Historic Landmarks of San Francisco

On the north side of Commercial Street, between Kearny and Montgomery Streets, is the site of California's first branch United States mint. A bill establishing the mint was passed by Congress July 3, 1852, in response to local demand for coinage of the newly mined gold then pouring out of the Sierra Nevada foothills. The mint opened April 3, 1854, with Dr. L.A. Birdsall as Superintendant, J.R. Snyder as Treasurer, and J. Hewiston as melter and refiner.

The building was of cement-covered brick, 60 feet square, and had three stories. By the end of 1856 $59 million in gold had been coined. The mint's first assayer was Agoston Haraszthy, later to become a highly successful vintner in Sonoma and founder of Buena Vista Winery. For a brief period in 1865 author and poet Bret Harte served as Secretary of the mint.

The Commercial Street mint operated until 1874, when it was replaced by the larger, more opulent structure which still stands at Fifth and Mission Streets. The older building was used for other purposes until the 1906 fire, when it was dynamited in a futile effort to halt the spread of the conflagration. Only the lower walls and basement of the present, post-1906 structure date from the original 1854 construction.

The old mint, now a plain, one-story brick building, stands at 608-10 Commercial Street, serving as the ground floor of a high-rise development. A California state plaque dedicated October 31, 1949, by the California Centennial Commission and the Society of California Pioneers, is mounted near the southwest corner of the building.