, 2011). It could be said he caught the gold fever.
One year after arriving in Rutherfordton, Bechtler was mining gold in such a huge manner, he used a stamp mill, “more often used in vein mining of rock than in placer mining” (Production Partners Underwriters, 2011).
The Bechtler House
photo from: http://goldfever.unctv.org/rutherfordton
“A two-story, frame house was built for the
Bechtler family on North
Washington Street [Rutherfordton, NC] in 1838…The Bechtler Home originally consisted of two rooms and a wide center hall on each floor. Surviving architectural details from the 1830s include fluted door and window moldings and stylized Greek Revival mantels. In the years following the Civil War a dining room wing was added to the home. Other additions were made in the early 20th century. Late Victorian era trim survives in the downstairs main hall and on the front porch. The home was repositioned to face Sixth Street [Rutherfordton, NC] in 1926” (Production Partners Underwriters, 2011). This home was the center of his operations. There was a house fire that caused him to do his minting in a shed built over a cellar (Griffin, 1977).
While the Bechtlers operated in Rutherfordton, there were no laws against minting gold and silver, only copper. Treasury officials made an investigation of the Bechtlers in 1834, but found the coins were heavier than those made by the U.S. Because
the U.S. had not set up a mint in the south, the investigators agreed to allow continuation of this mint. A few years later, however, Congress put into operation a U.S. mint in Charlotte (Griffin, 1977).
Bechtler family on North
Washington Street [Rutherfordton, NC] in 1838…The Bechtler Home originally consisted of two rooms and a wide center hall on each floor. Surviving architectural details from the 1830s include fluted door and window moldings and stylized Greek Revival mantels. In the years following the Civil War a dining room wing was added to the home. Other additions were made in the early 20th century. Late Victorian era trim survives in the downstairs main hall and on the front porch. The home was repositioned to face Sixth Street [Rutherfordton, NC] in 1926” (Production Partners Underwriters, 2011). This home was the center of his operations. There was a house fire that caused him to do his minting in a shed built over a cellar (Griffin, 1977).
While the Bechtlers operated in Rutherfordton, there were no laws against minting gold and silver, only copper. Treasury officials made an investigation of the Bechtlers in 1834, but found the coins were heavier than those made by the U.S. Because
the U.S. had not set up a mint in the south, the investigators agreed to allow continuation of this mint. A few years later, however, Congress put into operation a U.S. mint in Charlotte (Griffin, 1977).
Watch The Bechtler House in Rutherfordton, NC on PBS. See more from Gold Fever and the Bechtler Mint.
" > http://goldfever.unctv.org/video
Bechtler's Business
photo from: http://goldfever.unctv.org/bechtler
Christopher Bechtler put an advertisement in the North
Carolina Spectator and Western Advertiser on July 2, 1831, announcing he would coin the gold from the mines into $2.50 and $5 pieces. He also put in the announcement his establishment was just a few miles north of Rutherfordton. The editor of the paper commented on Bechtler’s ad saying he had seen Bechtler’s work, and while it wasn’t as fancy as they would have liked, there would be improvements. Some people became suspicious when the felt some coins were heavier than others. When tested, every one of Bechtler’s coins had exactly the right amount in them. “Never was there the slightest hint of dishonesty on the part of Christopher and Augustus Bechtler. They died poor but highly respected” (Griffin, 1977, p. 199). It would have been very easy for the Bechtlers to have added an alloy, platina to the gold, putting some of the gold into their own pockets.
G.W. Featherstonhaugh visited Bechtler in 1837 and gave an account of his visit and conversation: “Christopher Bechtler’s maxim was that honesty was the best policy; and that maxim appeared to govern his conduct. I was never so pleased with observing transactions of business as those I saw at his house
during the time I was there. Several country people came in with rough gold to be left for coinage. He weighed it before them and entered it in his book…To others he delivered the coin he had struck. The most perfect confidence prevailed betwixt them, and the transactions were conducted with…simplicity” (Griffin, 1977, p. 201).
In 1831, Bechtler announced he would turn raw gold into $1 coins. This was an astonishing 17 years before the U.S. mint would follow suit. The Bechtlers used machinery they personally made to make $2.50 and $5 coins. “Their coin designs were simple, having only the Bechtler name, the value, purity, and location” (Production Partners Underwriters, 2011). There were separate dies for each of the three denominations of coins ($1, $2.50, $5). The machinery has since been scattered into several states: North Carolina, New York, Georgia, and South Carolina (Griffin, 1977).
Carolina Spectator and Western Advertiser on July 2, 1831, announcing he would coin the gold from the mines into $2.50 and $5 pieces. He also put in the announcement his establishment was just a few miles north of Rutherfordton. The editor of the paper commented on Bechtler’s ad saying he had seen Bechtler’s work, and while it wasn’t as fancy as they would have liked, there would be improvements. Some people became suspicious when the felt some coins were heavier than others. When tested, every one of Bechtler’s coins had exactly the right amount in them. “Never was there the slightest hint of dishonesty on the part of Christopher and Augustus Bechtler. They died poor but highly respected” (Griffin, 1977, p. 199). It would have been very easy for the Bechtlers to have added an alloy, platina to the gold, putting some of the gold into their own pockets.
