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UNITED STATES MINT
A brief history
Created over 225 years ago, on April 2nd, 1792 as part of the ‘Coinage Act of 1792,’ The United States Mint was established. The US Mint serves many functions but not limited to: production of bullion, domestic and foreign coins; production of commemorative coins that mark National events (i.e. Bicentennial of the Constitution); Special Set coins; the regulation of the movement of bullion, as well as the design, production, and marketing of medals.
Included in the Coinage Act of 1792 the standing President of the United States of America, George Washington, was authorized to erect the country’s first Federal building under the Constitution, The United States Mint, located in Philadelphia. Shortly after the creation of The US Mint, David Rittenhouse, Astronomer and Mathematician, was appointed as the first Director of The US Mint garnering a yearly salary of $2,000 or roughly $166 per month.
The first coins struck were “half disme” or pronounced as “half deem”. These half dimes were struck in the cellar of a Pennsylvanian saw maker by the name of John Harper. Some of the coins are believed to be made of George and Martha Washington’s personal silverware. Of the recorded 1,500 coins minted only about 250 are still in existence.
U.S. Mint Product Lineup
- American Gold Eagle
- Gold Buffalo
- American Silver Eagle
- Platinum Eagle
The Gold Rush!
Another mint was created 62 years after the Philadelphia Mint had opened. The new mint would be located in San Francisco, CA to help serve the ongoing Gold Rush. Following the California based mint would be Denver, CO and West Point, NY, respectively. Each mint strikes their unique mintmark upon the coins issued. Philadelphia bears the letter “P”, San Francisco strikes “S”, Denver embosses “D” and West Point punches a “W”.
A beautiful surviving specimen of a 'Half Disme.'
Liberty coin Act
From its inception, The US Mint has produced over 780,899,000,000 coins worth an approximate value of $49,774,254,188.71+. In 1985, Public Law was passed; ‘Title II 99-61’ codifying the existing 31 U.S.C. § 5112 which outlines the existence, specifications, denomination, metallurgy and weight of coins produced in the United States. This new law would allow for bullion to be produced using Gold sourced within the United States of America, though it is unclear if this extended to Silver sourced by domestic mines. Originally, the Silver found in the U.S. Assayer Office rounds was sold off out of the ‘Defense National Stockpile.’ This was used to help bring the price of Silver down after the ‘Hunt Brother Fiasco,’ but a successful attempt was made to block the efforts, citing the disastrous effect on domestic Silver mining production. By 1982, the Silver sell off from the National stockpile was stopped.
A photo taken at one of our facilities of a 1 oz American Silver Eagle (2016).
Mintage by the numbers
What is the mintage of the American Gold Eagle Coin?
The United States Mint has produced just over 18,722,000 of the 1 oz variants of the American Gold Eagle. Today, that would be worth $27.6 billion dollars in Gold, and this does not include the millions of ounces of fractional (1/10th, 1/4th, ½ troy oz) American Gold Eagle coins that have been produced since 1986.
How many American Silver Eagles have been minted?
The number of 1 oz American Silver Eagles fluctuate year to year with a record number produced in 2015 with an astonishing 47,000,000; 1 oz American Silver Eagles minted. That is approximately $799 million dollars’ worth of fine, .999 Silver minted in a single year.
The total number of American Silver Eagles minted since their inception in 1986 is a whopping 530,323,888 coins or over $9 billion dollars’ worth of Silver.
How many 1 oz Gold Buffalo Coins has the U.S. Mint produced?
The United States introduced an addition to its Gold bullion line up with a beautifully modified version of James Earle Frasers ‘Indian Head Nickel’ or ‘Buffalo Nickel’ coin struck in 1 troy oz of .9999 (24-karat) fine Gold. Arguably the most favored design on any US coin and first issued in 1913, which displays a Native American and American Bison.
This beautiful rendition was released in 2006 (along with the American Platinum Eagle) and over the last decade over 2.4 million coins have been issued. The U.S. Mint has promised a large expansion of this coin program to include production of 1/10, ¼, and ½ ounce variants of this coin but this remains to be seen. In fact, the U.S. Mint temporarily halted sales citing that they could not keep up with demands during the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008 as more and more Americans were seeking financial safety in the bullion coin during that time.
How many American Platinum Eagles have been made?
Not as popular as the Gold and Silver bullion coins, though the Platinum Eagle has made an impact on the market. The mint was authorized to begin production of the American Platinum Eagle in 2006 along with the American Gold Buffalo. Since its inception a total of 374,510; 1 oz Platinum Eagles have been minted and sold to the general public. The Platinum Eagle, uniquely, has over 22 different variations (in terms of design) that has been created. This is quite rare of the U.S. Mint to allow and usually only updates coins with enhanced security features, like the scheduled one in 2021 for the American Gold Eagle. Though, rumors have circulated about a new design for the American Silver Eagle, but any official press release is non-existent.
How many American Palladium Eagle coins have been minted?
Relatively new, the American Palladium Eagle, which sold out within 5 minutes of its initial 2017 release, has made its way onto the Numismatic markets. Many first issue proof American Palladium Eagles were being sold on the secondary market with over $600 premiums!
The total number of American Palladium Eagles as of 2018 is 29,986. The official mintage number for 2019 is yet to be announced.
Here at Investor Crate, we provide two crates that embodies the vision of our country's sovereignty, The U.S. Standard Crate and U.S. Constitutional Crate. If this is something that would interest you, they are showcased below.
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Other Popular World Mints
Government Mints
- The Royal Mint (UK)
- The Royal Canadian Mint (Canada)
- The Perth Mint (Australia)
- The Mexican Mint (Mexico)
- The Austrian Mint (Austria)
- The South African Mint (South Africa)
- The LEV
- Other World World Mints
I love learning the history of the mint and our coinage. Wish I hadn’t popped the Mercury dimes out of my coin folders to buy ice cream when I was a kid.
Always interested in history, esp. U.S.
Wow, interesting article!
Had no idea how many platinum silver eagles were minted. They are my absolute favorite. Someday maybe…