James Pollock letter to William H. Greene,, 4 November 1870

Descriptive Summary

Repository
American Numismatic Society
Extent
1 letter
Language
English
Abstract
Letter regarding copies made of ancient coins.

Creator

Name
Pollock, James, 1810-1890
Abstract
James Pollock (1810-1890) was a U.S. Congressman, Governor of Pennsylvania, and Director of the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia.

Administrative Information

Access

Open to all researchers.

Preferred Citation

James Pollock letter to William H. Greene, 4 November 1870, Archives, American Numismatic Society.

Restrictions

Copyright restrictions may apply. Permission to publish or reproduce must be secured from the American Numismatic Society.

Biographical Note

James Pollock (1810-1890) graduated from Princeton College in 1831 and after studying law began his practice in Milton, Pennsylvania, in 1833. Following several judicial posts he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1844, where he served three successive terms. As a freshman congressman, Pollock boarded in the same rooming house as another new congressman, Abraham Lincoln, and they soon developed a mutual respect and longstanding friendship. Pollock was elected Governor of Pennsylvania, and served in that position from 1855 to 1858. He was Director of the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia from 1861 to 1866 and again from 1869 to 1873. Pollock was instructed by the Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase in a letter to come up with suggestions for including "the trust of our people in God" in a motto for America's coins. Pollock proposed a number of mottos, including "Our Trust Is In God" and "God Our Trust," which Chase ultimately revised to "In God We Trust," which appears on all U.S. coins and paper money to this day.

William H. Greene (1825-1900) was a graduate of Lafayette College (1840) and an adjunct professor of mathematics (1843-1844). Upon graduating from Princeton Seminary (1846), he became an instructor of Hebrew in that institution (1846-1849). From 1851 until his death, Greene held several professorships at Princeton. He was also awarded an Honorary Doctor of Divinity from the College of New Jersey. Greene was senior faculty member and secretary of faculty at Princeton from 1879 until his death and a trustee of that university from 1868 until his death.

Scope and Content Note

Handwritten five-page letter on letterhead of the United States Mint at Philadelphia from Mint Superintendant James Pollock to Professor William H. Greene at Princeton, New Jersey. The bulk of the letter, which was originally accompanied by seven coin copies that are apparently not held by the ANS, provides a description, and in some instances a history, of certain ancient coins, the originals of which were in possession of the mint. According to the letter, each of the coins was reproduced for Greene (or for Princeton University) “in type-metal alloyed in tin, cast from the originals in plaster moulds, [and] made in the Assay Department of the Mint” for some unspecified “special occasion.” The Mint’s charge for materials and “silvering” was $1.20; time and labor were given gratis, with Pollock’s and the assistant assayer’s compliments.

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