The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; that responsibility belongs to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The Mint was created in Philadelphia in 1792, and soon joined by other centers, whose coins were identified by their own mint marks. There are currently four active coin-producing mints: Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point.
Introduction
United States Mint
United States Mint | Introduction
In Philadelphia Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point. Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point
what is roosevelt dime?
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Is the current dime, or ten-cent piece, of the United States
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who designed it?
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John R. Sinnock
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who is he?
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Eighth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint
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mention a few controversies of his?
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The letters "JS" actually stood not for John Sinnock, but for Joseph Stalin. The urban folk story coincided with the Second Red Scare. Another controversy was an allegation that Sinnock copied or borrowed the design of the President's profile from a bronze bas relief created by sculptress Selma H. Burke
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did the aforementioned mint struck the roosevelt dime?
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Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
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who made the dime?
user
John R. Sinnock
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when was the united states mint established?
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The Mint was created in 1792
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where is its location?
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The original and main Mint of the United States Mint, has been located in Philadelphia (P or no letter), since 1793. Its current facility, Philadelphia's fourth, opened in 1969. U.S. branch mints have been located at:
Branch mint | United States
Per the terms of the Coinage Act, the first Mint building was in Philadelphia, the then capital of the United States; it was the first building of the Republic raised under the Constitution. Today, the Mint's headquarters (a non-coin-producing facility) are in Washington D.C.. It operates mint facilities in Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point, New York and a bullion depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Official Mints (Branches) were once also located in Carson City, Nevada; Charlotte, North Carolina; Dahlonega, Georgia; New Orleans, Louisiana; and even in Manila, in the Philippines.
United States Mint | History
The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; that responsibility belongs to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The Mint was created in Philadelphia in 1792, and soon joined by other centers, whose coins were identified by their own mint marks. There are currently four active coin-producing mints: Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point.
United States Mint | Introduction
The Massachusetts Bay Colony established a mint in Boston in 1652. John Hull was Treasurer and mintmaster; Hull's partner at the "Hull Mint" was Robert Sanderson. The historical marker reads: The first authorization for the establishment of a mint in the United States was in a resolution of the Congress of the Confederation of February 21, 1782, and the first general-circulation coin of the United States, the Fugio cent, was produced in 1787 based on the Continental dollar. The current United States Mint was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792, and originally placed within the Department of State.
United States Mint | History
coinage, and the engraving and design departments of the Mint are also located there.
United States Mint | Philadelphia
There are four active coin-producing mints: Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point.
United States Mint | Current facilities
Nickels from San Francisco were minted in the same fashion, and Denver nickels reflected the change in 1943. This new mintmark location continued until 1946 when the nickel returned to its pre-war composition.
United States Mint | Mintmarks
The San Francisco branch, opened in 1854 to serve the goldfields of the California Gold Rush, uses an S mint mark. It quickly outgrew its first building and moved into a new facility in 1874. This building, one of the few that survived the great earthquake and fire of 1906, served until 1937, when the present facility was opened. It was closed in 1955, then reopened a decade later during the coin shortage of the mid-60s. In 1968, it took over most proof-coinage production from Philadelphia, and since 1975, it has been used almost exclusively for proof coinage, with the exceptions of the Anthony dollar (1979–81), a portion of the mintage of cents in the early 1980s, (these cents are indistinguishable from those minted at Philadelphia), and a small portion of America the Beautiful quarters minted in circulation-quality (but not issued for circulation) since 2012.
United States Mint | San Francisco
From 1962 to 1988, the San Francisco Mint was officially an assay office; the San Francisco Assay Office was granted mint status again on March 31, 1988 (). The San Francisco Mint is located at 155 Hermann Street, but only admits visitors on rare exception. On May 15, 1987, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Mint, a limited number of people were allowed to tour the facility. This tour was advertised in the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper, with a phone number to call to reserve a spot.
San Francisco Mint | New Mint
The Charlotte Mint was the first United States branch mint. It was located in Charlotte, North Carolina and specialized in gold coinage.
Charlotte Mint | Introduction
On July 31, 1792, the foundation stone of the Philadelphia Mint was laid by newly appointed Mint Director David Rittenhouse. Machinery and personnel began occupying the new building by September 1792, and production began on cents in February 1793. In the first year of production at the Mint, only copper coins were minted, as the prospective assayer could not raise the required $10,000 surety to officially assume the position; the 1792 Coinage Act stated that both the chief coiner and assayer were to "become bound to the United States of America, with one or more sureties to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury, in the sum of ten thousand dollars".
Flowing Hair dollar | Establishment of the Mint
The Mint's largest facility is the Philadelphia Mint. The current facility, which opened in 1969, is the fourth Philadelphia Mint. The first was built in 1792, when Philadelphia was still the U.S. capital, and began operation in 1793. Until 1980, coins minted at Philadelphia bore no mint mark, with the exceptions of the Susan B. Anthony dollar and the wartime Jefferson nickel. In 1980, the P mint mark was added to all U.S. coinage except the cent. Until 1968, the Philadelphia Mint was responsible for nearly all official proof coinage. Philadelphia is also the site of master die production for U.S.
