A BRIEF HISTORY OF CLIMATE AND COINS
Impact and In uence Over the Ages
Over the past thousand years, there have been swings in the climate directly a ecting daily life. However, it has only been in rare instances that the climate has directly a ected the coinage of nations, especially that of the United States and Europe. Beginning in A.D. 900, there was distinct warming of Earth, resulting, for example, in Eric the Red advertising Greenland as an ideal place for Scandinavian settlers. A er 1300, however, the Earth grew colder and was a critical factor in the destruction of that colony. From 1300 to 1800, the world cooled down, and during the 1500s, Europe and America were increasingly cold, making it di cult in some years to grow enough food. Since 1800, we have been experiencing gradual warming, with the year 2000 perhaps at the height of this latest swing in climate. ere are no known examples of these climate swings in uencing the coinage in ancient times, but the cold a ecting Europe and the Americas in the 1600s does lead to speculation. It is well known that silver and gold mines o en have tunnels deep in the earth, and the silver mines of Potosí (in modern-day Bolivia) were at a high altitude and thus much colder than the lowlands. In an ironic sense, the forced labor used in these mines during the 1600s, therefore, might actually have had some warmth compared to those on the outside. e United States Mint at Philadelphia was a ected by climate and weather conditions, though not in a normal sense. In 1793, it was the victim of a tragic combination of events, including climate, over which it had no control. It all began in 1789. France, under King Louis XVI in the 1770s and early 1780s, had aided the American patriots in their ght to become independent of Great Britain. e American Revolution was successful, in great part due to the men and money provided by France. However, that e ort cost France dearly, and the large sums involved meant that the royal government was close to bankruptcy. Economic problems created instability in French society, and in July 1789, mobs attacked the Bastille prison in Paris, a symbol of the royal government. is, in turn, led to civil war and the brutal execution of the king and queen in 1793. By the early 1790s, the discord had reached French possessions in the Caribbean, in particular, the Island of Hispaniola. e western part of the island in particular (now Haiti), had sugar plantations owned by French families and manned by slaves. In due course, slaves learned of the monarchy being overthrown in France and decided that they could do the same. e result was a massive slave uprising in which large
numbers died on both sides. By the spring of 1793, however, the slaves were clearly winning, and French families ed the island. Many of these refugees came to Philadelphia, where their lives would be safe, although of course other cities, such as Baltimore, received their share of former Hispaniola residents.
ough unknown at the time, refugees brought with them unwanted guests, mosquitoes well infected with Yellow Fever. When the refugees arrived in Philadelphia, the weather had well prepared for the worst. e spring and summer of 1793 had seen more rain than usual, leaving ponds throughout the city which were ready to receive the mosquitos and help spread the dreaded disease.
In late July, the Mint was busy with half cents, striking nearly 32,000 pieces in ve days of intensive coining. e workmen then began to prepare for a resumption of the cent coinage, in abeyance since early June.
Unfortunately, it was just at this time that the Yellow Fever killing machine began its deadly Philadelphia rampage. e rst deaths came at the beginning of August, and the intensity slowly built up over the next several weeks. During August, the Mint was beginning to prepare more planchets, both for the cent and half cent, though the cent was more important. ese preparations for a resumption of the coinage were made against a backdrop of ever-increasing fatalities from the Yellow Fever, fueled by the climate. At the same time, Mint Director David Rittenhouse was able to persuade famed artist Joseph Wright to join the Mint sta as engraver; prior to that time, Chief Coiner Henry Voight, with the help of a workman, had prepared the working dies used for the cent and half cent coinages. During the latter part of August and early September, Mint workmen slowly prepared the cent and half cent planchets. Just over 11,000 cent blanks were made, and a mere 3,500 or so were made for the half cent. is was not a good showing for the several weeks of work involved, and there is little doubt that the increasing danger from the Yellow Fever a ected work output.
In the meantime, the engraver, Joseph Wright prepared
new dies for the cent coinage. His design is now called the Liberty Cap cent, as there is a cap behind the head of Liberty. is design was used well into 1796 when it was replaced by the Draped Bust head of liberty.
By early September, there was real concern about the safety of the workmen and o cers at the Mint. At mid-month, Rittenhouse ordered that the planchets on hand be struck and they were, with 11,056 cents and 3,400 half cents delivered to the treasurer of the mint.
e Mint was then locked down, and the o cers and workmen headed for safer localities.
Had the Yellow Fever not attacked Philadelphia in the fall of 1793, there is little doubt that the
1793 Liberty Cap cent coinage would have been much larger. is is a rare coin with perhaps only about
250 pieces known to exist; for this reason, and its association with Joseph Wright, the book values are very high. If the mintage had been normal (with no Yellow
Fever interference) it would be a much more common coin.
Unfortunately, the engraver, Joseph
Wright, did not leave quickly enough and both he and his wife came down with the disease.
It proved fatal to both.
e Mint was closed until early November 1793. Upon reopening, it took time to repair the ravages of the Yellow Fever and its e ect on workmen and o cers.
Had it not been for this terrible disease, there is little doubt that the Mint would have been able to strike and issue many more coins for public use.
e 1793 Yellow Fever attack was perhaps the worst in terms of interfering with the coinage, but outbreaks of the disease in 1797, 1798, 1799, and 1803 were also a problem. e worst of these latter attacks was 1798 when the death toll in Philadelphia was again several thousand. e year 1797 was almost as bad and even included the treasurer of the mint, Dr. Nicholas Way; the latter felt it his duty as a physician to stay and tend to the sick but he caught the disease and also died.
A er 1803, the Yellow Fever did not again close the Philadelphia Mint, although there were occasional close calls.
City o cials a er 1803 had begun to realize that open water ponds might have something to do with Yellow Fever and made e orts to control the breeding grounds for mosquitoes. e weather and illness a ecting coinage are not seen again until 1838 when the newly-opened New Orleans Mint was forced to close in the fall thofofthatyearbecauseofthe of that year because of the Yellow Fever. e city is in a low-lying and marshy area, perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes in the warm air that surrounded and envel-envel-envelenveloped the city throughout the summer and fall. Because of the
Yellow Fever, coinage was curtailed in the fall of 1838 at New Orleans and several succeeding years; for 1838, this resulted in many fewer dimes being struck than otherwise would have been the case. e half dime was also a ected, the rst coinage not coming until January 1839. e fall of 1839 was especially bad at New Orleans, as both workmen and o cers fell victim to the Yellow Fever scourge. roughout the 1840s and 1850s, New Orleans coinage was disrupted by Yellow Fever but this ended in
1861 when the Civil War began. e new Confederate government seized the New Orleans Mint, ending coinage until it was reopened in 1879.