A bit off topic, but still related to the mining era of the 1800's. There is an article posted in the San Francisco Chronicle with photos of the old San Francisco Mint.
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/...10/05/12/OLDMINT.DTL
The mint has been closed and will eventually be turned into a museum once enough money is raised. I was actually able to go on a tour there last fall. Scott Griffin of Griffin Coins started a bi-annual coin show at the mint. It's an interesting place to have a coin show while walking through all the old rooms of the mint.
A couple of highlights from the photos that I remember from the tour:
Photo 2 & 4 - the entire basement was turned into vaults. The storage rooms had their windows bricked up and the walls lined with steel. And, vault doors were added. The vaults held bags of coins floor to ceiling
Photo 10 - you can see coin indentations along all of the metal walls of the vaults. The bags were so heavy and put so much pressure on the steel walls, they left marks. The entire steel wall have rim marks from coins, floor to ceiling.
Photo 15 - this is a false floor covering the bottom floor of the courtyard. When the federal government took it over it the 70's, they closed off the bottom of the courtyard and build more office or work space on the lower floor.
Photo 18 & 32 - all of that ornate decoration and trim on the walls is actually steel. None of it is wood. All of the rooms could be locked up and the steel walls deterred anybody from getting through. The catwalk around the top was for the armed police to walk around and make sure nothing happened when business was being conducted. This is one of the main rooms off the front entrance.
If you ever get a chance to go during one of the coin shows, it's definitely worth the trip. The tour is a wonderful chance to hear about the history of the mint, how it survived the earthquake, and how it has been used over the year.
Mike Wagner
