The Phabulous Four: Philadelphia's Four Mints

Many numismatists enjoy the Old West romance of the Carson City and Denver Mints, the Gold Rush fervor that inspired the San Francisco Mint and the mystique of the New Orleans Mint.

- JOSHUA MCMORROW-HERNANDEZ

The mist of Civil War lore surrounds the Charlotte and Dahlonega Mints, and M the West Point Mint piques the curiosity of those who embrace modern coins. Then there is the story that often goes untold - the one that started it all for American numismatics as we know it today. It is the story of the Philadelphia Mint - the mother mint," as some like to say.

The United States Mint was established by the Coinage Act of 1792, also known as "The Mint Act" and officially titled An Act Establishing a Mint, and Regulating the Coins of the United States. When this legislation was enacted by the second United States Congress and signed into law by President George Washington on April 2, 1792, it was decided that the place where the nation's first mint would be located was Philadelphia, which, at the time, was serving as the temporary capital of the United States.

The legacy of the Philadelphia Mint spans four sites and more than 225 years. Some may say it's a scrappy tale, encompassing a motley crew of colorful characters - even a menagerie of animals, including horses and oxen. What else would you expect from the City of Brotherly Love, whose loveable icons include inventor Benjamin Franklin, fictional prizefighter Rocky Balboa, the cracked Liberty Bell, and distinctive culinary concoctions that include cheesesteaks and tomato pie?

It's a story of survival and evolution that took the Philadelphia Mint from its humble beginnings situated in a cramped huddle of small buildings on a tiny lot to becoming the largest government mint in the world.

BUILDING THE FIRST PHILADELPHIA MINT