North Carolina’s
Private Mint
Tlio story of tlie Bechtlcrs niul their
lioiiest-ivckig‘lit dollars.
In 1830. Christopher Bcchtlcr and
his son Augustus, skilled German me¬
tallurgists. came to Rutherford County,
later bringing distinction to that county
by operating the first mint in the United
States to coin a gold dollar, and the
only privately-operated mint ever to be
operated in the United States. More
gold was coined by the Bcchtlcr mint
than at any other, with the exception
of the United States mint itself.
At that time this was the center of
the United States gold mining area.
Soon after settling at Rutherford, it
occurred to the elder Bechtler that
there should be some other medium
of exchange other than gold dust. State
currency at that time was rare and
the nearest government mint was at
Philadelphia.'
Started His Mint in 1831
So, in the early part of 1831. Chris¬
topher Bechtler began to coin SI. 00.
S2.50 and $5.00 pieces from native
gold. At that time, there were no strin¬
gent laws against the coinage of gold
and silver.
On August 27. 1831, Bechtler in¬
serted in the Carolina Spectator and
Western Adviser published at Ruther-
fordton. an advertisement soliciting
the gold coinage business of the miners
of South Carolina and Georgia. The
concluding paragraph of the advertise¬
ment ran thus:
"He has on hand a handsome as¬
sortment of jewelry, watches, etc. Any
particular kind of jewelry will he exe¬
cuted to order in neatest and most
skillful manner."
It is said that there was no kind of
jewelry that the Bcchtlcrs could not
make, no matter how intricate
the design. Watch chains, necklaces,
brooches, rings, collar buttons and cuff
buttons are some of the articles they
made. They were also efficient gun¬
smiths. having invented a device to
fire a rifle at the rate of eight shots
a minute. These were very popular
with hunters.
In addition to his operations
as a minter and jeweler. Christopher
Bechtler also did some prospecting on
the property where his home was
located, on the Ruthcrfordton-Marion
highway, about six miles from Ruther-
fordton.
Bechtler coins were of various sizes
and weights but of only three denomi¬
nations, $1.00, $2.50 and $5.00. The
wide variety in size and weights of
the coins was because Bechtler used
the exact amount of gold necessary
to make the coins assay to their gold
standard. Some gold, being inferior in
quality to others and containing more
foreign matter, naturally weighed
more.
Other Differences
There was a difference, too, in the
color, the gold from South Carolina
and the mountain counties of North
Carolina being of a dull color while
that from Georgia and Central North
Carolina was a bright yellow.
The Bechtlcrs were natives of the
Grand Duchy of Baden. Accompany¬
ing Christopher Bcchtlcr and his son
to America were another son. Charles,
and a nephew, Christopher. Jr. The
records do not state where he left his
wife but she did not accompany him
to Ruthcrfordton. Three years after
coming to Ruthcrfordton, the elder
Christopher and Augustus became
naturalized citizens.
Augustus at that time was only 19
years of age, a jolly, companionable
sort of person, passionately fond of
hunting. He was a handsome boy,
heavily built and with dark com¬
plexion.
His father was quite different in
character, being quiet and reticent and
unusually superstitious.
Christopher, Jr., the nephew, was
like his uncle, avoiding people. He was
an incessant smoker and drinker, often
drinking from eight to sixteen glasses
of beer a day.
Soon after coming to Rutherfordton.
the second son, Charles, committed
suicide when he learned that the
woman he had married was unvirtuous.
Continued Operations of Mint
At the death of Christopher, Sr.. Au¬
gustus moved to Rutherfordton, on
Highway 20. on the corner of what is
now Sixth and North Washington
streets. Until his death several years
later, he continued to coin gold and
make jewelry. Christopher, Jr., carried
on his work for a short time after the
death of Augustus but because of
lack of interest, he soon gave it up
and moved to Spartanburg. South
Carolina.
The press used by the Bechtlcrs is
on display in the Hall of Numismatic
History in New York. The North Caro¬
lina Hall of History has some of the
dies they used while others arc owned
by South Carolina and Georgia de¬
scendants of the Bechtlers.
Good specimens of Bcchtlcr coins
arc rare today and bring up to $100
or more. Many of them were re-coined
when the Charlotte mint was estab¬
lished in 1837 while others of the
coins were carried West when the west¬
ward trek began.
From January, 1831, to February.
1840, Christopher Bechtler’s books
showed that during his nine years of
coining operations, he coined $2,241,-
850.50, a total of $3,625,840 in gold
having passed through his hands. Of
this amount a little more than $2,000,-
000 was coined for the United States
mint.
The bodies of Christopher and
Charles Bechtler were buried near the
old home place but were later moved
to a Northern state and reinterred.
to
THE STATE. AuOUST 31. 1963