United States Mint | Philadelphia
The gold and silver for the mint were contained in basement vaults. The first floor housed deposit and weighing rooms, along with the press room, where striking coins took place. Mint official offices were on the second floor, and the assay office was located on the third floor. A photograph of the Seventh Street building taken around 1908 show that by then, the year 1792 and the words "Ye Olde Mint" (in quotes) had been painted onto the facade. Between the smelt house and the building on Seventh Street, a mill house was built. Horses in the basement turned a rolling mill located on the first floor.
Philadelphia Mint | First building (1792–1833)
This continues to be its current location as of 2011.
Bust of Sherman Minton | Location history
In 1828, the Mint, whose authorization had been subject to periodic renewal by Congress since its inception in 1792, was given permanent status. A new building to house the Philadelphia Mint was authorized by Congress, and opened in 1832. Congress adjusted the precious-metal content of US coins in 1834 and 1837, and was able to achieve a balance whereby US coins remained in circulation alongside those of foreign nations (mostly Spanish colonial pieces). In 1836, the first steam machinery was introduced at the Mint; previously coins had been struck by muscle power. Congress had in 1835 authorized branch mints at Dahlonega in Georgia, Charlotte in North Carolina, and at New Orleans in Louisiana.
Seated Liberty dollar | Background
The San Francisco Mint is a branch of the United States Mint and was opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California Gold Rush. It quickly outgrew its first building and moved into a new one in 1874. This building, the Old United States Mint, also known affectionately as The Granite Lady, is one of the few that survived the great 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It served until 1937, when the present facility was opened.
San Francisco Mint | Introduction
Established by an Act of Congress on April 21, 1862, the United States Mint at Denver opened for business in late 1863 as a United States Assay Office. Operations began in the facilities of Clark, Gruber and Company, located at 16th and Market Streets and acquired by the government for $25,000, which it was simply able to print off at the location. Unlike Clark, Gruber and Company, though, the Denver plant performed no coinage of gold as first intended. One reason given by the Director of the Mint for the lack of coinage at Denver was, "…the hostility of the Indian tribes along the routes, doubtless instigated by rebel emissaries (there being a Civil War) and bad white men." Gold and nuggets brought there by miners from the surrounding area were accepted by the Assay Office for melting, assaying, and stamping of cast gold bars.
Denver Mint | Act of Congress 1862
In that year, the mint produced two pieces in proof. The first resides in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.. The second was presented to Treasury Secretary William M. Meredith and was later sold as part of his estate—the present location of this coin remains unknown.
Double eagle | Introduction
While not a coin production facility, the U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky, is another facility of the Mint. Its primary purpose is for storage of the United States and other countries' gold and silver bullion reserves.
United States Mint | Fort Knox
In 1878 he became the chief clerk (assistant director) of the United States Mint in Philadelphia. He retained that position until his death in 1883.
John Lawrence LeConte | U.S. mint
During Eckfeldt's childhood, the thirteen British colonies along the Atlantic coast of what is now the United States revolted, and so the United States of America secured its independence. After the United States Constitution was ratified, Congress and many government offices came to be housed in Philadelphia, including the newborn Mint of the United States. Adam Eckfeldt built the first screw press for the new facility in 1792, the same year that the Mint Act of 1792 was passed by Congress authorizing a mint, and cut the obverse die for the experimental Birch cent of that year. He also built other machinery for the Mint, and helped superintend the early coining.
Adam Eckfeldt | Coin designer and Mint official
Sold in 1902, the second mint was quickly demolished. The cornerstone buried in 1829 was unearthed and contained a candy jar with a petrified cork stoppering it. Inside the jar were three coins, a few newspapers, and a scroll with information on the first mint and the creation of the second. The site has been occupied since 1914 by the 19-story Widener Building, 1339 Chestnut Street.
Philadelphia Mint | Second building (1833–1901)
David Rittenhouse was treasurer of Pennsylvania from 1777 to 1789, and with these skills and the help of George Washington, he became the first director of the United States Mint. On April 2, 1792, the United States Mint opened its doors, but would not produce coins for almost four months. Rittenhouse believed that the design of the coin made the coin a piece of artwork. The first coins were made from flatware that was provided by Washington himself on the morning of July 30, 1792. The coins were hand-struck by Rittenhouse, to test the new equipment, and were given to Washington as a token of appreciation for his contributions to making the United States Mint a reality.
David Rittenhouse | United States Mint
The oldest section of the Randolph Road building originally served as the home of the first branch of the United States Mint. Designed by noted architect William Strickland, construction of the Federal-style Charlotte Mint building began in 1836 by Perry & Ligon of Raleigh, North Carolina at a cost of $29,800.00. It opened July 27, 1837 at its original location at 403 West Trade Street. The facility coined $5 million in gold from 1836 to the outbreak of the Civil War. In 1931, when Mecklenburg County planned to expand the main post office, located adjacent to the Mint, the building became endangered.
Mint Museum | Randolph Road building
The West Point Mint Facility is a U.S. Mint production and depository facility erected in 1937 near the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, United States. Originally it was called the West Point Bullion Depository. At one point it had the highest concentration of silver of any U.S. mint facility, and for 12 years produced circulating pennies. It has since minted mostly commemorative coins and stored gold. It gained official status as a branch of the United States Mint on March 31, 1988. Later that year it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
West Point Mint | Introduction
The Denver Mint began in 1863 as the local assay office, just five years after gold was discovered in the area. By the turn of the century, the office was bringing in over $5 million in annual gold and silver deposits, and in 1906, the Mint opened its new Denver branch. Denver uses a D mint mark and strikes mostly circulation coinage, although it has struck commemorative coins in the past, such as the $10 gold 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Commemorative. It also produces its own working dies, as well as working dies for the other mints. Although the Denver and Dahlonega mints used the same mint mark D, they were never in operation at the same time, so this is not a source of ambiguity.
