Samuel C. Wright
July 1889 – August 1892

In the spring of 1889, a sparkle of hope beamed on the horizon, signaling that the Carson Mint might once again produce coins. This renewed optimism derived from the inauguration of President Benjamin Harrison, a Republican. But first, the Carson Mint needed a Republican man to replace Democrat William Garrard as superintendent.

This occurred in June of 1889, when it was announced that popular local undertaker Samuel C. Wright, would succeed Garrard in July, to become the mint’s sixth superintendent since it opened in 1870. Wright’s reputation was as good as gold in the minds of the citizens of Carson City and his appointment was like a breath of fresh air―out with the old, in the with new.

Because the mint had been idle for over four years, a major cleanup and refurbishing needed to be conducted. The cobwebs were brushed off of the machinery, the floors and walls were scrubbed, the windows were cleaned, the offices were straightened up, with fresh stationary and forms being brought in, and work orders were submitted for coin dies and other materials necessary to begin the minting process.

Wright, who had been a good friend of James Crawford’s, began forming a qualified work crew, with some of the veterans from Crawford’s team returning.

All of this prep work took over three-and-a-half months; and then the day that all loyal supporters of the mint had been so eagerly waiting for arrived. The first coins to be stamped out on the big press since the first week of March back in 1885, were delivered in October 1889, much to the delight of all in attendance. For the rest of this work-shortened year (all of two-and-a-half-months) only two denominations were struck: Morgan silver dollars and gold double eagles. But, it didn’t matter, the impossible had occurred, the mint was back in operation.

Sam Wright continued in his successful term as superintendent for slightly more than two-and-a-half years, until he was suddenly struck down with congestive heart failure on August first 1892, at the age of sixty-one. Thanks to an increased output of silver dollars, and to some degree, gold half eagles and eagles, the Carson Mint under Wright’s leadership, had managed to tally some respectable production numbers during those early years of the 1890s. He left this earth with an untarnished record behind.