United States Mint
Agency overview
Formed	April 2, 1792
Jurisdiction	Federal government of the United States
Headquarters	Washington, D.C. (secondary Headquarters located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Denver, Colorado)
Employees	1,845 (2006)
Agency Executive	Director, Edmund C. Moy
Parent agency	Department of the Treasury
Website
www.usmint.gov

Denver United States mint building

The United States Mint primarily produces circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce. Events 68 - Galba, Governor of Hispania, names himself legatus senatus populique Romani, breaking the line of Year 1792 ( MDCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The federal government of the United States is the central United States Governmental body established by the United States Constitution. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə The City and County of Denver (pronounced /ˈdɛnvɚ/ is the Capital and the most populous city of Colorado, in the United States Edmund C Moy ( Chinese: 梅冠芳 born 1957 is an American government official The United States Department of the Treasury is a Cabinet department and the Treasury of the United States government. A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Trade is the willing exchange of goods, services, or both Trade is also called Commerce. Commerce is a division of trade or production which deals with the exchange of goods and services from producer to final consumer The main Mint facility is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and branch facilities are located in Denver, Colorado; San Francisco, California; and West Point, New York. Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə A branch mint is a satellite operation of (usually a national mint. The City and County of Denver (pronounced /ˈdɛnvɚ/ is the Capital and the most populous city of Colorado, in the United States The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city West Point is a federal military reservation (and a Census-designated place) located North of the Village of Highland Falls in Orange County New York

The Mint was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792, and placed within the Department of State. The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses The Coinage Act or the Mint Act, passed by the United States Congress on April 2, 1792, established the United States Mint and regulated Per the terms of the Coinage Act, the first Mint building was located in Philadelphia, then the U. S. capital. It was the first building of the Republic raised under the Constitution. The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme Law of the United States.

The Mint's first director was renowned scientist David Rittenhouse. David Rittenhouse ( April 8, 1732 June 26, 1796) was a renowned American Astronomer, Inventor, Clockmaker The position is currently held by Edmund C. Moy. Edmund C Moy ( Chinese: 梅冠芳 born 1957 is an American government official Henry Voigt was the first Superintendent and Chief Coiner, and is credited with some of the first U. S. coin designs. Another important position at the Mint is that of Chief Engraver, which has been held by such men as Frank Gasparro, William Barber, Charles E. Barber, James B. Longacre, Christian Gobrecht and Anthony C. Frank Gasparro ( August 26, 1909 &ndash September 29, 2001) was the tenth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint, holding William Barber, Bill Barber or Billy Barber may refer to William Barber (cricketer (1734–1805 English cricketer of the Hambledon Club Charles Edward Barber (1840&ndash 18 February, 1917) was the sixth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1879 until his death in 1917 James Barton Longacre ( August 11, 1794 &ndash January 1, 1869) an American engraver was the fourth Chief Engraver of the Christian Gobrecht ( December 23, 1785 &ndash July 23, 1844) was third Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1835 until his Paquet, among others.

The Mint was made an independent agency in 1799, and under the Coinage Act of 1873, became part of the Department of the Treasury. The Fourth Coinage Act was enacted by the United States Congress in 1873 and embraced the Gold standard and de-monetized Silver. The United States Department of the Treasury is a Cabinet department and the Treasury of the United States government. It was placed under the auspices of the Treasurer of the United States in 1981. The Treasurer of the United States (established September 6, 1777) is the only position within the United States Department of the Treasury older than the

