 Seal of the U.S. Mint | |
 Logo of the U.S. Mint | |
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | April 2, 1792; 233 years ago (1792-04-02) |
| Jurisdiction | Federal government of the United States |
| Headquarters | 38°54′01″N77°01′25″W / 38.90028°N 77.02361°W /38.90028; -77.02361 Washington, D.C.,U.S. |
| Employees | 1,845 (2006)[needs update] |
| Agency executive | |
| Parent agency | Department of the Treasury |
| Website | usmint.gov |
TheUnited States Mint is a bureau of theDepartment of the Treasury responsible for producingcoinage for the United States to conduct itstrade andcommerce, as well as controlling the movement ofbullion.[1] The U.S. Mint is one of two U.S. agencies that manufactures physical money. The other is theBureau of Engraving and Printing, which prints paper currency. The first United States Mint was created inPhiladelphia in 1792, and was 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, andWest Point.
The first authorization for the establishment of a mint in the United States was in a resolution of theCongress of the Confederation of February 21, 1782,[2] and the first general-circulation coin of the United States, theFugio cent, was produced in 1787 based on theContinental dollar.
The current United States Mint was created byCongress with theCoinage Act of 1792, and originally placed within theDepartment of State. Per the terms of the Coinage Act, the first Mint building was inPhiladelphia, which was then the capital of the United States; it was the first building of the United States raised under theConstitution. The mint's headquarters is a non-coin-producing facility inWashington D.C. It operates mint facilities inPhiladelphia,Denver,San Francisco, andWest Point, and a bullion depository atFort Knox, Kentucky. Official Mints (Branches) were once also located inCarson City, Nevada;Charlotte, North Carolina;Dahlonega, Georgia;New Orleans, Louisiana; and inManila, in the Philippines.[3]
Originally part of theState Department, the Mint was made an independent agency in 1799.[4] It convertedprecious metals into standard coin for anyone's account with noseigniorage charge beyond therefining costs. Under theCoinage Act of 1873, the Mint became part of theDepartment of the Treasury. It was placed under the auspices of thetreasurer of the United States in 1981.Legal tender coins of today are minted solely for the Treasury's account.
The firstdirector of the United States Mint was renowned scientistDavid Rittenhouse from 1792 to 1795. The position is currently filled byVentris Gibson.[5]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 ofChief Engraver, which has been held by such men asFrank Gasparro,William Barber,Charles E. Barber,James B. Longacre, andChristian Gobrecht.[6]
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The Mint has operated severalbranch facilities throughout the United States since thePhiladelphia Mint opened in 1792, in a building known as "Ye Olde Mint". With the opening of branch mints came the need formint marks, an identifying feature on the coin to show its facility of origin. The first of these branch mints were theCharlotte, North Carolina (1838–1861),Dahlonega, Georgia (1838–1861), andNew Orleans, Louisiana (1838–1909) branches.[7] Both theCharlotte (C mint mark) andDahlonega (D mint mark) Mints were opened to facilitate the conversion of localgold deposits into coinage, and minted only gold coins.[8] TheCivil War closed both these facilities permanently. TheNew Orleans Mint (O mint mark) closed at the beginning of the Civil War (1861) and did not re-open until the end ofReconstruction in 1879. 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 silverthree-cent pieces,half dimes,dimes,quarters,half dollars, and golddollars,Quarter Eagles,half eagles,eagles, anddouble eagles).
A new branch facility was opened inCarson City, Nevada, in 1870; it operated until 1893, with a three-year hiatus from 1886 to 1888. Like the Charlotte and Dahlonega branches, theCarson City Mint (CC mint mark) was opened to take advantage of local precious metal deposits, in this case, a large vein ofsilver. Thoughgold coins were also produced there, no base metal coins were.[9]
In 1911 the Mint had a female acting director,Margaret Kelly, at that point the highest paid woman on the government's payroll. She stated that women were paid equally within the bureau.[10]
A branch of the U.S. mint (Manila Mint) was established in 1920 inManila in thePhilippines, which was then a U.S. territory. To date, the Manila Mint is the only U.S. mint established outside the continental U.S. and was responsible for producing coins (one, five, ten, twenty and fiftycentavo denominations). This branch was in production from 1920 to 1922, and then again from 1925 through 1941.[11] Coins struck by this mint bear either the M mintmark (for Manila) or none at all, similar to the Philadelphia mint at the time.
Abranch mint inThe Dalles, Oregon, was commissioned in 1864. Construction was halted in 1870, and the facility never produced any coins, although the building still stands.[12]
There are four active coin-producing mints:Philadelphia,Denver,San Francisco, andWest Point.
The Mint's largest facility is thePhiladelphia 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 theSusan B. Anthony dollar and the wartimeJefferson nickel. In 1980, the P mint mark was added to all U.S. coinage except thecent with the exception of the cent in 2017 to commemorate the Philadelphia Mint's 225th anniversary.[13] Until 1968, the Philadelphia Mint was responsible for nearly all officialproof coinage.[14] Philadelphia is also the site of masterdie production for U.S. coinage, and the engraving and design departments of the Mint are also located there.[15]
TheDenver Mint began in 1863 as the localassay 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.[16] 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.[17] It also produces its own working dies, as well as working dies for the other mints.[16] 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.
