Mint History
U.S. Mint History Articles
Discover the fascinating world of mints in our comprehensive guide, 'The Role of Mints in Coin Production.' Learn about the rich history of mints from ancient Greece and Rome to modern-day powerhouses, understand their crucial functions including coin production, bullion crafting, and precious metal refining. Dive into the coin production process, explore the different types of mints, and appreciate the significance of mint marks. Perfect for coin collectors and history enthusiasts alike!
The United States Mint produces the country's circulating coins, bullion, and collector coins. The Mint includes four production facilities in Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point and produces coins using a range of machinery and procedures. Although the process is complex due to the machinery needed to make billions of coins, there are a few procedures that every mint worldwide follows.
Over the years, there have been mints that were opened to serve a boom in gold or silver in the area, but have since closed due to no longer being needed. There are 4 branch mints that no longer operate.
Those little letters are called mintmarks, and they indicate which mint facility that coin was struck at, and sometimes those little letters will make your coin much more valuable.
John R. Sinnock was the eighth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint. He is most famous for designing the Roosevelt Dime.
Charles Barber was the sixth Chief Engraver of the US Mint, and designed many famous coins that are quite valuable today. Most notably the Liberty Head V nickel. He also designed the Barber series of coinage, and the Liberty Head series, as well as many pattern coins.
The 5th chief engraver, William Barber designed the 1873 to 1885 trade dollar which is now a coin worth millions.
James B. Longacre’s time at the U.S. Mint was quite an eventful one, from running away from home as a boy to dealing with internal politics and sabotage at the Mint.
Chief Engraver Christian Gobrecht actually did nearly all the engraving and pattern work for the remainder of Kneass’ time in office. The Gobrecht dollar was created during this time
William Kneass the second Chief Engraver of the US Mint. He was credited with creating a restraining collar for coins while they’re in the process of being struck.
