Christopher (alias Christian) Bechtler (1782–1843) was a German-born American

goldsmith A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and servicea ...

and

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their part ...

. He produced defined

gold dollar The gold dollar or gold one-dollar piece is a gold coin that was struck as a regular issue by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1849 to 1889. The coin had three types over its lifetime, all designed by Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longa ...

s known as Bechtler Dollars, in the early 1830s and by 1840, before the US government itself started to produce

s in 1849.Coin Community: Gold Dollar Liberty Head Type 1 History
Retrieved September 9, 2006. The site of his mint is designated the Bechtler Mint Site Historic Park in North Carolina.

Life

Bechtler was born in

Pforzheim Pforzheim () is a city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany. It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the nickname "Goldstadt" ("Golden City") ...

Margraviate of Baden The Margraviate of Baden (german: Markgrafschaft Baden) was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Spread along the east side of the Upper Rhine River in southwestern Germany, it was named a margraviate in 1112 and existed until 1535, ...

. In 1767

Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden Charles Frederick (22 November 1728 – 10 June 1811) was Margrave, Elector and later Grand Duke of Baden (initially only Margrave of Baden-Durlach) from 1738 until his death. Biography Born at Karlsruhe, he was the son of Hereditary Prince Fred ...

, allowed watch manufacturing in Pforzheim and started a technical school. The latter gave ground to further educational institutions and is now the Goldschmiedeschule mit Uhrmacherschule Pforzheim (Jewelers and Watchmakers School of Pforzheim); Bechtler was trained there. Around 1820, Bechtler spotted small gold traces in Stubensand, an early household

abrasive An abrasive is a material, often a mineral, that is used to shape or finish a workpiece through rubbing which leads to part of the workpiece being worn away by friction. While finishing a material often means polishing it to gain a smooth, reflec ...

. In 1823 he requested a mining concession and tried placer mining for gold in the

late triassic The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch of the Triassic Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch and followed by the Early Jurassic Epoch. ...

Stubensandstein around neighboring Sternenfels where the Stubensand was produced. The amount of gold found was not satisfactory, but Bechtler asked for a Ducal

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

sian Patent for his gold washing machine in 1819. In 1829, Bechtler, his sons Augustus and Charles, and a nephew immigrated to the United States.Stevenson, William
"Christopher Bechtler."
In ''Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present'', vol. 1, edited by Marianne S. Wokeck. German Historical Institute. Last modified December 18, 2015. In 1830 he opened a watchmaker store in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, the site of the first

United States Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; tha ...

. Drawn by one of the first

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

es in the United States, Bechtler moved to

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

in 1830 and established a private mint. Bechtler died in

Rutherfordton, North Carolina Rutherfordton (usually pronounced ( ) or ( ), among other similar variations) is a town in Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,213 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat. Geography Rutherfordton is concentrat ...

. Bechtler and his successors' private mint in Rutherford County, North Carolina, was run from 1831 through the 1850s and produced more than a million gold coins in the period between 1831 and 1841. Bechtler's precision and the reliable gold content of his coins allowed him to prevail against other producers and to obtain a large fortune.

Coinage

Bechtler's mint produced coins in three denominations: $1, $2.50, and $5, and the coins were struck in three

Fineness The fineness of a precious metal object (coin, bar, jewelry, etc.) represents the weight of ''fine metal'' therein, in proportion to the total weight which includes alloying base metals and any impurities. Alloy metals are added to increase hardne ...

: 20 carats, 21 carats, and 22 carats. At the time and within the limits of the existing technology, the coins were considered of honest weight.

Bechtler's Coins Today

Because of the Coinage Act of June 28, 1834, which increased the value of gold by more than 6%, Bechtler's coins today are quite scarce and consequently, command high prices when offered for sale.PCGS Coinfacts Listing of Betchler Gold Coins and Approximate Retail Price by PCGS Grade
/ref> The North Carolina National Bank of Charlotte has a collection that can be viewed today.

References

External links

"Gold Fever and the Bechtler Mint," UNC-TV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bechtler, Christopher 1782 births 1843 deaths German emigrants to the United States American goldsmiths People from Pforzheim People from the Margraviate of Baden