The Lost Mint of Manhattan: Rediscovering New York's Forgotten Branch Mint
September 24, 2026, 12 p.m. MT
Every collector knows the story of America's eight United States Mints, but few realize that a ninth mint nearly joined their ranks. During the mid-nineteenth century, as New York emerged as the nation's financial capital, federal officials, Treasury administrators, and members of Congress spent more than a decade studying and debating the establishment of a United States Branch Mint in New York City.
Long overlooked by both historians and numismatists, this remarkable chapter of American coinage history was rediscovered through archival research conducted using primary-source government documents, Treasury correspondence, and congressional records. What began as a chance encounter with a forgotten report soon revealed a complex story of politics, commerce, bullion deposits, and competing regional interests at a pivotal moment in American history.
Join researcher and author Russ Bega as he traces the rise, development, and ultimate disappearance of New York's proposed branch mint. Through contemporary documents and newly uncovered evidence, attendees will explore one of the most fascinating "what if" stories in American numismatics and discover how close New York came to receiving its own mint mark.
Russ Bega began collecting U.S. coins when he was 8 years old after a trip to his local coin shop in Northern Colorado. He was previously employed by Heritage Auction Galleries, before departing on a decade-long career as a US Army Infantry Non-Commissioned Officer. In 2021, he joined the Harlan J. Berk team in Chicago, IL, where he is now the store manager. His specialty is Liberty Seated coins and 19th-century numismatics.
