In 1906, Denver starts minting coins with the mint mark “D”, but there is another US mint with that mint mark before Denver. Dahlonega, GA will be the site of the United States first gold rush, 20 years before Sutter’s Mill in California. With the slogan “It’s Pure Gold”, Dahlonega has become a popular tourist attraction, just one hour north of Atlanta.
Brief History
The area around Dahlonega is originally home to the Cherokee and Creek Indians. The Cherokee name it Talonega meaning yellow, though it iss spelled Dalonige. In 1828, Benjamin Parks, who is hunting a couple of miles south of present day Dahlonega, trips over a rock which turns out to be gold. Within a year of this initial discovery, over 15,000 miners clear out the gold. These miners are illegally mining the gold because the land belong to the Cherokee as described in the Treaty of Washington 1819. After hearing arguments from the miners, the US Government move the Cherokee to modern Oklahoma. The State of Georgia founds Talonega in 1833, renaming it Dahlonega in 1837.
With gold being found in Georgia as well as North Carolina, the government decides to build new US Mint branches instead having people go to Philadelphia. In 1838, the Dahlonega mint opens to produce only Gold Coins. To distinguish between which mint certain coins come from, a “D” mint mark appears on the reverse of Dahlonega coins. The annual production of Gold Coins is significantly less than Philadelphia, making their coins more sought after. Dahlonega mints coins until the beginning of the Civil War in 1861. After the Civil War, the Charlotte and Dahlonega mints do not reopen. By then, San Francisco is minting gold coins as well as Philadelphia, and with the Intercontinental Railroad completed in 1869, there is no need to reopen them. North Georgia College buys the building in 1873, but the building burns down in 1878.
Dahlonega Today
As of the 2010 Census, Dahlonega has a population of 5,242, but gets a lot of tourists visiting the area. Besides being known for their gold, it is also the Heart of Georgia’s Wine Country. A number of vineyards and wineries have sprouted out in the area and many people go for their wine tastings.
At the Public Square is the Dahlonega Gold Museum. The building is the original country courthouse from 1836 to 1965. You can also visit some of the gold mines around the area. There is also a “Gold Rush Days” festival which occurs in October.
In place of the original mint building is the Price Memorial Hall, which still belongs to North Georgia College. In memory of the mint is a gold steeple.
Would Like to Visit Dahlonega Someday
One of my goals is to visit every mint location in the Continental US. Granted, there is no more US mint building in Dahlonega, but still would like to see the gold exhibits and gold mines. Maybe even attend the “Gold Rush Days” festival. Will you consider visit this gold mining town?