Carson City Mint
Now a Silver State museum, the Carson City Mint today is more known for its spirits than its silver
This location is now part of the Nevada State Museum
Paranormal Claims at
Carson City Mint
- Footsteps are heard around the building
- The elevator is said to operate on its own
- Visitors and workers report sensing a friendly and supportive presence around the mint
Money & Mystery:
History of Carson City Mint
While a sprawling, modern structure makes up much of the Nevada State Museum, the attached Carson City Mint is a stark departure from the rest of the building.
The old mint’s exposed, cream-colored masonry and tall, slim windows speak to a long history that is as vast as the numerous exhibits within.
Now just one part of a much larger museum, the former Carson City Mint has played a pivotal role in Nevada’s economy since the state was admitted to the Union in 1864.
Though its time as a coin mint is long behind it, visitors and workers at the museum today say some ghostly employees never got the memo, and still show up for work long after they died.
Timeline of Carson City Mint's History
Swipe or use timeline points to see Carson City Mint through the years
1859
The discovery of the Comstock Lode of silver in 1859 saw Nevada’s population boom as prospectors and miners flooded into the territory. Unfortunately, silver wasn’t all that useful to the average person until it was processed and minted into coins. While mining companies did a lot of the processing, only the government could mint currency. Subsequently, the Carson City Mint was established to take in and mint Nevada’s new glut of silver.
1870
Though founded as an organization in 1863, the Carson City Mint building did not become operational until 1870. But, once up and running, it became a prolific coin producer. Between 1870 and 1893, the Carson City Mint produced 50 issues of silver coins and 57 issues of gold coins across eight different denominations.
The Carson City Mint’s best year was 1876, the nation’s centennial, as across the country mints worked overtime to produce coveted centennial coinage.
1893
While Nevada churned out silver through the 1880s, the Carson City Mint struggled. Production paused from 1885 to 1889 due to political interference from President Grover Cleveland. When production restarted after Cleveland’s departure, the end was already near for the Carson City Mint.
Reduced silver output in Nevada, coupled with the Panic of 1893, closed the mint for good.
1941
The building served as the regional US Assay Office until 1933. It was later sold to the state of Nevada. The state converted it into the Nevada State Museum in 1941.
Since opening as a public museum, the Carson City Mint has greeted thousands of tourists and employed countless museum staff members, some of whom believe ghosts from the minting days still linger around the building.
Is Carson City Mint Haunted?
The ghost of Osborne Parker is one of the Carson City Mint’s most well-known phantoms. In the 1870s, Parker was a mint worker often assigned to basement duties. In 1872, tragedy struck when a heavy piece of machinery stored in the basement fell on Parker, crushing him to death.
Ever since his sudden death, workers and visitors have reported Osborne Parker’s specter still floating through the mint.
Carson City Mint’s Haunted Basement
These days, the ghost of Osborne Parker is said to be more often heard than seen. Footsteps are regularly heard trudging through the Nevada State Museum haunted mint’s basement, even at times when the museum is closed. The ghostly sounds are said to be most common near where Parker met his end.
While he is frequently heard walking around the basement, Parker’s ghost sometimes gets tired and decides to take the elevator. The Carson City Mint’s elevator is notorious for moving from floor-to-floor on its own. Witnesses say it will frequently be called to the basement when no one is down there.
The Apparition of Abe Curry
Osborne Parker may be the Carson City Mint’s best known ghost, but stories say he isn’t alone. The other who reportedly haunts the old mint is its former superintendent, Abe Curry. Curry’s ghost is actually known to appear in several different landmarks around Carson City. And, his old workplace at the mint is said to be one of his favorites.
Interestingly, visitors and museum staff report Curry’s footsteps around the upper floors of the building. One wonders whether Curry and Parker ever bump into each other as they’re strolling through the haunted mint in Carson City.
Nevada State Museum’s Comforting Haunt
When they’re not heard, the ghosts of the Carson City Mint are known to leave strange, unexplainable feelings in people. But, while many haunted places are known for eerie sensations that leave hair standing on end, the reports from the mint tell a different story.
Staff and museum visitors alike note a positive, happy feeling come over them quite suddenly. Some figure the activity is Abe Curry’s doing, his way of appreciating the care taken for the old mint.
Visit the Carson City Mint for yourself
The former Carson City Mint, now the Nevada State Museum, often opens up about its spiritual legends. Ghost walks around Carson City frequently mention the old mint building as one of the town’s famous haunts.
The building has also been regularly included in lists of the most haunted places in Carson City, as well as on lists of haunted places in Nevada.
Though the existence of ghosts remains unproven today, it seems that spending time at the Carson City Mint makes some people believers.
And if the museum can ever prove the existence of their resident ghosts, they’ll probably make a mint off of it.
