Philadelphia Mint

Philadelphia Mint, 2013

The Philadelphia Mint in the US state of Pennsylvania is the oldest of eight domestic mints in the United States, founded in 1792 .

history

The Mint Act of 1792 decided on the construction and equipment of a mint to be built in Philadelphia, the then capital of the United States. Five officials, a director, an examiner, a mint master , an engraver and a treasurer were to take care of the mint. The first director appointed by George Washington was David Rittenhouse . The original three buildings on the site of an abandoned whiskey - distillery built. In the 10 by 11 meter three-storey administration building there were the depot and weighing rooms on the ground floor, the offices of the employees on the second floor and the premises of the precious metals inspector on the third floor . The gold and silver to be melted were stored in the cellar vaults. The attached melting plant for the metals received its energy from a third building, a mill, which was initially operated with horse power. After the fire of 1816, a larger building was built, but the melting plant was built in a different location and from then on operated with a steam engine . Until 1833 the mint supplied the entire United States with hard money .

Successor building

The successor building on the corner of Juniper and Chestnut Street, which was moved into in 1833, was also called the Greek Temple because it had a front and rear facade with classical Greek columns. It was in use as a mint until 1902 before it was demolished. The successor building resembled a Roman palace and now houses the "Community College of Philadelphia".

The current mint, just two blocks from the first site, opened in 1969 and was the largest mint in the world until 2017. It can mint up to a million coins in thirty minutes . Since 1980, all coins minted there have been given the "P" mark. It is possible to visit the coin. A separate police force, the so-called United States Mint Police, is responsible for protecting the facilities .