History

The Mint has operated several branch facilities throughout the United States since the Philadelphia Mint opened in 1792 in a building named "Ye Olde Mint". A branch mint is a satellite operation of (usually a national mint. The Philadelphia Mint was created from the need to establish a national identity and the needs of commerce in the United States. With the opening of branch mints came the need for mint marks, an identifying feature on the coin to show its facility of origin. A mint mark is an inscription on a Coin indicating the mint where the coin was produced The first of these branch mints were the Charlotte, North Carolina (1838–1861), Dahlonega, Georgia (1838–1861), and New Orleans, Louisiana (1838–1909) branches. North Carolina ( is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States Dahlonega is a city in Lumpkin County, Georgia, United States, and is its County seat. The State of Georgia ( is a state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America Both the Charlotte (C mint mark) and Dahlonega (D mint mark) Mints were opened to facilitate the conversion of local gold deposits into coinage, and minted only gold coins. The Charlotte Mint was a branch of the United States Mint that came into existence on March 3, 1835 during the Carolina Gold Rush. The Dahlonega Mint was chartered by the United States Congress and erected in 1837 in the mining town of Dahlonega Georgia, during the first North American Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 The Civil War closed both these facilities permanently. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South The New Orleans Mint (O mint mark) closed at the beginning of the Civil War (1861) and did not re-open until the end of Reconstruction in 1879. 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 two stints as a minting facility, it produced both gold and silver coinage in eleven different denominations, though only ten denominations were ever minted there at one time (in 1851 silver three-cent pieces, half dimes, dimes, quarters, half dollars, and gold dollars, Quarter Eagles, half eagles, eagles, and double eagles). History The three cent coin has an unusual history It was proposed in 1851 both as a result of the decrease in Postage rates from five cents to three and to The half dime, or half disme, was a Silver Coin, valued at five cents formerly minted in the United States. The dime is a coin worth Ten cents, or one tenth of a United States dollar. A quarter dollar is a coin worth 1/4 of a United States dollar, or 25 cents. The half dollar of the United States, sometimes known as the fifty-cent piece, has been produced nearly every year since the inception of the United States Dollar coins have been minted in the United States in Gold, Silver, and Base metal versions The quarter eagle was a coin issued by the United States with a denomination of two hundred and fifty cents or two dollars and fifty cents The Half Eagle is a United States Coin that was produced from 1795 to 1929 The eagle was a base-unit of denomination issued only for Gold coinage by the United States Mint. A Double Eagle is a Gold coin of the United States with a denomination of $20

A new branch facility was opened in Carson City, Nevada in 1870; it operated until 1893, with a four-year hiatus from 1885 to 1889. Nevada ( is a state located in the western region of the United States of America. Year 1870 ( MDCCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1893 ( MDCCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Like the Charlotte and Dahlonega branches, the Carson City Mint (CC mint mark) was opened to take advantage of local precious metal deposits, in this case, a large vein of silver. Carson City Mint was a branch of the United States Mint in Carson City Nevada. Silver (ˈsɪlvɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol " Ag " (argentum from the Ancient Greek: ἀργήντος - argēntos gen Though gold coins were also produced there, no base metal coins were.

A branch of the U. S. mint (Manila Mint) was established in 1920 in Manila in the Philippines, which was then a U. The Manila Mint was a branch of the United States Mint, located in Manila, now the capital city of the Philippines. The City of Manila The Philippines ( Filipino: Pilipinas, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (fil ''Republika ng Pilipinas'' RP S. colony. To date, the Manila Mint is the only US mint established outside of the Continental U. The Manila Mint was a branch of the United States Mint, located in Manila, now the capital city of the Philippines. S. and was responsible for producing coins for the colony (one, five, ten, twenty and fifty centavo denominations). Centavo is a Spanish and Portuguese word derived from the Latin centum, meaning "one hundred" and the suffix -avo This branch was in production from 1920 to 1922, and then again from 1925 through 1941 (until the outbreak of World War II). World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Coins struck by this mint bear either the M mintmark (for Manila) or none at all, similar to the Philadelphia mint at the time.

The new regulation, coming from the Treasury Department, allows the U. The United States Department of the Treasury is a Cabinet department and the Treasury of the United States government. S. Mint to charge fines of up to $25,000 for any misuse of its names and symbols, as well as names, symbols and emblems of the Treasury in advertisements and other activities. ^[1]

Current facilities

The Philadelphia Mint

The Mint's largest facility is the Philadelphia Mint, one of four active coin-producing mints. Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə The current facility at Philadelphia, 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. The Susan B Anthony dollar is a United States coin minted from 1979 to 1981, and again in 1999. The United States five- cent Coin, commonly called a nickel, is a unit of Currency equaling one-twentieth or five hundredths of a In 1980, the P mint mark was added to all U. S. coinage except the cent. The United States one-cent coin is a unit of Currency equaling one one-hundredth of a United States dollar. Until 1968, the Philadelphia Mint was responsible for nearly all official proof coinage. Proof coinage means special early samples of a Coin issue historically made for checking the dies and for archival purposes but nowadays often struck in greater Philadelphia is also the site of master die production for U. S. coinage, and the engraving and design departments of the Mint are also located there.

