ECONOMIC ROLE

Templeton Reid 2.50 Gold Coin

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Templeton Reid 2.50 Gold Coin front
Templeton Reid 2.50 Gold Coin back
  • The first private gold coin struck in the United States, it was struck by a jeweler and gunsmith named Templeton Reid.
  • In 1830, the Constitution legalized private citizens' minting of coins.
  • In July 1830, Reid moved from Milledgeville to Gainesville, Georgia, to be near the gold mines. He advertised in the local paper that he would mint coins in three denominations: $2.50, $5, and $10. Most of the 1,500 gold coins he struck were $2.50.
  • The obverse, or front, was stamped “Georgia Gold” around the perimeter and the date—1830—in the center. The reverse, or back, of his coins was stamped T. Reid Assayer with the denomination in the center. Reid's mint in north Georgia was short lived, closing in 1831.