In Rutherford County, a Rich Vein of History
Christopher Bechtler’s story began in his native Germany and ended in a place far from home in every way — Rutherford County, in North Carolina’s foothills. Although he is German, Bechtler’s life is essentially one of the American Dream.
Born in 1782, Bechtler trained as a watchmaker in his native country and moved his family to Philadelphia in 1829 to pursue the trade. Not earning the living he wanted, he was drawn to the Gold Rush. Not the famous one in California, which wouldn’t come until 1848, but to North Carolina, where the rush had drawn hundreds, perhaps thousands of people to the foothills, and to Rutherford County.
Bechtler was not destined to go home empty-handed and with only tall tales to show for his adventures. Instead, through inherent creativity, gumption, and willingness to work hard, he makes a fortune — though not, as you might expect, from striking it rich and hitting a huge vein of gold.
Instead, Bechtler created a mint, an operation wherein he and family members pressed gold brought in by miners into coins. Word spread to miners throughout the South and the country, and Bechtler gained a reputation as someone whose coins were of high quality and, more importantly, as a fair and accurate judge of gold content.
The descendants of the family have moved — the word is some family members may be in Charlotte — but Bechtler’s Mint is now on the National Register of Historic Places. His legend is told with unerring accuracy by Betty Jenkins, a remarkable, energetic grandmother loaded with Rutherford County charm.
Widowed young, Mrs. Jenkins remarried a fellow named Norman Jenkins, who had an interest in coins, and they intended to open a coin shop in the middle of Rutherfordton. With this in mind, they traveled to Butler’s Jewelry & Loan in Forest City to buy a safe, and there they set up a coin display. “I didn’t know anything about coins,” Mrs. Jenkins said, “but after working with Norman for 20 years….” Today, she’s without question the foremost authority on the Bechtler coins.
“The house,” referring to the historic site, “has a piano that came from the family, and they made other things. They made guns, including a brass pistol. And there is a (coin) press on loan from the Federal Reserve. They also made long rifles.”
But if there is one thing that separates the Bechtler site from others it is that Bechtler has been established by authorities as the one who made the first $1 gold coin in the United States.
According to Mrs. Jenkins, the process was pretty simple. “The miners, would get the gold out of the creeks, and they’d bring it in, and Bechthler would melt it down and make a $1 gold piece and charge them six cents to do it. The word got out because people would come here from Georgia to get coins made.” Bechtler developed a reputation for honestly measuring gold content in his coins. And he was ingenious. One report of his business history credits him with creating a floor that would catch the small amounts of gold dust coming off miners’ boots and clothes, which he’d ultimately turn into coins. There was nothing particularly secretive about it. And that story, by coincidence perhaps, found its way into a scene from the Gold Rush comedy “Paint Your Wagon” starring Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood. (Exaggerated by Hollywood, of course — and to be fair, Bechtler’s story probably didn’t make it from Rutherfordton to Los Angeles.)
Today, the coins are collectors’ pieces, and though the value varies depending upon the condition, they can fetch up to $2,000. The Bechtler legend remains, drawing visitors to the house in this quiet, scenic community, though the last coins were minted sometime in the 1840s. The senior Bechtler died in 1843.
Betty Jenkins founded the “Norman Jenkins Collection” after her husband’s death, and today there are 54 graded pieces of Bechtler gold coins in a local bank vault. For her part, Mrs. Jenkins still deals in coins at Butler’s, where she has been for 20 years. The members of the local Davis family, who have owned the shop for decades, convinced her and her husband to set up in Butler’s and gave them a prime spot at the front of the store. Once in a while a coin dealer or collector will call her about a Bechtler coin and she’ll take a look, but mostly she deals in commemorative coins.
She will continue to be the keeper of the Bechtler story which, thanks to community leaders and to her and her late husband, will not be forgotten, memorialized by a now-publicly owned house and its small museum. It’s a lovely little stop for visitors saying “Hello, N.C.” who aren’t in a … well … Rush.
