One of the most important and busiest assay offices run by the US Mint over its history was the US Assay office in Manhattan, New York. The US Mint established its Denver facility in 1862, initially as a precious metals assay office in response to the Pike’s Peak gold rush in Colorado. The San Francisco mint, which opened in 1854, also owes it’s genesis to the discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California in 1848 and the subsequent legendary California gold rush. Similarly, a minting facility was set up in Charlotte in 1837 to facilitate assaying and minting of gold resulting from the 1820s North Carolina gold rush. For example, a mint facility was established in Dahlonega, Georgia in 1838 following gold discoveries and the subsequent Georgia gold rush which had began in 1828. As the Mint’s volumes expanded, many of the early production facilities were built at locations close to US gold discoveries. In 1792, the US Coinage Act also defined a dollar as equivalent to 371.25 grains of silver, while setting the proportional value of gold and silver at 15 to 1. The same year, the US Mint’s first coin minting facility opened in Philadelphia. The US Mint was established on 2 April 1792 by an Act of Congress which declared that “a mint for the purpose of a national coinage” be established. The history of the US Mint has close parallels the history of gold and silver in the United States.

The US Mint claims to store 95% of the US Treasury’s 8,133.5 tonnes of gold at its storage facilities in Fort Knox, Denver and West Point The Mint operates four production facilities in Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco and West Point, a bullion depository in Fort Knox, and a head office in Washington D.C.

The Mint’s bullion coin program comprises silver, gold and platinum American Eagle coins, gold American Buffalo coins, and silver America the Beautiful coins

The US Mint is the world’s largest producer of bullion coins, and also manufacturers circulation coinage for the US The US Mint reports to the US Department of the Treasury West Point and Denver also provide bullion depository and storage facilities for part of the US Treasury’s gold reserves. The Fort Knox facility in Kentucky is exclusively a bullion depository and not a production facility. In fact, the US Mint is the world’s largest manufacturer of coins and medals, as well as the world’s largest producer of gold and silver bullion coins.Īlthough the US Mint is headquartered in Washington DC, its production facilities are based in four other locations across the US, namely Philadelphia, Denver, West Point in upstate New York, and San Francisco. Secondly, the US Mint oversees the storage and custody of the United States official gold reserves on behalf of the US Treasury, most notably at the Fort Knox bullion depository in Kentucky.īeyond these functions, the US Mint also manufactures US legal tender circulating coinage, as well as commemorative coins, proof coins, medals, and other numismatic coin products. Firstly, the US Mint produces the very popular American Eagle gold bullion coins and American Eagle silver bullion coins. In the precious metals world, the US Mint is probably best known for two reasons. The United States Mint (US Mint) is the official government operated mint of the United States of America.

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