CLARK, GRUBER & COMPANY -- PREDECESSOR OF THE DENVER MINT by Pam North The development of civilization inevitably required methods of exchange (goods for goods, or goods for services), but the awkwardness of barter spawned an easier system; bits of precious metal formed into coins. The search for precious metals over the centuries eventually brought about the exploration and settlement of Colorado. Gold was discovered in the Rocky Mountains; settlement began at the confluence of the Platte River and Cherry Creek; companies were established to furnish goods for the miners' needs. Two brothers from Ohio, Austin and Milton Clark, along with Emanuel Henry Gruber from Maryland, formed a partnership to open a bank in Leavenworth, Kansas. Their bank purchased gold dust, using coined money, then shipped the dust east to be minted. This was a slow and expensive process, however, and soon the company conceived the idea of coining the gold in Denver. Little coined money and almost no paper money existed in the Colorado mining camps, making gold dust the major medium of exchange. The company's research into the legality of a coining endeavor found that no laws existed to prohibit the coining of money by a private enterprise as long as the coin was of full weight, so the company purchased the necessary machinery and lots on the northwest corner of 16th and Market Streets in the fledgling Denver, erecting a two-story brick building with a stone basement that stood out among the preponderance of crude wooden structures of the time. In 1860, they stamped their first coin out of Pikes Peak gold, and Clark, Gruber & Company soon became a well-known private minting firm with an excellent reputation, and their coinage was almost as perfect as that of the United States Mint, with even heavier grainage of precious metal than what was required. Denver was still a tiny town (only about 3/4 of a mile in radius), but it was rapidly developing as a supply center for the mountain gold centers. On February 28, 1861 the Territory of Colorado was established, and William Gilpin was appointed the first Territorial Governor. New dies bearing Gilpin's likeness and the new name Colorado were cast by Clark, Gruber & Company to print demand notes. The advent of the Civil War served to stabilize paper money and reduce the demand for gold coins, so Clark, Gruber & Company started processing the gold dust into ingots with their firm's emblem, the weight in ounces and the cash value stamped on the bars. Governor Gilpin arrived in Denver in May of 1861, organizing a territorial militia for the purpose of protection of the gold fields from any attack by the Confederate States, and coincidentally with his visit a Republican resolution was adopted to focus on the need and support for a local branch of the United States Mint. The Secretary of the Treasury recommended to President Lincoln that existing coinage laws be amended to prevent further private coinage in the United States, that a branch mint be established in Denver, and that Clark, Gruber & Company's property and equipment be purchased for the new facility. A bill with this purpose was introduced on December 19, 1861, passing both houses and becoming effective with an Act of Congress on April 21, 1862, and the following year Clark, Gruber & Company's building became the possession of the United States government for the sum of $25,000. Operations began there in 1863 as the United States Assay Office. Next week - More on the development of the Denver Mint. Photo for article is at: http://users.starpower.net/nabors/mints/CGruberGSB.JPG Caption: The firm of Clark, Gruber & Company, at the corner of 16th and Market Streets in Denver, was the predecessor of the Denver Mint.