Buckhead businessman brings gold in from the hills

ATLANTA, Georgia – Buckhead businessman Bob Harwell’s golden touch is on permanent display as part of a new exhibition in the Hargrett Galleries of the Richard B. Russell Special Collections Library at the University of Georgia.

The exhibition – Gold Digging in Georgia: America’s First Gold Rush – highlights the history of North Georgia gold mining from the 1820’s to the Civil War. It features photos, historical documents, artifacts and more.

A key part of the exhibition is a complete set of gold coins produced at the Dahlonega Mint prior to the Civil War. The set was accumulated by Bob Harwell, president of Atlanta’s Hancock & Harwell Rare Coin and Precious Metal Company. Bob is one of the world’s leading experts on Dahlonega Gold Coins. To date Hancock & Harwell has accumulated over 20 sets of Dahlonega coins for clients since beginning business in the 1970’s.

The set on display at the University of Georgia was accumulated over a six-year period from across the United States for Atlanta collector John McMullan. McMullan donated this set of Dahlonega coins – called the Reed Creek Collection – to the University for their permanent collection. The set is valued at nearly a million dollars. There are 62 coins in the collection on display.

“Coins from the Dahlonega Mint are a unique and lasting relic of an important part of Georgia history,” said Harwell. “Dahlonega predates the California Gold Rush, and spawned the first industrialization of North Georgia.”

Harwell’s interest in Dahlonega gold coins dates to the 1970’s when he and his late partner, Jack Hancock, assembled their first set for clients. One of Harwell’s most famous sets of Dahlonega coins was the Duke’s Creek Collection, a complete set of uncirculated Dahlonega gold.

According to Harwell, no one really knows who first discovered gold in Dahlonega, Georgia, in 1828, but there is no doubt that a gold rush began. By the spring of 1830 there were over 4,000 miners looking for gold. By the mid-1830’s the need for a United States Mint in Dahlonega was recognized, and the mint was opened in 1838. By the time it closed in 1861, the Dahlonega Mint had produced almost 1.5 million gold coins with a face value of more than $6 million.

In addition to the set on display at UGA, there are sets on public display at the Dahlonega Gold Museum in Dahlonega, and at the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta.

The exhibition at the Richard B. Russell Special Collections Library will run through December 6, 2017.

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