The US Mint has been producing American currency since 1792. The first mint location opened its doors in Philadelphia, the then-capital of the United States.
Although Philadelphia’s Mint has changed locations several times over the years, it has nonetheless been producing US Mint coins since then. There are currently four mint locations in the nation, each with their own specific role in the coinage process.
This page provides information on the United States Mint, its historical significance, and the gold and silver coins you can purchase.
Now, obviously, the primary function of the US Mint is to produce pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and other currency pieces used by the public at large. However, the Mint also produces or has produced more specialized coinage for collectors and investors.
Some of these coins are famous in their own right. Others are holdovers from previous eras that now hold both historical and numismatic value. Here are some of the more popular silver and gold coins that the US Mint has as novelties, specialties, or collectors’ items:
The United States Mint releases new commemorative or proof coins throughout each year. There will likely be releases each month throughout 2025.
Some of these coins are the Eagles and Buffalos indicated above. Others are special releases that pay tribute to famous Americans or noteworthy events in American history.
New gold and silver coin releases:
As stated above, the US Mint began its life in Philadelphia. However, a growing country meant that the Mint was faced with a growing list of needs.
In the ensuing 250 years, the Mint has grown to host six locations. Four of those locations produce specific types of coinage. The four production facilities are:
In addition to the four production facilities, the Mint also maintains a depository for gold bullion as its reserve location for the entire country. As you may have guessed, this depository is the famous facility located at Fort Knox in Kentucky, and its current holdings exceed 147 million ounces of gold.
Finally, the Mint’s headquarters are unsurprisingly located in Washington, D.C. Though no production occurs here, the Washington branch is the power center of the entire Mint organization.
As we discussed above, the story of the US Mint began in 1792. The passage of the first Coinage Act in US history authorized the creation of a national mint and designated the various coinage that it was to make.
The original location in Philadelphia corresponded with the location of the young nation’s capital city at the time. The first director of the Mint, David Rittenhouse, was directly appointed to the position by George Washington, who was still the president in those early days.
One of the more interesting aspects of the Mint’s operations in the last 200+ years is the transient nature of its locations. Throughout the 1800s, the Mint placed locations around the country in an effort to facilitate the transfer of new gold and silver discoveries.
The first American gold rushes were not in California. Instead, they occurred in South Carolina and Georgia. An 1835 act of Congress established three new mint locations. Two of them were in well-known locations – New Orleans, LA and Charlotte, NC. The third, a reflection of the location of the gold, was placed in humble Dahlonega, GA.
However, the location of these facilities was a problem after 1861, as all three were captured by the Confederacy during the Civil War. Though the Union recaptured them a year later, the damage was already done. The Dahlonega branch never reopened, the Charlotte branch malingered as an assay office into the 1870s, and the New Orleans branch finally closed shop in 1909.
As mentioned, the California gold rush in the 1850s precipitated the creation of the still-in-service San Francisco branch. However, a silver discovery in Nevada in 1859 – the famous Comstock lode – led to the creation of an additional mint in Nevada state capital Carson City.
Though the Carson Mint ceased to be a mint in 1899 due to the fading returns from the Comstock Lode, it nonetheless produced several coins that are highly valued by collectors today.