You will find references in various treasure magazines and online sites that there was a Mint at Mount Ophir- in fact the illustrious clampers even put a dedication to" the mint" in 1936---- Most of the locals and others do not support the fact that there ever was a mint there at all. I will be doing some research of the materials at the History Center on this subject- Here is the Malakoff site on the subject- http://malakoff.com/moar.htm Assorted Ruins Assorted ruins are scattered about the area here, on both sides of the creek. Some sources allege that one of these ruins housed a private mint operated by John L. Moffat, where he supposedly struck some of the famous octangular $50 gold “slugs” prized by collectors of California Territorial gold. Alas, this is not so. While Moffat was a major stockholder in the Merced Mining Company, which had purchased “Quartz” Johnson’s Mount Ophir mine on March 4 of 1851, there is no evidence to support the story of a mint being located at Mount Ophir. The confusion probably arises from the fact that while Moffat was an owner in the Merced Mining Company, he was also still the principal in Moffat & Co., a private mint located in San Francisco which was producing the $50 gold pieces under contract for the U. S. Assay Office. Carolyn

Carolyn, I saw a documentary on the U.S. Mint and the gold rush on the History Channel sometime back. It seems that private mints were opened and used although it was not really legal. They had great difficulty getting coinage from the east Coast to the West Coast. Gold was heavy and transportation to a legal mint very slow and cumbersome. Shipping at the beginning of the Rush was a problem too. So I believe a fellow in San Francisco (banker) opened the Other Mint. The coins made there were acceptable coinage. In fact people copied it in lead and dipped in gold--first case of counter fit money and believe that was what the 'slug' was. Later the S.F. mint was opened. Perhaps if you check the USMINT.gov (something like that) you would be able to find out. Harriet (back but not caught up yet) -----Original Message----- From: Carolyn Feroben [mailto:Sweetwater@Sierratel.com] Sent: Friday, April 20, 2001 4:42 PM To: CAMARIPO-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [CAMARIPO] MOUNT OPHIR MINT MYTH You will find references in various treasure magazines and online sites that there was a Mint at Mount Ophir- in fact the illustrious clampers even put a dedication to" the mint" in 1936---- Most of the locals and others do not support the fact that there ever was a mint there at all. I will be doing some research of the materials at the History Center on this subject- Here is the Malakoff site on the subject- http://malakoff.com/moar.htm Assorted Ruins Assorted ruins are scattered about the area here, on both sides of the creek. Some sources allege that one of these ruins housed a private mint operated by John L. Moffat, where he supposedly struck some of the famous octangular $50 gold “slugs” prized by collectors of California Territorial gold. Alas, this is not so. While Moffat was a major stockholder in the Merced Mining Company, which had purchased “Quartz” Johnson’s Mount Ophir mine on March 4 of 1851, there is no evidence to support the story of a mint being located at Mount Ophir. The confusion probably arises from the fact that while Moffat was an owner in the Merced Mining Company, he was also still the principal in Moffat & Co., a private mint located in San Francisco which was producing the $50 gold pieces under contract for the U. S. Assay Office. Carolyn ==== CAMARIPO Mailing List ==== If you have any good California History or Genealogy Links let us know!

Hello Carolyn, Regarding the Mt. Opher Mine and possible mint, I recall seeing a small rock building on the hill about a block west of the creek, that may have been used for a smelter. This was more than forty years ago. At that time, there was also the remains of a boiler. Ed ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carolyn Feroben" <Sweetwater@sierratel.com> To: <CAMARIPO-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, April 20, 2001 4:41 PM Subject: [CAMARIPO] MOUNT OPHIR MINT MYTH You will find references in various treasure magazines and online sites that there was a Mint at Mount Ophir- in fact the illustrious clampers even put a dedication to" the mint" in 1936---- Most of the locals and others do not support the fact that there ever was a mint there at all. I will be doing some research of the materials at the History Center on this subject- Here is the Malakoff site on the subject- http://malakoff.com/moar.htm Assorted Ruins Assorted ruins are scattered about the area here, on both sides of the creek. Some sources allege that one of these ruins housed a private mint operated by John L. Moffat, where he supposedly struck some of the famous octangular $50 gold "slugs" prized by collectors of California Territorial gold. Alas, this is not so. While Moffat was a major stockholder in the Merced Mining Company, which had purchased "Quartz" Johnson's Mount Ophir mine on March 4 of 1851, there is no evidence to support the story of a mint being located at Mount Ophir. The confusion probably arises from the fact that while Moffat was an owner in the Merced Mining Company, he was also still the principal in Moffat & Co., a private mint located in San Francisco which was producing the $50 gold pieces under contract for the U. S. Assay Office. Carolyn ==== CAMARIPO Mailing List ==== If you have any good California History or Genealogy Links let us know!