G.W. Featherstonhaugh visited Bechtler in 1837 and gave an account of his visit and conversation: “Christopher Bechtler’s maxim was that honesty was the best policy; and that maxim appeared to govern his conduct. I was never so pleased with observing transactions of business as those I saw at his house
during the time I was there. Several country people came in with rough gold to be left for coinage. He weighed it before them and entered it in his book…To others he delivered the coin he had struck. The most perfect confidence prevailed betwixt them, and the transactions were conducted with…simplicity” (Griffin, 1977, p. 201).
In 1831, Bechtler announced he would turn raw gold into $1 coins. This was an astonishing 17 years before the U.S. mint would follow suit. The Bechtlers used machinery they personally made to make $2.50 and $5 coins. “Their coin designs were simple, having only the Bechtler name, the value, purity, and location” (Production Partners Underwriters, 2011). There were separate dies for each of the three denominations of coins ($1, $2.50, $5). The machinery has since been scattered into several states: North Carolina, New York, Georgia, and South Carolina (Griffin, 1977).
Bechtler's Bucks
photo from: http://goldfever.unctv.org/easy-gallery/3
The Bechtler coins outnumbered the U.S. coins in the south for a few reasons.
First, there was no way to make copies of these, ruling out chances of
counterfeit coins. Second,
Bechtler coins were often of better value than U.S. coins.
“In little more than a decade, the Bechtlers recorded the minting of $2,241,840 in gold coins, and fluxed an additional $1,384,000 in raw gold. In their most active period, from August 1836 to May 1838, the Bechtlers minted approximately $770,239.50 in gold coins. That sum was astronomical for the period. By contrast, North Carolina’s recorded revenue for 1835 was a mere $71,740. As might be expected, the Bechtler Mint’s impact on the region’s economy was remarkable” (Production Partners Underwriters, 2011).
Bechtler coins were used at face value in North and South Carolinas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. The coins were kept and taken with people as they moved. Though they had no official guarantee of purity, they were accepted by
all. When the government mints received them, they re-minted them. Most of the coins have been re-coined to United States pieces. Few can be found today, as families kept them as keepsakes (Griffin, 1977).
The Bechtlers gave Rutherfordton, NC several distinctions. Theirs was the, “Only private mint ever operated in the southeastern United States, and which produced more gold coinage than any other similar institution, except the United States mint” (Griffin, 1977, p. 195). The Bechtlers also caused Rutherfordton to have the first mint in the nation to coin a gold dollar (Griffin, 1977).
First, there was no way to make copies of these, ruling out chances of
counterfeit coins. Second,
Bechtler coins were often of better value than U.S. coins.
“In little more than a decade, the Bechtlers recorded the minting of $2,241,840 in gold coins, and fluxed an additional $1,384,000 in raw gold. In their most active period, from August 1836 to May 1838, the Bechtlers minted approximately $770,239.50 in gold coins. That sum was astronomical for the period. By contrast, North Carolina’s recorded revenue for 1835 was a mere $71,740. As might be expected, the Bechtler Mint’s impact on the region’s economy was remarkable” (Production Partners Underwriters, 2011).
Bechtler coins were used at face value in North and South Carolinas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. The coins were kept and taken with people as they moved. Though they had no official guarantee of purity, they were accepted by
all. When the government mints received them, they re-minted them. Most of the coins have been re-coined to United States pieces. Few can be found today, as families kept them as keepsakes (Griffin, 1977).
The Bechtlers gave Rutherfordton, NC several distinctions. Theirs was the, “Only private mint ever operated in the southeastern United States, and which produced more gold coinage than any other similar institution, except the United States mint” (Griffin, 1977, p. 195). The Bechtlers also caused Rutherfordton to have the first mint in the nation to coin a gold dollar (Griffin, 1977).
Guns and Jewels
photo from: http://goldfever.unctv.org/bechtler
The Bechtlers made jewelry and guns as well as coins. The guns they made were in high demand by hunters.
In Christopher Bechtler’s will, he requested that his wife have enough of his capital to not be a burden to their children. He also requested that whatever he had left be split between his children.
Christopher died in 1842, leaving Augustus with the business.
When he died in 1846, Christopher Jr. took over. These Bechtlers were buried near their home in Rutherfordton, but later, relatives moved the bodies to northern states.
No one lists an exact date of the closing of the mint, but the best guess is 1850. “The Bechtlers contributed much in an economic way to the development of commerce and trade…they worked in their own sphere for the sole joy of working, and thus fulfilled the great mission of life. That they died in semi-poverty should be a monument to their integrity and trustworthiness”
(Griffin, 1977, p. 204).
In Christopher Bechtler’s will, he requested that his wife have enough of his capital to not be a burden to their children. He also requested that whatever he had left be split between his children.
Christopher died in 1842, leaving Augustus with the business.
When he died in 1846, Christopher Jr. took over. These Bechtlers were buried near their home in Rutherfordton, but later, relatives moved the bodies to northern states.
No one lists an exact date of the closing of the mint, but the best guess is 1850. “The Bechtlers contributed much in an economic way to the development of commerce and trade…they worked in their own sphere for the sole joy of working, and thus fulfilled the great mission of life. That they died in semi-poverty should be a monument to their integrity and trustworthiness”
(Griffin, 1977, p. 204).