United States Mint | Denver
Below are the mintage figures for the United States quarter. The following mint marks indicate which mint the coin was made at (parentheses indicate a lack of a mint mark): P = Philadelphia Mint
United States quarter mintage figures | Introduction
The first assay commissioners did not meet until Monday, March 20, 1797, a month later than the prescribed date. Once they did, annual meetings took place each year until 1980, except in 1817 as there had been no gold or silver struck since the last meeting (until 1837, the commission examined the coins since the last testing, rather than for a particular calendar year). In 1801, the usual meeting was delayed, causing Mint Director Elias Boudinot to complain to President John Adams that depositors were anxious for an audit so the Mint could release coins struck from their bullion. Numismatist Fred Reed suggested that the delay was probably due to poor weather, making it difficult for officials to travel from the new capital of Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia for the assay.
United States Assay Commission | Founding and early days (1792–1873)
In 1920, the Manila Mint was reopened under United States auspices, and was the first (and to date only) U.S. branch mint located outside the Continental United States. It produced coins until 1922 and then again from 1925 to 1941, when the Japanese Empire invaded the Philippines during World War II. The mint was operated under Japanese auspices during the occupation. No U.S. coins were produced at Manila after 1941 due to the occupation and to Philippine independence in 1946, although Philippine coinage did take place at the other U.S. mints in 1944 through 1946 (all dated 1944 and 1945 only).
Manila Mint | Official United States Mint Branch
In January 1791, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton submitted a report to Congress proposing the establishment of a mint. Hamilton concluded his report: In response to Hamilton's report, Congress passed the Mint Act of 1792. In addition to setting the standards for the new nation's coinage, Congress provided for an American version of the British Trial of the Pyx: The following January, Congress passed legislation changing the date on which the designated officials met to the second Monday in February. Meetings did not take place immediately; the Mint was not yet striking gold or silver. Minting of silver began in 1794 and gold in 1795, and some coins were saved for assay: the first Mint document mentioning assay pieces is from January 1796 and indicates that exactly $80 in silver had been put aside.
United States Assay Commission | Founding and early days (1792–1873)
The new mint building was at Juniper and Chestnut Streets, only six blocks from Eckfeldt's home at Juniper and Vine.
Adam Eckfeldt | Chief coiner
The coin design had not been approved by Congress. Coin production on a large scale did not begin until 1793. Rittenhouse resigned from the Mint on June 30, 1795, due to poor health. In 1871 Congress approved a commemorative medal in his honor.
David Rittenhouse | United States Mint
In 1818, Congress substituted the Collector of the Port of Philadelphia for the Pennsylvania loans commissioner as a member of the Assay Commission. With the Coinage Act of 1834, Congress removed the automatic disqualification of Mint officers in the event of an unfavorable assay, leaving the decision to the president.
United States Assay Commission | Founding and early days (1792–1873)
In 1791, Congress passed a resolution authorizing President George Washington to establish a mint. Feeling that the resolution was inadequate, President Washington asked legislators to pass a comprehensive law which would govern the new facility. The result was the Mint Act of 1792, which prescribed the specifications of the new US coins, the highest denomination being the eagle, or ten-dollar piece. The passage of the Mint Act was followed by the establishment in Philadelphia of the Mint, which by 1793 was striking cents and half cents. Coinage of precious metal pieces was delayed; Congress had required that the assayer and chief coiner each post a security bond of $10,000, a huge sum in those days.
Turban Head eagle | Inception
The Philadelphia Mint was created from the need to establish a national identity and the needs of commerce in the United States. This led the Founding Fathers of the United States to make an establishment of a continental national mint, a main priority after the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. The Coinage Act of 1792 was entered into law on April 2. It proclaimed the creation of the United States Mint. Philadelphia at that time was the nation's capital; therefore the first mint facility was built there. The Coinage Act of 1792 also instituted a decimal system based on a dollar unit; specified weights, metallic composition and fineness; and required each United States coin feature "an impression emblematic of liberty".
Philadelphia Mint | Introduction
David Rittenhouse, an American scientist, was appointed the first director of the mint by President George Washington. Two lots were purchased by Rittenhouse on July 18, 1792, at Seventh Street and 631 Filbert Street in Philadelphia for $4,266.67. The next day, demolition of an abandoned whiskey distillery on the property began. Foundation work began on July 31, and by September 7, the first building was ready for installation of the smelting furnace. The smelt house was the first public building erected by the United States government. A three-story brick structure facing Seventh Street was constructed a few months later. Measuring nearly wide on the street, it only extended back .
Philadelphia Mint | First building (1792–1833)
Below are the mintage figures for the United States cent. The following mint marks indicate which mint the coin was made at (parentheses indicate a lack of a mint mark): P = Philadelphia Mint
United States cent mintage figures | Introduction
By the early twentieth century, the U.S. Treasury had mints operating in New Orleans, Denver, San Francisco, and the main center in Philadelphia, which more than met the demand for minted money. In 1904, the government ceased the minting of the silver dollar, which accounted for the bulk of the coinage the New Orleans branch had been producing since 1879. In 1909 Treasury officials declined to appropriate funds for the mint's operation, effectively halting subsequent minting activity in New Orleans. In 1911, the New Orleans Mint was formally decommissioned and the machinery was transferred to the main U. S. Mint facility in Philadelphia.
