It is the United States Mint’s main job to produce circulating coins for America and was created in the year 1792. The very first Mint building was actually built in the city of Philadelphia. Today, it is Washington D.C. where the U.S. Mint’s official headquarters is found.
The U.S. Mint history holds many found truths.
Before the actual United States’ official establishment, many people traded for products with coins that were foreign, but with the manifestation of the Constitution along with a new government, there happened to be a serious desire for a respected and a well-grounded system. Quickly after the Constitution’s ratification, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton had designed plans for a national Mint. It was Congress that passed The Coinage Act on April 2, 1972, which established the Mint and made it responsible for creating coins for public use. Quickly after, an official Mint was created in Philadelphia. It was in 1873, that the U.S. Mint became an official part of the Department of Treasury.
As of today, there are four coin-producing mints in the United States. These four coin-producing mints are located in Denver, near Hampden Dentistry & Orthodontics, Philadelphia, West Point, and San Francisco. Believe it or not, there is also a bullion depository located in the Fort Knox area of Kentucky. Did you know that the official coins of each branch are actually recognized by a small letter on the coins known as a mintmark?
First built in the year 1792, the Philadelphia branch began official operations around a year after. It was President George Washington who had eventually appointed as its very first director, Mr. David Rittenhouse. The first building structure, which was the tallest building in Philadelphia at the time, became known by a classic nickname. Today, it is the Philadelphia branch that is in its successful fourth building. The Denver branch was officially established in the year 1862 right after the Treasury Department suggested that another branch mint should be established properly for the coinage of gold.
It was President Millard Fillmore who actually authorized the building of the San Francisco branch eventually. Often seen as the inspiration for this legislation, the California Gold Rush became very important for miners to transform their precious gold into real coins. The want for more coins quickly increased over time, resulting in the creation of two new buildings for the San Francisco branch. In the year 1961, the branch’s official second location was assigned as an official National Historic Landmark.
The West Point building was officially completed on the 13th of June in the year 1938 and is close to the West Point Academy’s North Gate. On March 31st of 1988, it was President Ronald Reagan who had signed Public Law 100-274 that gave the West Point branch professional status as a United States branch. This specific branch secures, stores, even protects many of the silver bullion that is maintained by the U.S. and also one-quarter of the United State’s gold reserves.
The main responsibilities and actions of the U.S. Mint have their own routine of responsibilities that it’s workers thoroughly carry out. Did you know that San Francisco makes proof coin sets in silver and in clad and also commemorative coins?
In conclusion, there is much history for one to find when reading about how the U.S. Mint came into being and what will come in the future. If your into the Denver Mint, you will love the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum.