John Daggett

Who was John Daggett?

John Daggett served as the 16th Lieutenant Governor of California from 1883 to 1887. The site known as Calico Junction just south of the mining town of Calico, California, was renamed Daggett, California, in 1883 for Lieutenant Governor John Daggett.

On May 18, 1893 he was nominated by President Grover Cleveland to serve as Superintendent of the United States Mint at San Francisco, a position he held until 1897.

John is associated with the rare 1894-S Barber dime. One version of the story indicates that the 24 coins were struck June 9, 1894 to provide a balance of two dollars and forty cents needed to close a bullion account at the Mint June 30, 1894. It was anticipated that more dimes would be struck that year, albeit two or three pieces were obtained by Mint employees eager to have a new dime. The balance were placed in coin bags, destined for circulation.

Another story goes that John had 24 dimes struck as a special request for some visiting bankers.