WORKS OF JAMES ROSS SNOWDEN ON NEWMAN PORTAL

Works of James Ross Snowden on Newman Portal

James Ross Snowden, U.S. Mint Director from 1853 to 1861, oversaw the large growth of silver coinage following the Coinage Act of 1853, the opening of the San Francisco Mint in 1855, and the 1860 creation of the Washington collection in the Mint Cabinet. The Newman Portal "Books by Author" view (accessible under "Library" from the home page) provides an "at a glance" overview of Snowden's biography (contributed by Pete Smith) and written works. The evolution is easy to see – Snowden, beginning in 1857, sought to document the operations of the Mint and the holdings of the Mint Cabinet. Clearly, he intended to leave the office more organized than he found it.

The pamphlets published from 1857-1859 (digital copies recently provided courtesy of Craig Sholley) documented internal Mint procedures, along with the related legislation from the U.S. code. The works published in 1860-1861, much more known to numismatists today, were the first comprehensive views of the Mint Cabinet (today the National Numismatic Collection). The file concludes with a little-known work from 1864, published after Snowden left office, The Coins of the Bible, and its Money Terms. Although not stated, Snowden likely drew upon the Mint Cabinet as a resource for this final work.

Image: Medal ruling of the Washington Mint Cabinet medal (Julian MT-23) from Snowden's A Description of the Medals of Washington

Link to the Snowden "Books by Author" page on Newman Portal:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/booksbyauthor/1816

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