The Portland Mint, Inc. – Rodney Scott Oregon Private Mint

Currently operating as AJPM

Overview

The Portland Mint, Inc. was a private minting operation based in Portland, Oregon, active from the mid-1980s through at least the early 1990s, with evidence supporting continued operational activity beyond the corporation’s formal dissolution. The company specialized in privately issued silver bullion bars, commemorative rounds, custom minting projects, and regional historical medal programs.

The mint is now historically significant within Texas numismatics due to direct attribution evidence connecting it to production of the Texas Silver Dollar series issued by Rick Pinner through Texas Mint & Mercantile, Whitney TX.

Research conducted by The Texas Stacker established a documented attribution chain connecting The Portland Mint, Inc., Rodney Scott, AJPM (Affordable Precious Metals), and the Texas Dollar series through state corporate records, signed certificates of authenticity, surviving mint products, oral-history testimony, and direct confirmation from surviving participants.

Corporate History

The Portland Mint, Inc. was incorporated in Oregon on November 26, 1986.

Oregon state business filings identify:

Rodney K. Scott as President, and registered agent

Original business addresses associated with the corporation include Portland, Oregon locations on SW Washington and SE 17th Avenue.

State records show annual renewals through 1990, followed by involuntary dissolution on January 24, 1992.

Evidence suggests the minting operation likely continued informally after dissolution, a common occurrence among small private bullion and jewelry manufacturers during the period.

A separate entity, The Portland Mint, LLC, was later formed in Oregon in 2008 under different ownership, indicating either a successor operation, revival of the name, or business reorganization distinct from Rodney Scott’s original corporation.

Rodney Scott

Rodney K. Scott was the principal figure behind The Portland Mint, Inc. and is directly documented in Oregon corporate filings and surviving mint-issued certificates of authenticity.

A signed Portland Mint COA for the 1990 Bicentennial of the Discovery of the Columbia River commemorative round survives bearing Rodney Scott’s signature under “The Portland Mint,” providing direct documentary evidence linking Scott to the operation.

Research conducted in 2026 further established that Rick Pinner, creator of the Texas Silver Dollar series, directly confirmed Rodney Scott as the individual responsible for producing the Texas Dollar rounds.

Products and Known Issues

Documented Portland Mint products include:

Oregon Trail / Flagstaff Hill commemorative silver rounds
Columbia River Bicentennial commemoratives
Private bullion bars
Morgan and Peace Dollar–style silver bars
Custom commercial minting projects
Regional historical commemoratives
Texas Silver Dollars and Texas Silver Dimes

Surviving Portland Mint products are typically characterized by:

low-to-mid mintage regional issues
proof-like silver rounds
custom packaging and COAs
edge-numbered examples on select issues
small-batch die-struck production

Connection to Texas Mint & Mercantile

Research conducted by The Texas Stacker established a direct historical connection between The Portland Mint and the Texas Silver Dollar series issued by Rick Pinner.

Key evidence includes:

AJPM identifying “The Portland Mint” and Rodney Scott as the prior minting operation
Rick Pinner independently confirming Rodney Scott as the individual he worked with for production
surviving dies reportedly retained by AJPM
timeline alignment between Portland Mint activity and Texas Dollar production years
surviving Portland Mint products showing similar private-mint production characteristics

This evidence supports attribution of the Texas Dollar series to The Portland Mint under Rodney Scott’s ownership and operation.

AJPM Continuity

Modern research indicates institutional continuity between The Portland Mint operation and Affordable Precious Metals (AJPM), located in the Pacific Northwest.

Marketplace references, surviving dies, and direct communication with AJPM personnel indicate that dies and production materials from The Portland Mint survived into the AJPM era.

The exact legal relationship between The Portland Mint and AJPM remains incompletely documented, though evidence strongly supports operational continuity and transfer of production assets.

Special thanks to the crew at AJPM (Affordable Precious Metals, Portland OR) for providing critical information that helped connect The Portland Mint and Rodney Scott to production of the Texas Dollar series. Their assistance, combined with surviving dies, corporate filings, signed certificates of authenticity, and direct confirmation from Rick Pinner, played an important role in reconstructing the historical attribution of this private minting operation.