A History of the US Mint

The United States Mint was born on April 2nd, 1792 when President George Washington signed the Mint Act. For the first time a national mint that would produce a national coinage was authorized, easing interstate commerce and further linking the still disjointed states into a true nation.

Robert Morris was in many ways the father of the US Mint. A wealthy and successful merchant, Morris is often considered the financier of the Revolution and played a critical role in keeping the Revolution supplied and the fledgling government afloat. He was also accused of using the war to line his own pockets, but his service during the war and in the early years of the nation was indispensable.

In 1781 Morris was appointed to be Superintendent of Finance. During his time as head of the Finance Office Morris first proposed the idea of an American Mint with a unique American coinage. At the time Spanish currency was the standard, English and other foreign money was also in use. Under the Articles of Confederation states were also allowed to mint their own currency, based on standards supplied by the central government.

For Morris, the need for a truly national standard for money was a necessity. A national coinage that would do away with the confusing myriad of coinage in circulation at the time. Fortunately for Morris he had friends in this endeavor, most notably Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury.

Morris, along with Jefferson and Hamilton, fought for ten years to create a national mint that would service the country's monetary needs. It is for the most part from his hard work that the US Mint finally came to fruition in 1792.

The Philadelphia Mint

Philadelphia was still serving as the nation's capital in 1792, and it was here that the first mint was built. Construction was completed by the end of the year, and production of coins began in 1793. To this day the mint in Philadelphia still serves as the primary national mint, although it has been joined by a number of others over the years.

David Rittenhouse, a well known astronomer and scientist, was appointed by President Washington to serve as the Mint's first director. His service as director lasted for three years, ending only a year before his death.

The Mint itself was located in a three story building at the corner of Seventh Street and Sugar Alley (now Filbert Street). It's name was "Ye Olde Mint," the words painted on front of the building between the second and third floor. The United States government was in the business of coining money.

In 1816 the original building was destroyed by fire. The mint was rebuilt, and served the nation until 1833, when a second Philadelphia Mint was built in another part of town. The rebuilt "Ye Olde Mint" remained a mainstay of Philadelphia until the turn of the 20th century when it was demolished. The site is commemorated with a plaque today.

The Next Generation of Mints

The Philadelphia Mint served as the sole national mint until the 1830's. By that time the country had expanded greatly and there were several new deposits of gold, far too much being produced to be adequately turned into coinage by "Ye Olde Mint."

In 1830 and 1831 two individuals, Templeton Reid and Christian Bechtler created their own private mints, coining gold that was mined in their respective areas, saving both time and money for the local miners. Both were investigated by the Federal government, and upon review were allowed to continue with their operation. Coins minted by these individuals are now popular collector's items today.

But the reality was that the single mint in Philadelphia was not enough to service the rapidly growing nation. In 1835 3 new mints were authorized: one in Charlotte, North Carolina, one in Dahlonega, Georgia, (the same town where Templeton Reid had operated) and one in New Orleans, Louisiana. Although authorized in 1835 none of these mints would begin production until 1838.

In 1852 a fifth national mint was built in San Francisco, California, to handle all of the gold produced in the gold rush. The California gold rush supplied a major amount of the gold that was used in producing coinage for much of the 19th century. The San Francisco Mint would cease minting operations in 1955, and today serves soley as an assay office, producing only proof coins.

In 1861-2, two more mints were added: one in Denver, Colorado and one in Carson City, Nevada. Although the Carson City Mint ended its operations in 1933, the Denver Mint is still in operation and is the main producer of US coins in circulation today and is in fact the single largest producer of coins in the world.

Each of these new mints stamped coins minted there with a letter, to show which mint they came from. For example Denver's were marked with a "D," San Francisco's with an "S" and so on. Philadelphia never stamped its coins until 1980, when it began placing a "P" on its coinage.

The United States Mint Today

After over 215 years the Philadelphia Mint continues to serve as the main office of the United States Mint. The current mint in Philadelphia is the fourth to have been built, construction being finished in 1869.

The Philadelphia Mint now has only three branch offices: the San Francisco Mint, which only produces proof coinage, the Denver Mint where the majority of coins in circulation are produced and the youngest of the mints in West Point, New York, opened in 1937 (although it did not officially become a mint until 1988). Like Philadelphia West Point's mint mark is also a "P," making them indistinguishable from each other.

In order to keep an appropriate volume of coins in circulation the Mint produces between 11 and 20 billion coins a year. As it has from the beginning, it serves this country in supplying all of its coins, a vital but seldom thought-of task. Today we take our currency for granted, but it is thanks to the work of men such as Robert Morris that we have our national currency and our national mint