TheSan Francisco branch, opened in 1854 to serve the goldfields of theCalifornia 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 thegreat 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.[18] In 1968, it took over most proof-coinage production from Philadelphia,[19] and since 1975, it has been used almost exclusively for proof coinage, with the exceptions of theAnthony dollar (1979–1981),[20] a portion of the mintage of cents in the early 1980s, (these cents are indistinguishable from those minted at Philadelphia), and a small portion ofAmerica the Beautiful quarters minted in circulation-quality (but not issued for circulation) since 2012.[21]
TheWest Point branch is the newest mint facility, gaining official status as a branch mint in 1988.[22] Its predecessor, the West Point Bullion Depository, was opened in 1938, andcents were produced there from 1973 to 1986.[23] 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.[22] In 1996, West Point produced clad dimes, but for collectors, not for circulation.[24] 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 palladiumAmerican Eagle coins.[22] In 2019 and 2020, West Point produced limited quantities of circulating quarters bearing the "W" mint mark for the first time. The 2020 West Point quarters also bore a V75 privy mark to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end ofWorld War II.[25] In 2019 West Point also produced special edition cents and in 2020 special edition nickels.
While not a coin production facility, theU.S. Bullion Depository atFort 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.[26]
The US Treasury owns 8133.5 tonnes of gold,[27] 7628 tonnes of which is stored in US Mint storage facilities, namely, 4582 tonnes (147.3 million troy ozs) in the US Bullion Depository in Fort Knox, Kentucky, 1682 tonnes (54.1 million troy ozs) in the West Point bullion storage facility in upstate New York, and 1364 tonnes (43.8 million troy ozs) in the US Mint facility in Denver, Colorado.[28]
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, andcommemorative coins marking national events such as the Bicentennial of the Constitution. The Mint's functions include:
The Mint is not responsible for the production of American paper money; that is the responsibility of theBureau of Engraving and Printing.[29]
In 2000, the Mint was responsible for the production of 28 billioncoins. SeeUnited States Mint coin production for annual production values of each coin.
TheUnited States Mint Police, afederal law enforcement agency, is responsible for the protection of Mint facilities, employees and reserves.[30]
The production and sale of circulating coinage and the other functions of the Mint are funded through the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund, established in 1995. Any profits made by the Fund in excess of operating requirements are returned to the Treasury.Government procurement regulations do not apply to the Mint's procurement and contracting activity.[31]
| Image | Name | Location | Year granted branch mint status | Years of operation | Mint mark[a] | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Philadelphia Mint | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1792 | 1793–present | P, none | Pennies, besides those struck in 2017, do not carry Philadelphia mint marks. All coinage struck prior to 1980 has no mint mark, besidesSusan B. Anthony dollars and wartimeJefferson nickels. | [32] |
 | Charlotte | Charlotte, North Carolina | 1835 | 1838–1861 | C | Gold coinage only. Operated by theConfederate States in 1861. | [32] |
 | Dahlonega Mint | Dahlonega, Georgia | 1835 | 1838–1861 | D | Gold coinage only. Briefly operated by the Confederate States in 1861. | [32] |
.jpg) | New Orleans Mint | New Orleans, Louisiana | 1835 | 1838–1861; 1879–1909 | O | Mint operated by theLouisiana state government and the Confederate States in 1861. | [32] |
 | San Francisco Mint | San Francisco, California | 1852 | 1854–present | S, none | Since 1975, primarily strikesproofs. Exceptions include a portion of penny circulation issues during the early 1980s and theSusan B. Anthony dollar. | [32] |
.jpg) | Carson City Mint | Carson City, Nevada | 1863 | 1870–1885; 1889–1893 | CC | [32] | |
.jpg) | Denver Mint | Denver, Colorado | 1896 | 1906– | D, none | [32] | |
.jpg) | Mint of the Philippine Islands | Manila, Philippines | 1918 | 1861–1898; 1920–1922; 1925–1941 | M, none | Only U.S. branch mint located outside theContinental United States. Originally founded as theCasa Moneda de Manila under Spanish colonial rule. Produced coinage in peso and centavo denominations for Philippines circulation. Operations ceased following theJapanese invasion of the Philippines. | [32] |
 | West Point Bullion Depository (1974–1988) West Point Mint (1988–present) | West Point, New York | 1988 | 1974–present | W, none | Commemorative coins bear the W mint mark; circulating coins are indistinguishable from coinage struck in Philadelphia, excepting certain special issues since 2019. | [32] |
 | The Dalles Mint | The Dalles, Oregon | 1864 | Abandoned | none | Construction began in 1869, but was abandoned the following year in a partially-constructed state. No coins were ever struck at The Dalles, and the building was sold in 1875. | [33][34] |
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'smintmark on theirreverse. 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.[35] TheManila Mint (the only overseas U.S. mint, which produced U.S. Territorial and U.S. Commonwealth coinage) used the M mintmark from 1920 to 1941.
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 bynumismatists.[36] 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.
Due to a shortage ofnickel duringWorld War II, the composition of the five-cent coin was changed to includesilver. To mark this change, nickels minted in Philadelphia (which had featured no mintmarks until then) displayed a P in the field above the dome ofMonticello. 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.[40]
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, with the exception of 2017 Lincoln Cents, still bears no P mintmark. The circulating cents struck in the 1980s at San Francisco (except proofs) and West Point also bears 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.[41]
For 2017, in commemoration of the U.S. Mint's 225th Anniversary, the P mintmark was placed on the obverse of Philadelphia-minted Lincoln cents for the first time in the coin's 100+ year history. The P mintmark did not re-appear for 2018 and subsequent circulation strikes minted in Philadelphia.[42]
| Deputy Secretary of the Treasury |  | |
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| Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs |
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| Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance |
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| Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence | ||
| Treasurer of the United States | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
