United States Mint facts for kids

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United States Mint
Agency overview
Seal of the U.S. Mint
Logo of the U.S. Mint
Formed	April 2, 1792; 233 years ago (1792-04-02)
Jurisdiction	Federal government of the United States
Headquarters	38°54′01″N 77°01′25″W / 38.90028°N 77.02361°W / 38.90028; -77.02361 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Employees	1,845 (2006)
Agency executive	Paul Hollis, Director
Parent agency	Department of the Treasury

The United States Mint is a special part of the U.S. Treasury. Its main job is to make all the coins we use every day. These coins help people buy and sell things, which is called trade and commerce. The Mint also keeps track of valuable metals like gold and silver, known as bullion.

The U.S. Mint is one of two government groups that make physical money. The other group is the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which prints all our paper money. The very first U.S. Mint started in Philadelphia in 1792. Over time, other mints opened across the country. Each mint puts a special mark on its coins to show where they were made. Today, there are four active mints that make coins: Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point.

The United States Mint: Making Our Money
See also

The United States Mint: Making Our Money

A Look Back: How the Mint Started

The idea for a U.S. Mint began way back in 1782. The first coin made for everyone to use was the Fugio Cent in 1787. It was based on an earlier design called the Continental dollar.

The U.S. Mint we know today was officially started by Congress in 1792. This happened with a law called the Coinage Act of 1792. The first Mint building was in Philadelphia, which was the capital city at that time. It was the very first building the U.S. government built under the new Constitution.

Today, the Mint's main office is in Washington D.C., but it doesn't make coins there. Instead, coins are made at facilities in Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point. There's also a special storage place for gold, called a bullion depository, at Fort Knox, Kentucky. In the past, other mints operated in places like Carson City, Nevada; Charlotte, North Carolina; Dahlonega, Georgia; New Orleans, Louisiana; and even in Manila, in the Philippines.

At first, the Mint was part of the State Department. But in 1799, it became its own independent agency. Back then, people could bring their own gold and silver to the Mint. The Mint would turn these precious metals into coins for them. They only charged for cleaning the metal, not for making the coins themselves. Later, in 1873, the Mint joined the Department of the Treasury. Today, all coins are made directly for the Treasury.

The first leader of the U.S. Mint was a famous scientist named David Rittenhouse. He served from 1792 to 1795. Today, Paul Hollis is the Director. Henry Voigt helped design some of the very first U.S. coins. Another key role is the Chief Engraver. These artists create the designs we see on our coins. Famous Chief Engravers include Frank Gasparro and James B. Longacre.

Early Mints and Their Marks

The First U.S. Branch Mint in California, which opened on April 3, 1854, is located at 608–619 Commercial Street in San Francisco. The building now houses the San Francisco Historical Society.

Since the first Philadelphia Mint opened, many other branch mints have operated. These branches needed mint marks to show where each coin was made. The first branch mints were in Charlotte, North Carolina, Dahlonega, Georgia, and New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Charlotte (C mint mark) and Dahlonega (D mint mark) Mints were built to turn local gold into coins. They only made gold coins. Both of these mints closed forever during the Civil War.

The New Orleans Mint (O mint mark) also closed during the Civil War. It reopened later and made both gold and silver coins. It produced many different types of coins over the years.

A new mint opened in Carson City, Nevada, in 1870. This Carson City Mint (CC mint mark) was built because of the large amounts of silver found nearby. It made both silver and gold coins until 1893.

In 1911, Margaret Kelly served as an acting director. She was an important woman in government at that time.

The Manila Mint opened in 1920 in the Philippines, which was a U.S. territory then. It's the only U.S. mint ever built outside the main United States. It made coins for the Philippines until 1941. These coins had an 'M' mint mark or no mark at all.

A mint was planned for The Dalles, Oregon, in 1864. But it was never finished and never made any coins.

Where Our Coins Are Made Today

There are four active coin-producing mints: Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point.

Philadelphia Mint: The Main Hub

The Philadelphia Mint

The Philadelphia Mint is the largest of all the Mint's facilities. The current building opened in 1969. The first Philadelphia Mint started making coins in 1793.

For a long time, coins made in Philadelphia didn't have a mint mark. But in 1980, the 'P' mint mark was added to most coins. In 2017, even the penny got a 'P' mark for a special anniversary. Philadelphia also creates the master designs for all U.S. coins.

Denver Mint: Gold Rush Legacy

The Denver Mint

The Denver Mint started in 1863 as an office to test gold and silver. This was just after gold was found in the area. In 1906, it officially became a U.S. Mint branch. Denver coins have a 'D' mint mark. It mostly makes coins for everyday use. It also helps create the tools, called dies, that stamp the designs onto coins.

San Francisco Mint: Special Coins

The San Francisco Mint

The San Francisco Mint opened in 1854. It helped turn gold from the California Gold Rush into coins. San Francisco coins have an 'S' mint mark. Its second building was one of the few to survive the great earthquake in 1906.

The San Francisco Mint closed in 1955 but reopened in the 1960s. Since 1975, it mostly makes special collector coins called 'proof coins'. It also made some Susan B. Anthony dollars and pennies for a short time.

West Point Mint: Bullion and Special Issues

The West Point Mint is the newest official mint, becoming a branch in 1988. Before that, it was a storage place for valuable metals. It made pennies from 1973 to 1986.

