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151:, after being petitioned by William Rector for the establishment of a mint, gave its approval for the plan. Legislators from Clackamas and Yamhill counties objected to the bill, stressing the illegality under the U.S. Constitution of private mints. Although the Oregon Exchange Company was a mostly private organization, the legislature appointed the officers to the Company, which included Governor
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It was argued by the
Provisional Government of the Oregon Territory that "necessity knows no laws". It could also be argued that during the Anglo-American joint occupation of Oregon, the territory was not officially part of either government, and any established government could act as it wished.
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However, after Oregon was officially organized as a U.S. Territory the coins were clearly unconstitutional. Governor Lane remedied this upon his examination of all the provisional government's laws, striking only the law calling for the minting of coinage.
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an estimated 2,000,000 dollars worth of gold entered the Oregon settlements within two years. Disputes often arose during transactions over the value of the gold dust, generally rife with impurities.
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trade tokens, the $ 5 and $ 10 Beaver Coins weighed 130 and 260 grains respectively. An estimated 8,850 coins of either denomination were produced until the closure of the mint.
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The formal U.S. Government's reaction to the coins was to buy them up at a premium rate in exchange for U.S. currency. The coins were called up by the
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arrived in Oregon. Machinery used to create the coins was created by Rector and made of "old wagon tires and such scraps..." Designed after the
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Replica Beaver Coin and other medallions used as window decorations at Oregon State
Library (fourth photo down).
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depicted on the obverse of the coins. The currency contained 8% more gold than contemporary coins from the
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since the late 1830s, lacked a stable currency. A variety of items were held valid by the
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U.S. currency available, playing a part in the demise of the "Beaver Coins".
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319:" The Washington Historical Quarterly 15, No. 4 (1924), pp. 276-284
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minted in Oregon in 1849. Their name comes from the prominent
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Brown's
Political History of Oregon: Provisional Government.
243:"Rare minted-in-Oregon 'beaver coin' sells for $ 125,000"
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Portland: Pioneer
Historical Publishing Co. 1922. p. 407
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Oregon
Historical Quarterly 33, No. 1 (1932), pp. 25-30
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135:, beaver skins and wheat. After the beginning of the
335:History page with article about the Beaver Coins.
115:The primarily American settler population of the
83:in September 1849. (Article I, Section 8 of the
68:. Today these coins are quite rare and valuable.
303:Portland, OR: Wiley B. Allen. 1892. pp. 454-457
87:declares the mintage of coins to be one of the
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45:Sketch of Beaver Coins in both denominations
333:Union County, Oregon Genealogy and History
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27:Former currency in Oregon, United States
430:1849 establishments in Oregon Territory
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162:The mint was open on 10 March 1849 in
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425:Provisional Government of Oregon
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339:Oregon State Library Photographs
125:Provisional Government of Oregon
103:made a large supply of gold and
52:, also known in pioneer days as
71:After the establishment of the
193:and taken out of circulation.
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275:"Pioneer Gold Money, 1849."
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85:United States Constitution
101:San Francisco, California
420:United States gold coins
127:, including specie from
66:United States of America
166:, eight days after the
149:Provisional Legislature
143:Oregon Exchange Company
95:.) The opening of the
37:$ 5 gold "beaver coin".
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181:Legality of the coins
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315:Strevey, T. Elmer. "
168:Territorial Governor
137:California Gold Rush
79:ruled the operation
164:Oregon City, Oregon
73:Territory of Oregon
229:History of Oregon.
226:Carey, Charles H.
191:San Francisco Mint
175:North West Company
97:United States Mint
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273:Scott, Leslie M.
121:Willamette Valley
89:enumerated powers
16:(Redirected from
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415:Oregon Territory
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203:Territorial gold
153:George Abernethy
81:unconstitutional
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255:. Retrieved
251:the original
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54:Beaver Money
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50:Beaver Coins
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18:Beaver Coins
387:Numismatics
171:Joseph Lane
77:Joseph Lane
409:Categories
257:2007-07-05
209:References
157:Cayuse War
111:Background
99:branch in
58:gold coins
197:See also
93:Congress
361:Portals
91:of the
56:, were
129:Mexico
105:silver
62:beaver
375:Money
351:PCGS
247:KATU
147:The
133:Peru
131:and
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20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.