Coin Press No. 1 to print special medallion Aug. 22

Special medallions commemorating the historical Coach 17 train car will be minted on Coin Press No. 1 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 22 at the Nevada State Museum, Carson City. Coach 17 is the rail car that was present at Promontory Summit, Utah, in 1869, when the nation’s first transcontinental railroad was completed. It is part of the Nevada State Railroad Museum’s collection.

Museum volunteers will be demonstrating the coin press. Visitors interested in buying a medallion may purchase a silver coin blank in the museum store and bring it to the coin press gallery. Coin Press No. 1 was the first coin press in the Carson City Mint and it produced millions in gold and silver coins in its heyday.

The 30 mm, .999 fine silver medallion features an image of Coach 17 with the words “Promontory Car, Transcontinental Railroad, 1869-2019 and an image of a railroad spike. The event at Promontory in 1869 featured the ceremonial driving of golden and silver spikes to mark the joining of the Central and Union Pacific railroad lines.

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Photo, top left: Known as Coach 17 today, the last existing piece of rolling stock can be seen to the right in this picture from 1869 taken at the ceremony to complete the transcontinental railroad in Promontory, Utah. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Click here for a photo of the medallion. The .999 pure silver medallion depicts the Promontory car and a silver spike to commemorate the last remaining railroad car artifact from the Promontory Point ceremony, which is now housed at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City.