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Interesting Facts About the
U.S. Mint
- David Rittenhouse was selected by George Washington as the
first Director of the Mint.
- The first Mint building was the first Federal building
erected by the U.S. Government under the Constitution.
- Past Mints have included Dahlonega, GA; Charlotte, NC; New
Orleans, LA; and Carson City, NV.
- The first Philadelphia Mint used harnessed horses to drive
the machinery that produced coinage.
- A two-cent coin was minted between 1864 and 1873 and was the
first coin to bear the motto "In God We Trust".
- Legend holds that George Washington donated some of his
personal silver to the Mint for manufacturing early coinage.
- The Mint's first delivery of coins occurred in 1793 and
consisted of 11,178 copper cents.
- Mint marks, "S", "D", "P", or
"W" designate the Mint facility which produced the coin.
- Thomas Jefferson first proposed the decimal currency system
which we use today.
- By provision of to Coinage Act of 1965, mint marks were not
carried on coins made in 1965, 1966, or 1967.
- The first U.S. commemorative coin was produced in 1892 and
featured Christopher Columbus.
- The Mint's original coins were made of gold, silver, and
copper.
- In 1943, the content of the cent coins was changed to
zinc-coated steel due to copper shortage during World War II.
- According to the artist, the Indian head on the buffalo
nickel (1913-1938) is a composite picture.
- The Philadelphia Mint mark appears on each of its coins
except the Lincoln cent.
- Susan B. Anthony is the only woman honored on a regular
issue coin.
- The Philadelphia Mint covers five acres of land.
- The first coin to feature an African-American was the Booker
T. Washington Memorial Half Dollar.
- Calvin Coolidge was the first President to have his portrait
appear on a coin struck during his lifetime.
- George Washington first appeared on a commemorative dollar,
with the Marquis de Lafayette, in 1899.
- In 1893, Queen Isabella of Spain became the first woman to
be featured on a U.S. commemorative coin.
- All commemorative coins legislated by the U.S. Mint are
legal tender.
- Original gold coinage included $10, $5, and $2.50
denominations.
- The Act of APRIL 2, 1792, which created the Mint, required
coins to have "...an impression emblematic of liberty."
- The Roosevelt dime torch, olive branch, and oak branch
portray liberty, peace, and strength and independence.
- The donation of $508,316 in gold to create the Smithsonian
Institution was assayed in the [Philadelphia] U.S. Mint.
- The first Lincoln cent was produced in 1909 and carried
wheat head patterns on the reverse side. [Shouldn't that be "wheat ears"??]
- From 1799 to 1873, the Mint was an independent agency
reporting directly to the President.
- The Lincoln cent is the only circulating coin currently
produced in which the portrait faces to the right.
- The United States has two motto's that appear on each
circulating coin, "In God We Trust" and "E Pluribus Unum."
- Designers' initials can be found on each circulating coin.
- The design on the back of the Kennedy is the presidential
coat of arms.
- The San Francisco Mint, established in 1854, survived the
great earthquake of April 18, 1906.
- Before creation of a national Mint, "currency"
included foreign and colonial currency, livestock, produce, and wampum.
- The Denver Mint opened in 1863 as a U.S. Assay Office.
- The present Philadelphia Mint opened in 1969 and is the
fourth facility which has existed in that city.
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