New Orleans Mint | Closure
Due to a shortage of coins blamed on coin collectors, the United States Department of the Treasury introduced the Coinage Act of 1965, which mandated that mint marks would be removed from all coinage for five years. The USDT also announced that no proof or uncirculated coin sets would be produced from 1965 through 1967. Instead, a "Special Mint Set" was made available, containing one example of each denomination produced at the San Francisco Mint. These coins were struck with a satin-like finish, and unlike the coins found in standard Mint Sets, are considered to be separate issues from the circulation coins.
United States Mint Set | Special Mint Sets (1964–1967)
However after many years of subsequent debate by parliament it had been decided that improvements could be made to the existing site at Tower Hill. With Decimal Day set for 1971 the government quickly went about deciding on where to establish the new mint. Over twenty sites were considered, including suggestions for Ulster and Scotland; however the small Welsh town of Llantrisant, ten miles (16 km) northwest of Cardiff, was eventually chosen. Work on the new mint began in August 1967 with the construction of a blank treatment plant and a plant for striking. This first phase of the mint was formally opened on 17 December 1968 in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and Prince Charles.
Royal Mint | Relocation to Wales
The Manila Mint () was a coinage mint that briefly served as a branch of the United States Mint, located in Manila, now the capital city of the Philippines.
Manila Mint | Introduction
By then, the U.S. government had established a mint in San Francisco. Given the large amount of gold discovered in California from the late 1840s on, that one handled the national needs of gold minting. As a result, surviving Dahlonega coinage is today highly prized in American numismatics. The mint building burned in 1878. North Georgia College built Price Memorial Hall on its foundation. The building has a gold-leaf steeple to refer to the history of the site.
Dahlonega, Georgia | Coin minting
When speaking to the House of Representatives in November 1792, President Washington mentioned the "want of small coins in circulation" and stated that he had begun work on establishing a U.S. Mint and that some half dismes had been produced already. At this point, most of the personnel had been hired, but the Mint's buildings and machinery were not yet ready. As a result, the half dismes, which had been struck in or around July 1792, were produced using the private facilities of local craftsman John Harper, although under the auspices of official Mint personnel. In his personal log book, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson recorded the receipt of 1,500 specimens on July 13.
1792 half disme | Origins
The 8 mint marks used to distinguish coins not minted in Philadelphia (in the chronological order of their first coinage) are: D for the Dahlonega Mint (production of coins started on February 12, 1838), C for the Charlotte Mint (March 27, 1838), O for the New Orleans Mint (May 8, 1838), S for the San Francisco Mint (April 3, 1854), CC for the Carson City Mint (February 11, 1870), D again (Dahlonega had closed in 1861 never to reopen) now for the Denver Mint (March 12, 1906), M for Manila Mint (July 15, 1920) (where an official US Mint began with the coinage of a one centavo coin on July 15, 1920) and lastly a W for the West Point Mint The West Point Mint began coin production on July 29, 1974 to ease the shortage of quarters and other minor coinage and bore no mint mark.
Mint mark | United States Mint Marks
On 13 July 1903, a new mint was established in Saifabad, Hyderabad and the operations were shifted to the new location. In 1950, post "Federal Financial Integration", the mint was over-taken by the Government of India.
India Government Mint, Hyderabad | 1903–1950
The West Point branch is the newest mint facility, gaining official status as a branch mint in 1988. Its predecessor, the West Point Bullion Depository, was opened in 1938, and cents were produced there from 1973 to 1986. Along with these, which were identical to those produced at Philadelphia, West Point has struck a great deal of commemorative and proof coinage bearing the W mint mark. In 1996, West Point produced clad dimes, but for collectors, not for circulation. The West Point facility is still used for storage of part of the United States' gold bullion reserves, and West Point is now the United States' production facility for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium American Eagle coins.
United States Mint | West Point
The current mint marks on United States coinage are P, D, S, and W for the 4 currently operating US Mints. The letter P is used for the Philadelphia Mint, D for the Denver Mint, S for the San Francisco Mint, and W for the West Point Mint. Over time there have been 9 official United States Mints. The first US Mint was in Philadelphia which began coin production with large cents and the half cents of pure copper in early 1793. Other US Mints, prior to the twentieth century, were considered "branch mints". United States mint marks were originally used to distinguish coins not made in Philadelphia.
Mint mark | United States Mint Marks
The India Government Mint, Kolkata was first established in 1757, and was located in a building next to the Black Hole in the old fort – where the GPO (General Post Office) stands today. It was called the Calcutta Mint and used to produce coins with the mint name Murshidabad.
India Government Mint, Kolkata | Introduction
The United States Mint has released annual collections of coins most years since 1936.
United States Mint coin sets | Introduction
The Mint is located in the southern part of Carlingford, southwest of Carlingford Lough.
