When
talking about Carson City to those not from our area, our city gets
related to Kit Carson, Mark Twain, the Carson City Mint and the old
west. Our history is a rich cross roads to the beginnings of our
country's westward expansion. Images of dark rough saloons, miners
drinking belligerently, ladies of the night, and poker tables stacked
with silver dollars and gold coins come to one's mind. The name
Carson City conjures all of these images far better than any
Hollywood producer ever could.
Today
most of the old icons are gone only to be immortalized in lore and
legend, but we still have one of the most foundational pieces of our
state's (and the west's) history right here among us; the Carson City
Mint. The shortest lived mint in our country's history also is its
most famous because it came about in the era of our most known silver
dollar, the Morgan silver dollar. Carson City Morgan dollars have
long been prized by collectors all over the world.
Carson
City is visited by thousands every year with their main purpose being
to see the Carson City mint. Sadly recent years have seen the Carson City
mint (or Nevada State Museum) sharply effected by budget
cuts and funding issues. Being closed three days a week, the mint has
disappointed countless visitors who were expecting to tour one of our
nations landmarks.
In
looking to Carson City's future, we can advance the City and its
attractiveness by helping one of our greatest pieces of history.
Helping preserve our mint is easier than one might think. The Carson
City mint is a state funded museum, but it does accept private
donations. If you are not philanthropic in your views of the mint you
can support it by just touring it a couple of times a year. A great
time to visit is when they are striking medallions on the old coin
press that they have prominently displayed. These strikings are only
done on certain days so calling ahead to find out their schedule
would be advised. To further that thought, when guests are in town an
afternoon tour can be a refreshing change of scenery.
Another
way to support the museum is to take advantage of the new foyer they
built in between their two buildings. This room can be rented for
functions or rendezvous, providing a unique location for any type of
event. It could be very memorable for your guests to have a meeting
in a such a historical landmark.
The
Carson City mint is an attraction that we should not take for
granted. If we can focus a little thought or funding towards this
unique piece of history we may realize that the mint is a bigger
attraction than many give it credit for. By rallying behind the mint
we can help to have it reopened more days a week and thus increase
the number of the out of area visitors to Carson City.
For More information on how you can help give us a call at 888-836-5527
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