James Crawford
September 1874 – March 1885

By September of 1874, the Carson Mint was in desperate need of a capable leader. The government, which never fully viewed Nevada’s mint as a credible establishment in the first place, was quickly losing its patience with the perceived dysfunction at the Carson coin factory. Senator John P. Jones, who, in only his second year in office, was busy promoting his bill for a new twenty-cent piece denomination, realized that if the right man was not put in the superintendent’s chair at the local mint, the state could very well lose its cherished institution. There was already talk of closing down the Carson Mint and establishing a new branch in the Mississippi River Valley.

Jones believed that he had met the right man for the job, and when he nominated James Crawford for the position, you could almost hear the residents of Carson City shout out in a unified voice, “Now you’re talking!” For, James Crawford had risen in status in recent years, as a state assemblyman from Lyon County and as a superintendent at the prestigious Rock Point Mill in Dayton, Nevada.

President Grant quickly approved Crawford’s appointment and in September 1874, the Carson Mint welcomed its fourth superintendent in less then five years. It became immediately apparent that James Crawford was cut out of the right cloth, as he began organizing operations at the mint in a determined, systematic style.

First on his list, was the staffing of every major department with the right person. For some of the positions, he promoted from within the current ranks, and for some he brought in good friends from the outside whom he knew he could trust. By year’s end, Crawford believed that he had a qualified staff that was capable of bigger and better things.

It is tempting here to craft a narrative relating every major accomplishment and covering all aspects of Crawford’s very interesting life. Indeed, a book could be written on the subject. And, indeed, a book has been written, entitled James Crawford: Master of the Mint at Carson City – A Short Full Life. It contains 660 pages, chronicling Crawford’s birth in Kentucky; all the way through his tenure at the Carson City Mint. It is at the printer’s now, and if all goes well (knock on wood), it should be ready to be shipped by the first of July. So, if you want to learn more about James Crawford, please consider ordering a copy of my new book (ordering information can be found by clicking here).

For now, here are but a few brief highlights of Crawford’s career at the mint:

He supervised more tenant improvements at the Carson coin plant during his ten-and-a-half years in office than all other superintendents put together. He was successful in acquiring two new coin presses, bringing the total to three, to be used at the Carson Mint. From 1875 through 1878, the mint produced more coins than at anytime in its history, with 1876 and 1877 being the peak years. Most significant of all the coins ever produced under Crawford’s superintendency were the 1876-CC twenty-cent pieces, of which only eighteen or so survive today (2018), making this one of the most desirable as well as most expensive items (approximate value in 2018: $150,000-$1,000,000) in the field of numismatics.

Crawford was at the helm when the first twenty-cent pieces were struck in 1875 and when the first Morgan silver dollars were struck in 1878. He appeared as a witness in an investigation hearing that examined charges against Superintendent H. L. Dodge at the San Francisco Mint; and he appeared as a defendant at an investigation hearing at the Carson Mint examining charges of impropriety against him and his chief clerk, T. R. Hofer.

The only thing that ended Crawford’s term in office as superintendent was his death in 1885. If you want to learn more about him, please buy the book.