The US Mint, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury created on April 2, 1792, produces coinage for commerce and controls bullion movement, and it lists Paul Hollis as its director and a 2006 employee count of 1,845.
The Mint operates four active coin producing facilities in Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco and West Point, and it maintains a bullion depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky, while its Washington D.C. office functions as a non coin producing headquarters.
The agency’s commercial product line includes collector sets, national medals, American Eagle bullion coins, and commemorative issues, and in 2000 the Mint reported producing 28 billion coins while operating through the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
The Philadelphia facility produces master dies and houses engraving and design, Denver supplies working dies and circulation coinage, San Francisco focuses on proof coins, and West Point stores bullion while producing commemorative, proof and bullion coinage.
Mint History Mint Marks And Bullion Storage
Branch mints have included Charlotte, Dahlonega, New Orleans, Carson City, and an overseas Manila mint, while a planned The Dalles facility never struck coins and was abandoned, and these branches historically used distinct mint marks for origin identification.
Mint mark practice changed over time, with coins struck without mint marks from 1965 to 1967, a move of mint marks to the obverse in 1968, and the addition of a P mint mark for most Philadelphia coins in 1980, except for most cents.
The US Treasury reports total Treasury owned gold at 8,133.5 tonnes, with 7,628 tonnes held in Mint storage facilities, including 4,582 tonnes at Fort Knox, 1,682 tonnes at West Point, and 1,364 tonnes at Denver, and Fort Knox remains the Mint’s primary bullion repository.
The Mint also operates the United States Mint Police for facility protection, distributes coins to Federal Reserve Banks, disburses gold and silver for authorized purposes, and does not produce paper currency, which is handled by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
