The Philadelphia Mint is where it all began. When the new United States Congress issued the Coinage Act of 1792, it established the US Mint as an entity and designated Philadelphia as the location of the Mint’s office and production facility. Nearly every denomination of US coinage began its life at the Philadelphia Mint.

Now, the Philadelphia Mint would be an important location of American history even if it weren’t still producing coins for the United States. However, the Philadelphia Mint remains the US Mint’s flagship production facility to this day. In fact, it is the largest mint facility in the United States and one of the largest in the world and produces more coinage than any other facility in the US.

Considering both its foundational value in American history and its ongoing leadership of America’s coinage programs, this page is your guide to the story of the Philadelphia Mint.

Why the Philadelphia Mint Was Created

The rationale behind the creation of the Philadelphia Mint was twofold in nature.

First and foremost, the new nation needed a mint to make its new national currency. At the time, currencies from many countries floated against one another, leading to confusing transactions. The establishment of the dollar and the decimal system helped standardize commerce and, in turn, establish the sovereignty and independence of the United States from other countries.

Secondly, the nation’s capital was in Philadelphia between 1790 and 1800. Naturally, the location of the first U.S. Mint was Philadelphia.

Specifically, it was to be at the corner of 7th Street and Arch Street. The government purchased two lots at that intersection with plans of building a new three-story facility – the tallest in the city at the time.

The Coinage Act of 1792 became law in April of that year. The Mint began producing test coins in the fall of 1792 and entered full-scale production in March 1793. Considering how long most government projects take to spin up these days, the debut of the Philadelphia Mint is an impressive achievement.

Early Coinage and Establishing Trust

Now, the Coinage Act of 1792 also mandated the types and compositions of coinage that the newly-established Philadelphia Mint should produce. It declared that:

• Cents and half cents would be made primarily of copper.
• Half-dismes (the forerunner to the dime), dismes (dimes), quarters, half dollars, and dollars would be made primarily of silver.
• Quarter eagles ($2.50), half eagles ($5), and eagles ($10) would be made primarily of gold.

These edicts predate the discovery of significant gold and silver lodes in the United States. In fact, some of the first silver coins are believed to have been struck using silver donated by George Washington.

Thus, most of the higher denominations were issued in very small quantities. The first run of coins – issued in March 1793 – was just over 11,000 copper cents.

However, these early years were crucial to the success of the United States. American consumers could now depend on the solvency of the nascent nation.

The “No Mint Mark” Tradition

One of the first things to notice when assessing a U.S. coin is its mint mark. Knowing the location of its mintage is critical to its value as a collectors’ item or, if you prefer, an interesting bit of trivia.

Ironically, Philadelphia coins are distinguishable because, for the most part, they don’t have a mint mark. You can usually tell a coin is from Philly because there isn’t a “D,” “S,” or “W” stamped on the obverse to say otherwise.

The absence of a mint mark is straightforward. Prior to the late 1830s, there were no branch mints operating under the Mint’s banner. So, there was no need to include one on American coins.

After new mint branches began to appear, the authorities considered the Philadelphia location the standard issuer of coins. In other words, all the new kids could worry about identifying themselves – the “Mother Mint” had no such need.

Now, the first coins that sported any kind of mint mark from Philly didn’t appear until the Second World War. Furthermore, they appeared out of necessity, as the Mint needed to designate nickels produced during the period as bearing a unique alloy.

Because nickel was needed for the war effort, mint workers produced five-cent pieces with a 56% copper/35% silver, and 9% manganese composition. Thus, the large P stamped above Monticello on the coin’s reverse made history as the first Philadelphia-issued coin with a mint mark.

A “P” mint mark did not enter regular circulation at any denomination until 1979. The newly introduced Susan B. Anthony dollar sported a mint mark on its obverse (above Ms. Anthony’s shoulder), and since the three mint locations in San Francisco, Denver, and Philadelphia were each issuing their own versions, these coins bore the first “Ps” to circulate regularly.