The Mint (Carlingford) | Location
United States currency was debased beginning in 1965, but the sets continued under the name United States Mint Proof Set. Production was moved to the San Francisco branch in 1968, and all subsequent issues bear coins with an "S" mint mark. In 1973, the Eisenhower dollar was added to the collection. Sets from 1975 will have a dual-date 1776-1976 quarter, half-dollar, and dollar as none of those coins were ever produced with a 1975 date. The Susan B. Anthony dollar replaced the Eisenhower in 1979. The 1981 mint sets were the only method of obtaining an Anthony dollar from that year, though many have slipped into circulation.
United States Mint coin sets | United States Mint Proof Set
The Dalles Mint was to be a branch of the United States Mint in The Dalles in Oregon. Partially constructed in 1869, the planned two-story structure was never completed and the mint was never put into operation. Located in the downtown area of the city, the building was given to the state before it was sold to the public. The Mint building was most recently home to the Erin Glenn Winery.
The Dalles Mint | Introduction
In his third annual address to Congress, later known as the State of the Union address, delivered on October 25, 1791, in Philadelphia, President George Washington urged members of Congress to put the joint resolution approved earlier that year into immediate effect: In response, the Senate appointed a committee chaired by Robert Morris to draft the necessary specifications and legislation that would officially create a federal mint and coinage. The committee presented a bill before Congress on December 21, 1791, which stated in part that the new dollar coin (which was to form the basis of the United States monetary system) should contain 371 grains of silver and a total weight of 416 grains, as Hamilton had earlier recommended.
Flowing Hair dollar | Establishment of the Mint
The exact location of the mint in Exeter is unknown; however maps from the time show a street named Old Mint Lane near Friernhay, which was to be the site of a 1696 Recoinage mint. Much less is known about the mint's employees, with only Richard Vyvyan and clerk Thomas Hawkes recorded.
Royal Mint | Civil War mints
The Mint Act of 1835, established by the United States Congress on 3 March, established "one branch at the city of New Orleans for the coinage of gold and silver; one branch at the town of Charlotte...for the coinage of gold only; and one branch at or near Dahlonega, in Lumpkin County, in the state of Georgia, also for the coinage of gold only." Ignatius Alphonso Few, appointed commissioner, bought ten acres south of Dahlonega for $1,050 (equal to $ today) in August 1835, and hired the architect Benjamin Towns, the lowest bidder at $33,450 (equal to $ today), to construct the mint within eighteen months.
Dahlonega Mint | Creation
Mary Elizabeth Thomas Peavey Brooks (November 1, 1907 – February 11, 2002) directed the United States Mint from September 1969 to February 1977.
Mary Brooks | Introduction
In 1959, the packaging of the Mint Set was changed to cellophane pouches. This change allowed both sides of the coins to be displayed, and eliminated the need to include two examples of each coin. This led to a significant drop in price and an increase in popularity.
United States Mint Set | 1959–1964 Mint Sets
On July 4, 1829, a cornerstone was laid for the building at the intersection of Chestnut and Juniper Streets. It was designed by William Strickland. The second Philadelphia Mint, the "Grecian Temple", was constructed of white marble with classic Greek-style columns on front and back. Measuring wide in front by deep, it was a huge improvement over the first facility, in space as well as image. Opening in January 1833, its production was constrained by the outdated machinery salvaged from the first mint. Franklin Peale was sent to Europe to study advanced coinmaking technologies which were brought back and implemented, increasing productivity and quality.
Philadelphia Mint | Second building (1833–1901)
The United States Mint built a branch mint there, which it operated from 1838 to 1861. The Dahlonega Mint, like the one established in 1838 in Charlotte, North Carolina, only minted gold coins, in denominations of $1.00, $2.50 (quarter eagle), $3.00 (1854 only) and $5.00 (half eagle). It was cost-effective in consideration of the economics, time, and risk of shipping gold to the main mint in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Dahlonega Mint was a small operation, usually accounting for only a small fraction of the gold coinage minted annually in the US. The government decided against re-opening the facility after the Civil War.
Dahlonega, Georgia | Coin minting
In 1860 the U.S. Mint eliminated the stars on the obverse of Seated Liberty half dimes and dimes, replacing them with the legend "United States of America", which had previously appeared around the wreath on the reverse of the coins. Before this time, half dimes and dimes minted in New Orleans and San Francisco had featured their mintmarks inside the wreaths. Afterwards, the "O" and "S" (and, later, the "CC" for Carson City) mintmarks were located below the wreath next to the rim. On quarters, half dollars, and silver dollars, the mintmarks were always placed below the eagle but above the coin currency on the reverse.
United States Seated Liberty coinage | Legend and mintmarks
The Royal Mint of the United Kingdom is located at Llantrisant, Wales. It is currently the only facility of the Royal Mint but has had branch mints in the past, located at:
Branch mint | Great Britain
The United States Mint Police was founded in 1792, making it one of the oldest federal law enforcement agencies in the United States.
United States Mint Police | History
The New Orleans Mint () operated in New Orleans, Louisiana, as a branch mint of the United States Mint from 1838 to 1861 and from 1879 to 1909. During its years of operation, it produced over 427 million gold and silver coins of nearly every American denomination, with a total face value of over US$ 307 million. It was closed during most of the American Civil War and Reconstruction. After it was decommissioned as a mint, the building has served a variety of purposes, including as an assay office, a United States Coast Guard storage facility, and a fallout shelter.
