HACKEL'S MINT RECORD DESTRUCTION Public Deposited
The E-Sylum: Volume 4, Number 22, May 27, 2001, Article 10
HACKEL'S MINT RECORD DESTRUCTION
In response to the question about Mint Director Stella Hackel's
destruction of early U.S. Mint records, R. W. Julian writes:
"The facts of the matter are as follows:1) In 1984 I was planning a trip to Washington to do research
in the Archives but thought a visit to the GSA record center in
Philadelphia might be of value. I asked Eleonora Hayden, then
Mint Historian, to obtain for me the necessary written
permission from the Bureau.2) There was some delay in obtaining permission (for technical
reasons) but while I was in Washington permission was
received.3) I then went up to Philadelphia where I planned to read
Philadelphia Mint letters and ledgers for various years through
about 1935.4) When I arrived at the Records Center I was informed that
Stella Hackel had destroyed the records in 1978 and I was
shown a thick sheaf of destruct orders that had been kept on
file. Hackel used one of her office staff to sign off on the
destruction and then went to an Archives employee to get
the necessary authorization from that quarter. No effort was
made by Hackel to consult with Miss Hayden or the people
in the Archives who actually dealt with such records. It was
done in secret and those who should have been informed
were deliberately kept in the dark.5) I then returned to Washington on other matters. I informed
Miss Hayden of the destruction; it was all news to her. I
found out later that Donna Pope had reversed the policy but
Hackel seems to have destroyed most of the working mint
records from 1900 through at least 1960 and perhaps as late
as 1970. I also informed the proper people in the Archives,
who were equally in the dark; they had been expecting this
material to be sent down in due course.6) About two years ago a friend asked Hackel why she had
destroyed the records. She claimed that she could not
remember the matter at all.7) Eva Adams also destroyed records but not to as great an
extent. One record that she trashed, for example, was a die
record book which listed every die made from 1844 to 1925.
Her assistant, speaking for her, said that collectors had no
legitimate interest in such matters and that I must be a front
for a counterfeiting gang. I filed an Freedom of Information
Act request but Adams replied, a year later, that it was an
internal memo and thus off-limits.When Mary Brooks became director she had, at my request,
a search made for this book but it could not be found; she did
find many other records of value which were made available to
me."- 2001-05-27
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