The Denver Mint

The Denver branch began life in 1863 as the local assay office, just five years after gold was discovered in the area. The City and County of Denver (pronounced /ˈdɛnvɚ/ is the Capital and the most populous city of Colorado, in the United States The Denver Mint is a branch of the United States Mint established in 1862 that is today operational and produces coins for circulation as well as Mint sets and Assay offices are Institutions set up to Assay (test the Purity of Precious metal items to protect Consumers. 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. The Denver Mint is a branch of the United States Mint established in 1862 that is today operational and produces coins for circulation as well as Mint sets and Denver uses a D mint mark and strikes coinage only for circulation, although it did strike along with three other mints the $10 gold 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Commemorative. It also produces its own working dies, as well as working dies for the other Mints.

The San Francisco branch, opened in 1854 to serve the goldfields of the California Gold Rush, uses an S mint mark. 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. The California Gold Rush (1848&ndash1855 began on January 24 1848 when Gold was discovered by James Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California 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 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 solely for proof coinage, with the exception of the Anthony dollar and a portion of the mintage of cents in the early 1980s. The Susan B Anthony dollar is a United States coin minted from 1979 to 1981, and again in 1999. (These cents are indistinguishable from those minted at Philadelphia. )

The West Point branch is the newest branch mint. West Point is a federal military reservation (and a Census-designated place) located North of the Village of Highland Falls in Orange County New York Its predecessor, the West Point Bullion Depository, was opened in 1937, and cents were produced there from 1973 to 1986. The United States one-cent coin is a unit of Currency equaling one one-hundredth of a United States dollar. The West Point Mint gained official status as a branch mint on March 31, 1988. The West Point Mint Facility was erected in 1937 near the US Military Academy in West Point New York. Events 307 - After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) Along with the cents already mentioned, 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' only production facility for gold, silver and platinum American Eagle coins. This article discusses buying gold as an investment. Gold price The usual benchmark for the price of gold is known as the London Gold Fixing, a twice-daily

While not a coin production facility, the U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky is another facility of the Mint. The United States Bullion Depository, commonly called Fort Knox is a fortified vault building located near Fort Knox Kentucky which is used to store a large Fort Knox is a United States Army post in Kentucky south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. The Commonwealth of Kentucky ( is a state located in the East Central United States of America. Its primary purpose is for storage of the United States' (and other countries') gold and silver bullion reserves.

The Mint manages extensive commercial marketing programs. The product line includes special coin sets for collectors, national medals, American Eagle gold, silver and platinum bullion coins, and commemorative coins marking national events such as the Bicentennial of the Constitution. Commemorative coins are coins that were issued to commemorate some particular event or issue The Mint's functions include:

• Producing domestic, bullion and foreign coins;
• Manufacturing and selling national commemorative medals;
• Designing, producing, and marketing special coinage;
• Manufacturing and selling proof and uncirculated coin sets and other numismatic items;
• Safeguarding and controlling the movement of bullion;
• Disbursing gold and silver for authorized purposes;
• Distributing coins from the various mints to Federal Reserve Banks.

Note that the Mint is not responsible for the production of paper money; that is the responsibility of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety

In 2000, the Mint was responsible for the production of 28 billion coins. United States coinage was first minted by the new republic in 1792 See United States Mint coin production for annual production values of each coin.

Responsible for protection of Mint facilities, employees and reserves is the United States Mint Police, a federal law enforcement agency. The United States Mint Police (founded in 1792) is one of the oldest federal law enforcement agencies in the United States

Mintmarks

Proof Lincoln memorial cent, with the S mintmark of the San Francisco mint.

With the exception of a brief period in 1838 and 1839, all coins minted at U. S. branch mints prior to 1909 displayed that branch's mintmark on their reverse. A mint mark is an inscription on a Coin indicating the mint where the coin was produced 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 (just above the dates) in those two years. Carson City, which served as a U. Carson City Mint was a branch of the United States Mint in Carson City Nevada. S. branch mint from 1870 to 1893, produced coins with a CC mintmark.

Between 1965 and 1967, as the Mint labored to replace the silver coinage with base metal coins, mintmarks were temporarily dispensed with (including on the penny and nickel) in order to discourage the hoarding of coins by numismatists. Numismatics (numisma nomisma "coin" from the νομίζειν nomízein, "to use according to law" is the study or collection of Currency Mintmarks were moved to the obverse of the nickel, dime, quarter, and half dollar in 1968, and have appeared on the obverse of the dollar coin since its re-introduction in 1971. Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar.