New Orleans Mint | Introduction
The Uncirculated Mint Set was introduced in 1947, containing two examples of each coin issued for circulation packaged in a cardboard display case. The reason for this was so that collectors could display both the obverse and reverse of each coin in the set's packaging, which allowed only one side of the coin to be displayed. Because of the sulfur content in the cardboard packaging, many coins included in the sets developed toning.
United States Mint Set | "Double" Mint Sets (1947–1958)
The original London mint from which the Royal Mint is the successor was established in 886 AD and operated within the Tower of London for approximately 800 years before moving to what is now called Royal Mint Court where it remained until the 1960s. As Britain followed the rest of the world in decimalising its currency, the Mint moved from London to a new plant in Llantrisant, Glamorgan, Wales, where it has remained since. In 2009, after recommendations for the mint to be privatised, The Royal Mint ceased being an executive government agency and became a state-owned company wholly owned by HM Treasury.
Royal Mint | Introduction
Mynttorget was named because of its proximity to the royal mint ("Kungliga myntet"), which, during the period 1696–1850 was located by the square, and the name appears on a map dated 1733. While coins have been stamped in the capital since 1310 the original location of the royal mint is not known, the facility was located west of the palace Tre Kronor in the early-15th century (e.g. directly south of the square), but was moved between the residences of the various Mint Masters during the late Middle Ages. During the regency of Gustav Vasa, the mint was located on a former islet near today's Nationalmuseum called Kyrkholmen or even Myntholmen.
Mynttorget | History
The next year another bill unsuccessfully attempted to change the location for the mint to Portland. William Logan was appointed as superintendent of the planned mint, but he died in the shipwreck of the S.S. "Brother Jonathan" en route to The Dalles. Mary Laughlin donated a block of land on June 6, 1865, as a site for the mint and in 1869, construction finally began with Harvey A. Hogue as the superintendent of construction. However, the project was repeatedly delayed, and as the gold rushes waned and the Central Pacific Railroad opened, the mint become obsolete before the building could be completed and the minting equipment could be installed.
The Dalles Mint | History
The mint also produced a special coinage for the inmates at the Culion Leper Colony. The building housing the mint was destroyed during the retaking of the city in 1945.
Manila Mint | Official United States Mint Branch
The America the Beautiful Quarters program began in 2010 as a continuation of the 50 State Quarters and D.C. and Territories programs, allowing each state a representation in the nation's coinage. These sets are reduced versions of the United States Mint Proof Set and the packaging maintains the same burnt-orange color scheme, but came in a smaller box and different certificate of authenticity. All issues were produced at the San Francisco Mint.
United States Mint coin sets | United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set
The Director of the Mint had always been located at the Philadelphia Mint, with the other mints and assay offices governed by superintendents of whom the director was in charge. The 1873 act moved the office to Washington, where the director supervised the new Bureau of the Mint and remained in charge of all mints and assay offices. The Mint Director required appointment by the president and confirmation by the Senate and served a term of five years (unless removed by the president). Henceforth, the Philadelphia Mint would be under the immediate control of a superintendent, like the other mints.
Coinage Act of 1873 | Bureau of the Mint; duties of officers (§§1–12)
As a result, in 1835 the U.S. Federal Government established three branch mints: the Charlotte Mint in North Carolina, the Dahlonega Mint in Georgia and the New Orleans Mint. Dahlonega and Charlotte were in gold mining regions and these mints produced only gold coins. New Orleans was selected because of the city's strategic location along the Mississippi River which made it a vitally important center for commercial activity, including the export of cotton from the area's plantations. Large quantities of gold from Mexico also passed through its port annually. In the early 19th century, New Orleans, which was the fifth-largest city in the United States until the Civil War, conducted more foreign trade than any other city in the nation.
New Orleans Mint | Background
The second Calcutta Mint was established with the modern machinery brought in 1790 from England. It was located at the site of Gillet Ship building Establishment, which had been taken over by the Stamp and Stationary Committee in 1833. The coins issued from this mint continued to bear mint name Murshidabad.
India Government Mint, Kolkata | Second mint
With the exception of a brief period in 1838 and 1839, all coins minted at U.S. branch mints prior to 1908 displayed that branch's mintmark on their reverse. Larger denominations of gold and silver coins were labeled with the Dahlonega, Charlotte, and New Orleans mintmarks (D, C, and O, respectively) on the obverse (front) side, just above the dates, in those two years. Carson City, which served as a U.S. branch mint from 1870 to 1893, produced coins with a CC mintmark. The Manila Mint (the only overseas U.S. mint, which produced U.S. Territorial and U.S. Commonwealth coinage) used the M mintmark from 1920–1941.
United States Mint | Mintmarks
The Mint is a fortified house and National Monument located in Carlingford, County Louth, Ireland.
The Mint (Carlingford) | Introduction
The bars were then returned to the depositors as imparted bars stamped with the weight and fineness of the gold. Most of the gold came from the rich beds of placer gold found in the streams and first discovered in 1858, the same year Denver was founded.
Denver Mint | Act of Congress 1862
Construction started in 1805 on the new purpose-built mint on Tower Hill, opposite the Tower of London, and it was completed by 1809. In 1812 the move became official: the keys of the old mint were ceremoniously delivered to the Constable of the Tower. Facing the front of the site stood the Johnson Smirke Building, named for its designer James Johnson and builder Robert Smirke. Construction was supervised by the architect John Lidbury Poole (father of the famous singer, Elizabeth Poole). This building was flanked on both sides by gatehouses behind which another building housed the mint's new machinery. A number of other smaller buildings were also erected, which housed mint officers and staff members.