The Anthony dollar’s status was short-lived. The following year, dimes, nickels, and quarters each bore the “P” mint mark if they originated from the City of Brotherly Love.

The sole holdout in the U.S. coinage system is the penny, which featured a P mintmark in 2017 to commemorate the Mint’s 225th anniversary. Although there has been discussion of ending the production of pennies, they remain in circulation.

However, collectors can still look for the absence of a mint mark on older coinage. If there isn’t a mint mark, it either wore off or you’ve got a Philly coin on your hands.

Philadelphia and Precious Metal Coinage

The practical problem that confounded US coinage in the early 1800s – the lack of major ore sources for gold and silver – began to fade over the course of the century. The discoveries of gold and silver in North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada, and especially California thrust the Philadelphia Mint into a central role as a major producer of precious-metal coinage.

The flagship location continued to serve as a center for precious metal coining until the end of the gold standard in 1933. Thus, the Philadelphia Mint is the home and origination point for many of the best-known and most-beloved American coin designs.

Famous coins that were first issued by the Philly Mint include:

• The Liberty Head Gold Double Eagle (1849)
• The Morgan Silver Dollar (1878)
• The Saint-Gaudens Gold Double Eagle (1907)
• The Peace Silver Dollar (1921)
• The Flowing Hair Silver Dollar (1794)
• The Mercury Dime – No Mark (1916)
• The Wheat Penny (1909)

Transition to Modern Coinage

By issuing Executive Order 6102, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt effectively made the ownership of gold all but illegal in the United States in 1933. Thus, the Philadelphia Mint ceased its production of gold-bearing circulation coins and refocused its attention on lower-denomination coinage.

However, when FDR issued a similar order for silver the following year (Executive Order 6814), it contained a crucial exception that EO 6102 lacked. Namely, it exempted silver-bearing coinage from the ban. Thus, the Philadelphia Mint was able to continue issuing silver coins, but without one key member of the group – the silver dollar.

Truthfully, the era of the silver dollar had largely been over by the turn of the 20th century. After the passage of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1890, demand for silver dollars dropped precipitously and led to the suspension of silver dollar production in 1904.

No silver dollars came from the Philadelphia Mint or anywhere else until 1921. However, World War I had seen the melting down of millions of silver dollars for the war effort, and the Pittman Act of 1918 mandated that they be replaced. Thus, production of the silver dollar resumed at the Philadelphia Mint in 1921. Replacement requirements under the Pittman Act were completed by 1926, after which silver dollar production was suspended again until briefly resuming in the mid-1930s.

However, dimes and quarters retained their silver content until 1965. In that year, rising silver prices forced the US Mint to remove it from the composition and replace it with cupronickel, a copper-nickel alloy that remains the dominant alloy for US coinage to this day.

Thus, by the early 1970s, the Philadelphia Mint no longer regularly issued precious metal-bearing coinage for circulation. Instead, the Philly Mint became what it is today – a mass production facility for base-metal circulating coins, while still producing proof and commemorative coins in precious metals.

Why Philadelphia Coins Matter to Collectors

Although there are now four production facilities under the US Mint, the Philadelphia Mint remains the lead facility. Its coinage is important to collectors because its coins typically serve as the standard for most U.S. denominations. In many respects, the Philadelphia Mint sets the standard for U.S. coinage, which other mints emulate.

Beyond that, coins from the Philadelphia Mint often bear unique historical significance. After all, the notion of US coinage began with this facility – albeit at a different location.

Many of the Founding Fathers were directly involved with or aware of the early operations of the Philadelphia Mint. As noted, some of the earliest silver coins likely came from donations by George Washington.

Any of its coinage prior to 1800 is historically significant and highly collectible, representing a genuine piece of American history. Thus, the Philadelphia Mint remains a vibrant and important part of the fabric of the United States.

Disclaimer

Any information in the sections above is for educational purposes only. No section should be taken as investment advice or financial instruction.