West Point makes many special collector coins and proof coins with a 'W' mint mark. It also stores some of the United States' gold bullion reserves. Today, West Point is the main place for making gold, silver, platinum, and palladium American Eagle coins. In 2019 and 2020, West Point made some circulating quarters with a 'W' mint mark for the first time.

Fort Knox: Protecting Our Gold

The U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky, is another important Mint facility. It doesn't make coins. Its main job is to safely store gold and silver for the United States and other countries.

The U.S. Treasury owns a lot of gold. Most of it is stored in U.S. Mint facilities. This includes Fort Knox, the West Point storage facility, and the Denver Mint facility.

What the Mint Does

The Mint does many important things. It manages programs to sell special coins to collectors. It also makes national medals and American Eagle gold, silver, and platinum coins. It creates commemorative coins to mark important national events.

Here are some of the Mint's main jobs:

Making coins for everyday use, special collector coins, and coins for other countries.
Creating and selling national medals.
Designing and making the Congressional Gold Medals.
Designing, making, and selling special collector coins.
Keeping valuable metals safe and tracking their movement.
Giving out gold and silver for approved uses.
Sending coins from the mints to Federal Reserve Banks.

Remember, the Mint does not print paper money. That job belongs to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

In 2000, the Mint made 28 billion coins! The United States Mint Police are federal law enforcement officers. They protect all Mint facilities, employees, and valuable reserves.

The money the Mint earns from making and selling coins helps fund its operations. Any extra money goes back to the U.S. Treasury.

Branches

Name	Location	Year granted branch mint status	Years of operation	Mint mark	Notes
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, besides Susan B. Anthony dollars and wartime Jefferson nickels.
Charlotte Mint	Charlotte, North Carolina	1835	1838–1861	C	Gold coinage only. Operated by the Confederate States in 1861.
Dahlonega Mint	Dahlonega, Georgia	1835	1838–1861	D	Gold coinage only. Briefly operated by the Confederate States in 1861.
New Orleans Mint	New Orleans, Louisiana	1835	1838–1861; 1879–1909	O	Mint operated by the Louisiana state government and the Confederate States in 1861.
San Francisco Mint	San Francisco, California	1852	1854–present	S, none	Since 1975, primarily strikes proofs. Exceptions include a portion of penny circulation issues during the early 1980s and the Susan B. Anthony dollar.
Carson City Mint	Carson City, Nevada	1863	1870–1885; 1889–1893	CC
Denver Mint	Denver, Colorado	1896	1906–present	D, none
Mint of the Philippine Islands	Manila, Philippines	1918	1861–1898; 1920–1922; 1925–1941	M, none	Only U.S. branch mint located outside the Continental United States. Originally founded as the Casa Moneda de Manila under Spanish colonial rule. Produced coinage in peso and centavo denominations for Philippines circulation. Operations ceased following the Japanese invasion of the Philippines.
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.
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.

Identifying Coins: Mint Marks Explained

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

A mintmark is a small letter on a coin. It tells you which U.S. Mint facility made that coin. Before 1908, most coins from branch mints had their mintmark on the back.

Between 1965 and 1967, mintmarks were temporarily removed from coins. This was done to stop people from collecting coins and taking them out of circulation. In 1968, mintmarks moved to the front of most coins.

Mint Marks on Different Coins

Penny: The mintmark is on the front, below the date, to the right of Abraham Lincoln's head. This has been its spot since 1909.
Nickel: From 1968 to 2005, the mintmark was on the front, near the edge, to the right of Thomas Jefferson's head. Since 2006, it's below the date on the lower right. Older nickels (1938-1964) have the mintmark on the back, to the right of Monticello.
Dime: The mintmark is on the front, above the date, to the right of Franklin D. Roosevelt's head.
Quarter dollar: The mintmark is to the right of George Washington's head.
Half dollar: The mintmark is below the center of John F. Kennedy's head, above the date.
Eisenhower Dollar (1971–1978): The mintmark is below the center of Dwight D. Eisenhower's head, above the date.
Susan B. Anthony dollar (1979–1981, 1999): The mintmark is to the left of Susan B. Anthony's head.
Sacagawea dollar (2000–present): For coins made from 2000 to 2008, the mintmark is just below the date. Since 2009, the date and mintmark are on the edge of the coin.
Presidential dollar (2007–2016, 2020): The mintmark and date are found on the edge of the coin.
American Innovation dollar (2018–2032): The mintmark and date are found on the edge of the coin.

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

During World War II, there was a shortage of nickel. So, the five-cent coin was made with silver instead. To show this change, nickels made in Philadelphia (which usually had no mintmark) got a 'P' mark. This 'P' was placed above the dome of Monticello on the back of the coin. This special mintmark placement lasted until 1946.

The 'P' mintmark, which disappeared after the war, returned in 1979 on the Anthony dollar. By 1982, it was on almost every regular coin, except the penny. The penny still usually doesn't have a 'P' mintmark, except for special issues like in 2017.

For 2017, the 'P' mintmark was put on Philadelphia-made Lincoln cents. This was to celebrate the U.S. Mint's 225th Anniversary. However, the 'P' mintmark did not appear on pennies made in Philadelphia in 2018 or later for everyday use.