• Cent: Unlike all other coins, which had their mintmarks on the reverse until 1964, the Lincoln cent has always had its mintmark on the obverse below the date to the right of Lincoln's bust since its 1909 introduction. The United States one-cent coin is a unit of Currency equaling one one-hundredth of a United States dollar. Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. Abraham Lincoln (February 12 1809 &ndash April 15 1865 the sixteenth President of the United States, successfully led his country through its greatest internal Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting

• Nickel: The mintmark was located near the rim of the obverse side, clockwise from the date from 1968 to 2005, to the right of Thomas Jefferson's bust. The United States five- cent Coin, commonly called a nickel, is a unit of Currency equaling one-twentieth or five hundredths of a Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Thomas Jefferson (April 13 1743 – July 4 1826 was the third President of the United States (1801–1809 the principal author of the Declaration of Independence The redesigned obverse of the nickel which appeared starting in 2006 has its mintmark below the date on the lower right. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Many earlier nickels from 1938 to 1964 are still in circulation, and their mintmarks can be found on the reverse to the right of Monticello, with the exception of the 1942-1945 war nickels cited elsewhere in this article. Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. Monticello (mɒntəˈtʃɛloʊ located near Charlottesville, Virginia, was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar

• Dime: The mintmark is above the date on the obverse side to the right of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's bust. The dime is a coin worth Ten cents, or one tenth of a United States dollar.

• Quarter dollar: The mintmark is to the right of George Washington's bust. A quarter dollar is a coin worth 1/4 of a United States dollar, or 25 cents. George Washington (February 22 1732 December 14 1799 served as the first President of the United States of America (1789&ndash1797 and led the

• Half dollar: The mintmark is below the center of John F. Kennedy's bust, above the date. The half dollar of the United States, sometimes known as the fifty-cent piece, has been produced nearly every year since the inception of the United States John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of

• Eisenhower dollar (1971-1978): The mintmark is below the center of Dwight D. Eisenhower's bust, above the date. The Eisenhower Dollar is a $1 coin issued by the United States government from 1971&ndash1978 (not to be confused with the Eisenhower commemorative dollar Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14 1890 – March 28 1969 was President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a five-star general

• Susan B. Anthony dollar (1979-1981, 1999): The mintmark is found to the right of Susan B. Anthony's bust. The Susan B Anthony dollar is a United States coin minted from 1979 to 1981, and again in 1999. Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Susan Brownell Anthony ( February 15, 1820 &ndash March 13, 1906) was a prominent American Civil rights leader who played

• Sacagawea dollar (2001-present): The mintmark is just below the date. The Sacagawea dollar, along with the Presidential Dollar series, is one of the two current United States dollar coins This coin was first minted in 2000 and depicts Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar.

• Presidential dollar, first issued in 2007: The mintmark and date are found on the rim of the coin. The Presidential $1 Coin Program is part of an Act of Congress,, which directs the United States Mint to produce $1 coins with Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

Reverse of a wartime nickel, with the mintmark located above Monticello

Due to a shortage of nickel during World War II, the composition of the five-cent coin was changed to include silver. Monticello (mɒntəˈtʃɛloʊ located near Charlottesville, Virginia, was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Nickel (ˈnɪkəl is a metallic Chemical element with the symbol Ni and Atomic number 28 World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Silver (ˈsɪlvɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol " Ag " (argentum from the Ancient Greek: ἀργήντος - argēntos gen To mark this change, nickels minted in Philadelphia (which had featured no mintmarks until then) displayed a P in the field above the dome of Monticello. Monticello (mɒntəˈtʃɛloʊ located near Charlottesville, Virginia, was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States 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.

The P mintmark, discontinued after the war, reappeared in 1979 on the Anthony dollar. By 1982, it had appeared on every other regular-issue coin except the cent, which still bears no P mintmark. The circulating cents struck in the 1980s at San Francisco (except proofs) and West Point also bear no mintmark, as their facilities were used to supplement Philadelphia's production. Given the limited numbers produced at each facility, they might have been hoarded as collectibles.

References

See also

• United States commemorative coin
• Early United States commemorative coins
• Modern United States commemorative coins
• Bureau of Engraving and Printing

External links

• U.S. Mint website