US Mint

The US Mint has been producing American currency since 1792. The first mint location opened its doors in Philadelphia, the then-capital of the United States.

Although the Philadelphia’s mint has changed locations several times over the years, it has nonetheless been producing US coins since then. There are currently four mint locations in the nation, each with their own specific role in the coinage process.

This page is your guide to the US Mint and all of its products and services. So, let’s take a look at what the Mint is doing.

United States Mint Products

Now, obviously, the primary function of the US Mint is to produce pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and other currency pieces used by the public at large. However, the Mint also produces or has produced more specialized coinage for collectors and investors.

Some of these coins are famous in their own right. Others are holdovers from previous eras that now hold both historical and numismatic value. Here are some of the more popular coins that the US Mint has as novelties, specialties, or collectors’ items:

• Gold Eagle – The Mint released its first bullion coin in 1986. The Gold Eagle, minted in 22-karat gold, has become one of the most popular coins for collectors to acquire.

• Silver Eagle – The Silver Eagle is the shiny white counterpart to the Gold Eagle. Interestingly, it is actually the purer of the two, in terms of metal content, and is minted with 99.9% fine silver.

• Gold Buffalo – The Gold Buffalo coin, introduced in 2006, was the U.S. Mint’s first .9999 fine gold coin, making it a benchmark for purity. It remains one of the most popular choices for investors seeking pure gold bullion.

• Silver Dollars – The Mint issued silver dollars as regular or semi-regular currency between 1793 and 1935. Nowadays, these pieces are quite valuable to collect, and often sell for prices far beyond their face values or 90% silver melt values would suggest.

• America the Beautiful – Most of us know about the America the Beautiful Quarters Program from the 2010s. What you may not know is that the Mint also issued versions of these coins as bullion coins of .999 fine silver.

• Pre-1933 coins – For much of the nation’s history, the Mint issued gold coins to the public as currency pieces. These coins are now collectors’ items as they are both historically significant and beloved in their designs.

• War nickels – Nickels were a commonly-used coin until recently, but their copper-heavy composition conflicted with the US war effort during World War II. So, between 1942 and 1945, the Mint issued nickels made with, among other things, 35% silver content.

• Steel pennies – In 1943, the U.S. Mint temporarily switched to producing steel pennies due to wartime copper shortages. These coins were minted in large quantities—over one billion were produced—and remain widely available today. However, their unique composition and historical significance make them desirable to collectors, particularly in high-grade condition.

New Coins from the US Mint: 2024 Release

The US Mint releases new commemorative or proof coins throughout each year. There have been releases during every single month of 2024.

Some of these coins are the Eagles and Buffalos indicated above. Others are special releases that pay tribute to famous Americans or noteworthy events in American history.

For instance, January 2024 saw the debut of a series commemorating Harriet Tubman, the great conductor of the Underground Railroad. Ms. Tubman is now immortalized in specially-minted silver half dollars, silver dollars, and gold five-dollar pieces.

Another set of coins dropped on Feb. 29, presumably in order to take advantage of the specialness of the Leap Year day. This group, which came in a variety of denominations, pays homage to the Greatest Generation – the generation of Americans who fought so valiantly during the Second World War.

United States Mint Locations

As stated above, the US Mint began its life in Philadelphia. However, a growing country meant that the Mint was faced with a growing list of needs.

In the ensuing 250 years, the Mint has grown to host six locations. Four of those locations produce specific types of coinage. The four production facilities are:

• Philadelphia – The original mint produces circulating coins, commemorative coins, uncirculated/proof specialty coins, and medals to honor various famous Americans.

• Denver – The third mint location to open its doors, the Denver Mint has nonetheless become the other producer of circulating coins and proofs, like the Philadelphia Mint.

• San Francisco – San Francisco opened its doors as a mint location in 1854 due to the California gold rush. Although it has had many responsibilities over the years, it is now almost exclusively used to produce proof coins for collectors.
• West Point – The newest mint location (1988) serves to provide many of the best-known and valued bullion coins in the US. The Gold and Silver Eagle are minted here in proof form, along with the Gold Buffalo. There is even a limited mintage of Platinum Eagles at West Point.

In addition to the four production facilities, the Mint also maintains a depository for bullion as its reserve location for the entire country. As you may have guessed, this depository is the famous facility located at Fort Knox in Kentucky, and its current holdings exceed 147 million ounces of gold.

Finally, the Mint’s headquarters are unsurprisingly located in Washington, D.C. Though no production occurs here, the Washington branch is the power center of the entire Mint organization.

History of the US Mint

As we discussed above, the story of the US Mint began in 1792. The passage of the first Coinage Act in US history authorized the creation of a national mint and designated the various coinage that it was to make.

The original location in Philadelphia corresponded with the location of the young nation’s capital city at the time. The first director of the Mint, David Rittenhouse, was directly appointed to the position by George Washington, who was still the president in those early days.

One of the more interesting aspects of the Mint’s operations in the last 200+ years is the transient nature of its locations. Throughout the 1800s, the Mint placed locations around the country in an effort to facilitate the transfer of new gold and silver discoveries.

The first American gold rushes were not in California. Instead, they occurred in South Carolina and Georgia. An 1835 act of Congress established three new mint locations. Two of them were in well-known locations – New Orleans, LA and Charlotte, NC. The third, a reflection of the location of the gold, was placed in humble Dahlonega, GA.

However, the location of these facilities was a problem after 1861, as all three were captured by the Confederacy during the Civil War. Though the Union recaptured them a year later, the damage was already done. The Dahlonega branch never reopened, the Charlotte branch malingered as an assay office into the 1870s, and the New Orleans branch finally closed shop in 1909.

As mentioned, the California gold rush in the 1850s precipitated the creation of the still-in-service San Francisco branch. However, a silver discovery in Nevada in 1859 – the famous Comstock lode – led to the creation of an additional mint in Nevada state capital Carson City.

Though the Carson Mint ceased to be a mint in 1899 due to the fading returns from the Comstock Lode, it nonetheless produced several coins that are highly valued by collectors today.