Royal Mint | Tower Hill
Mint is a populated place situated in Yavapai County, Arizona. It has an estimated elevation of above sea level.
Mint, Arizona | Introduction
Built at the peak of the silver boom conveniently near a local silver mine, 50 issues of silver coins and 57 issues of gold coins minted here between 1870 and 1893 bore the "CC" mint mark. The mint was established in Carson City to facilitate minting of silver coins from silver in the Comstock Lode, much as the San Francisco Mint was established to facilitate minting gold coins from the gold of the California gold rush. From 1895 to 1933, the building served as the U.S. Assay Office for gold and silver. The federal government sold the building to the state of Nevada in 1939.
Carson City Mint | History
The third Philadelphia Mint was built at 1700 Spring Garden Street and opened in 1901. It was designed by William Martin Aiken, Architect for the Treasury, but it was constructed under James Knox Taylor. It was a block from the United States Smelting Company that was at Broad and Spring Garden Streets. In one year alone, the mint produced 501 million coins (5/7 of the U.S. currency minted), as well as 90 million coins for foreign countries. A massive structure nearly a full city block, it was an instant landmark, characterized by a Roman temple facade. Visitors enjoyed seven themed glass mosaics designed by Louis C.
Philadelphia Mint | Third building (1901–1969)
In 1829, Bechtler, his sons Augustus and Charles, and a nephew emigrated to the United States. In 1830 he opened a watchmaker store in Philadelphia, the site of the first United States Mint. Drawn by one of the first gold rushes in the United States, Bechtler moved to North Carolina in 1830 and established a private mint. Bechtler died in Rutherfordton, North Carolina.
Christopher Bechtler | Life
In response, on March 3, 1801, Congress changed the designation of officials required to attend to "the district judge of Pennsylvania, the attorney for the United States in the district of Pennsylvania, and the commissioner of loans for the State of Pennsylvania". The meeting finally took place on April 27, 1801. The 1806 and 1815 sessions were delayed because of outbreaks of disease in Philadelphia; the one in 1812 was held a month late because of a heavy snowstorm which prevented the commissioners from reaching the Mint. No meeting took place in 1817; a fire had damaged the Philadelphia Mint in January 1816, and no gold or silver awaited the commission.
United States Assay Commission | Founding and early days (1792–1873)
Upon completion of the 50 State Quarters Program, it was decided to honor Washington D.C. and the U.S. Overseas Territories in a similar manner. The District of Columbia and United States Territories Quarters allowed for the minting of six designs in 2009 and these were sold as a set. All were produced at the San Francisco Mint.
United States Mint coin sets | United States Mint District of Columbia & U.S. Territories Quarters Proof Set
The design for the twenty-cent piece was approved on April 12, 1875. It was, however, immediately revised to better define the olive leaves at the right end of the branch (over the "N" and the "T" in "cents"); on the original design, the leaves overlapped with each other. An amended approval was given on April 15. Production began at Philadelphia on May 19, on June 1 at the Carson City Mint in Jones's home state of Nevada, and between June 1 and 17 at the San Francisco Mint. Only about 40,000 were struck at Philadelphia; the bulk was at the two Western mints with 133,290 minted at Carson City, and 1,155,000 at San Francisco.
Twenty-cent piece (United States coin) | Production, aftermath, and collecting
An event which attracted the wealthy trader population was the establishment of a Mint in 1676 for the coinage of "rupees, pies and bujurks". Tavernier who reported in 1678 that the currency was circulated within the fort precincts and some two or three leagues in the country.
Gerald Aungier | Establishment of the Mint
Mint machinery was installed in 1837, which included "cutting presses, a fly wheel, a drawing frame, a crank shaft, a coining press, and eighteen annealing pans." The coining press could make "fifty to sixty gold coins per minute." Superintendent Dr. Joseph Singleton, opened the mint in February 1838. About a thousand ounces of gold were deposited in the first week, and the first coins consisting of eighty five-dollar gold pieces, were minted on 17 April.
Dahlonega Mint | Creation
Since 1983, coins are only produced in San Luis Potosí. The ancient headquarters are currently the Museo Nacional de las Culturas in Mexico City. The mint's main client is the Bank of Mexico. Since January 13, 2014, the general mint director is Guillermo Hopkins Gamez. He is also the vice-president of the Mint Directors Conference.
Mexican Mint | Introduction
The basic design of the coins remained the same as before with the obverse inscriptions variously being — "Henry", "King Henry", "Henry King of England".
History of the English penny (1066–1154) | Location of mints, 1066–1100
By legend, President Washington supplied silverware from his home, Mount Vernon, to provide bullion for the coins. In his annual message to Congress in late 1792, Washington noted the ongoing construction of a mint building and stated: "There has also been a small beginning in the coinage of half dimes, the want of small coins in circulation calling the first attention to them." In 1793, the newly established Philadelphia Mint began striking cents and half cents. Coinage of precious metal was delayed; Congress required the assayer and chief coiner to each post a security bond of $10,000, a huge sum in 1793.
Nickel (United States coin) | Background
The Hyderabad mint operated in Saifabad from 1950 to 1997. On 20 August 1997, the mint was shifted to its present location at Cherlapally in the city of Secunderabad, India. The facility was established with annual production capacity of 700 million coins and 950 million planchets.
India Government Mint, Hyderabad | 1950–1997
The Mint was a district in Southwark, south London, England, on the west side of Borough High Street, around where Marshalsea Road is now located. It was so named because a mint authorised by King Henry VIII was set up in Suffolk Place, a mansion house, in about 1543. The mint ceased to operate in the reign of Mary I and Suffolk Place was demolished in 1557. In the late-17th and early-18th centuries, the area was known for offering protection against prosecution for debtors due to its legal status as a "liberty", or a jurisdictional interzone.
Liberty of the Mint | Introduction
The Royal Mint was established by the crown in the beginning of the 16th century. It had been located at a number of different sites across the city but was from 1873 based in a building designed by Ferdinand Meldahl on Helbergsgade in Gammelholm. In the beginning of the 1920s, the building had become too small and it was therefore decided to construct a new building on Amager Boulevard. The architect Martin Borch was charged with the design of the new building which was inaugurated in 1923. The Royal Mint moved to Brøndby in 1975. In the 2010s, the building was adapted for use as student housing by Mikael Goldschmidt Ejendomme.
Mønten Kollegium | History
Mint, obtained through FOIA Request #2017-09-205, the morphine is no longer stored at the depository.
United States Bullion Depository | Other artifacts
They received no response until three years later when the United States Treasury began to investigate private coining operations and recognized North Carolina's need for more federal coinage. On March 3, 1835, the United States Congress approved an Act 115 to 60 to establish several branch mints; the act stated, "...one branch [to be established] at the town of Charlotte, in Mecklenburg County, in the state of North Carolina, for the coinage of gold only...And for the purpose of purchasing sites, erecting suitable buildings, and completing the necessary combinations of machinery...for the branch at Charlotte, fifty thousand dollars". This Act also authorized mints at Dahlonega, Georgia, and New Orleans, Louisiana, after President Andrew Jackson signed it into law.
Charlotte Mint | History
Starting in 1972, the Denver Mint started selling Souvenir Sets, and the Philadelphia Mint did the same in 1973. These sets, available in each mints' gift shop following a public tour, contained one example of that mints' penny, nickel, dime, quarter, and half dollar, along with a medal featuring an image of its mint. These sets were sold until they were discontinued with the launch of the 50 State Quarter Program in 1999. Production figures were not recorded by the mint, and the sets receive relatively little attention from coin collectors. The 1982 and 1983 sets are an exception, though, as no Mint Sets were sold for those years, so these were collected instead.
United States Mint Set | Standard set
The identifying letter of the mint can be found on the front side of most coins, and is often placed near the year. Unmarked coins are issued by the Philadelphia mint. Among marked coins, Philadelphia coins bear a letter P. Denver coins bear a letter D, San Francisco coins bear a letter S, and West Point coins bear a letter W. S and W coins are rarely, if ever, found in general circulation, although S coins bearing dates prior to the mid-1970s are in circulation. The CC, O, C, and D mint marks were used on gold and silver coins for various periods from the mid-19th century until the early 20th century by temporary mints in Carson City, Nevada; New Orleans, Louisiana; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Dahlonega, Georgia.
Coins of the United States dollar | Current coinage
The Mint Act of 1792 authorized the Assay Commission. Beginning in 1797, it met in most years at the Philadelphia Mint. Each year, the President of the United States appointed unpaid members, who would gather in Philadelphia to ensure the weight and fineness of silver and gold coins issued the previous year were to specifications. In 1971, the commission met, but for the first time had no gold or silver to test, with the end of silver coinage. Beginning in 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed no members of the public to the commission, and in 1980, he signed legislation abolishing it.
United States Assay Commission | Introduction
As technology changed with the introduction of electricity and demand continuing to grow, the process of rebuilding continued so that by the 1960s little of the original mint remained, apart from Smirke's 1809 building and its gatehouses at the front.
Royal Mint | 1914 to 1966
North Carolina was the chief producer of gold in the United States until the Sierra Nevada find in 1848, although the volume mined in the Charlotte area was dwarfed by subsequent rushes. Some groups still pan for gold occasionally in local streams and creeks. The Reed Gold Mine operated until 1912. The Charlotte Mint was active until 1861, when Confederate forces seized it at the outbreak of the Civil War. The mint was not reopened at the war's end, but the building, albeit in a different location, now houses the Mint Museum of Art.
Charlotte, North Carolina | After the American Revolution
Adams became Superintendent of the United States Mint in Carson City from 1894 to 1898. In 1896, forming a partnership with William McGill, a cattleman, he built one of the largest ranches in the state of Nevada.
Jewett W. Adams | Career
President Nixon appointed Brooks director of the U.S. Mint, the third woman named to the post. She oversaw the first production of the Eisenhower dollar coin, as well as the design of the Bicentennial quarter, half dollar, and dollar coins for the United States Bicentennial. She is credited with saving the original San Francisco Mint building, known as the "Granite Lady," by transferring it to the Treasury Department. The building, one of the few to survive the Great Earthquake of 1906, had been vacant since 1937 and fallen into disrepair. It is now both a National Historic Landmark and a California Historical Landmark.
Mary Brooks | Director of the United States Mint