Mint is a place where coins are made. In the United States and most other countries, only the government may mint (manufacture) coins. American mints are supervised by the United States Mint, a division of the Department of the Treasury. Mints now operate in Denver, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and West Point, N.Y. They make only coins. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, D.C., makes paper money.
United States mints make dollars, half dollars, quarters, dimes, nickels, and cents for general circulation. They also make commemorative coins for special occasions and gold and silver bullion coins for investors. For a description of how U.S. coins are minted, see Money .
Historians believe the world’s first mint was founded during the 600’s B.C. in Lydia, now a part of Turkey. Ancient Mediterranean civilizations, including Greece and Rome, used coins in commerce. The use of coins gradually spread throughout Europe and Asia.
The first mint in the United States was established in Boston in 1652. It produced coins under the authority of the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Articles of Confederation of 1781 gave both the U.S. Congress and the individual states authority to mint money and regulate its value. The first federal mint opened in Philadelphia in 1792 and is still in operation. Other federal mints have operated in Carson City, Nev. ; Charlotte, N.C.; Dahlonega, Ga. ; Denver; New Orleans; and San Francisco.
Coins were minted in England before the coming of the Romans in A.D. 43. What is now the British Royal Mint began operating in London in the 1200’s. The Royal Mint completed a move from London to Llantrisant, Wales, near Cardiff, in 1975. The Canadian mint was established in Ottawa in 1870 as a branch of the British Royal Mint. It became a part of the Canadian Department of Finance in 1931.
