Charlotte, Dahlonega, and New Orleans
The first mint in the United States was established in Philadelphia and commenced regular coining operations in 1793. Despite the best efforts of mint personnel, for many years the output of the mint was not sufficient to meet the commerce requirements of the young nation. Official US coins circulated alongside a wide variety of foreign coins, private tokens, and paper bank notes. Gold coins in particular were practically unknown in circulation, primarily because the official standard ratio of 1 ounce of gold to 15 ounces of silver undervalued the gold in comparison to the European standard. Most American gold coins were exported and melted for bullion. This problem was eventually solved by the passage of a law in 1834 that reduced the amount of gold in the coins. It was no longer profitable to melt coins for bullion so they began to be seen in circulation.