By: HISTORY.com Editors
On April 2, 1792, Congress passes the Coinage Act, establishing the United States Mint as the federally authorized producer of the nation’s coin currency.
Before the Mint was created, Americans relied on a mix of foreign coins—especially from Europe—along with barter, using livestock or crops to pay for goods. Various forms of paper currency also circulated in the states.
In 1838, U.S. Mint branches were opened across the country to fulfill the need for a centralized system of monetary exchange.
Early proposals for U.S. coin designs included placing the sitting president’s image on one side, but President George Washington dismissed the idea as “monarchical.” Instead, the Coinage Act required that all coins produced by the Mint include an image that “is emblematic of liberty”—typically represented by the face of Lady Liberty. Gold and silver coins must also include an eagle and the words “The United States of America.” The law authorized construction of the Mint building in Philadelphia, then the nation’s capital.
About a week after the act became law, Washington appointed scientist, mathematician and statesman David Rittenhouse as the Mint’s first director, at a salary of $2,000 per year. Rittenhouse, who had been serving as the treasurer of Pennsylvania, ran the Mint for three years.
The first coins struck were “half dimes.” Although the source of their silver remains unknown, it might have been donated by Washington, himself—one enduring legend claims it came from George and Martha Washington’s household silver. These early coins were likely distributed to dignitaries, rather than widely circulated. The first coins produced for general circulation were 11,178 copper cents struck in March 1793.
Today, the U.S. Mint produces more than 10 billion coins a year at its four production sites across the country.
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