THE CARSON CITY MINT COINAGE COLLECTION Público Deposited
The E-Sylum: Volume 8, Number 41, September 25, 2005, Article 9
THE CARSON CITY MINT COINAGE COLLECTION
Hal V. Dunn writes: "Regarding the Carson City Mint coin
collection held by the Nevada State Museum, the high value of
the collection is not the reason it is not currently on display. The
museum is undergoing some renovation, including the vault that
has housed this collection since the late 1980s. For several months
it has not been possible to view the collection, however, when the
renovations are complete I have been assured the collection will
be back on display. Normally the entire 109 piece collection is
housed in specially made holders that are suspended in the vault
behind bullet resistant glass and protected by alarm systems. It
is unfortunate that some visitors to this great western treasure
have been unable to view the collection.The collection contains 109 specimens of the 111 coins struck at
the Carson City Mint. It is missing only the 1873-CC No Arrows
dime and the 1873-CC No Arrows quarter. Formed by the late
Norman H. Biltz of Reno, in 1971 it was sold for a fraction of its
value to the old First National Bank of Nevada. By the terms of
the agreement the bank must never sell the collection, the collection
must never leave Nevada, and it must be displayed on a regular
basis. The agreement was drawn by John M. “Jack” Barry, a
prominent Reno attorney and member of the 1967 Annual Assay
Commission. Wells Fargo became the successor to FNB. In
December 1999, after being on loan for display in the museum, the
collection was donated by Wells Fargo to the State of Nevada.
On August 28, 2004, during the annual Carson City Mint Coin
Show, for the first time in history, specimens of all 111 coins were
on display together, when Rusty Goe of Reno displayed the two
No Arrows coins together with the 109 specimens collected by Biltz.
That was an event that will probably never be duplicated."- 2005-09-25
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