"YE OLDE MINT"

As a result of the Coinage Act of 1792, the creation of our very first Mint was entered into law April 2nd of that year. It was built in our new country's capital of Philadelphia. However, there is more to the story... A lot of people do not realize it was the very first building constructed for our new nation. Most people would guess The White House, or Capitol Building, or some Congressional Hall. Nope. It was Ye Olde Mint! Over the past 232 years, the Philadelphia Mint has been rebuilt 4 times but "Ye Olde Mint" will always be the first building of our great Nation.

Why?

Now to the question at hand, why does this matter? It comes down to one thing. Mo' money, Mo' problems! As a fledgling Nation we had to find a standard for trade. Initially most people are thinking internationally but we needed to standardize our money to accurately trade within our own borders! Back when our Nation was just 13 states, many states were producing their own money and even using money from different countries and private mints. Previously, Thomas Jefferson himself had urged Congress to adopt the Spanish Piece of Eight for our monetary purposes. We had to find a way, producing our own standard coinage was the answer.

Today, the Philadelphia Mint is still as viable as ever. For many years, since it was the only mint, Philadelphia struck coins never had a mintmark. They kept that tradition almost two hundred years. Traditions have changed and we now have had the "P" mintmark consistently on their coins since 1979, the earliest use of the "P" was on 1942 nickels! Even now Philadelphia is known as the main mint with all other mints considered to be branch mints. It's no longer the "YE OLDE MINT" but you can take a free self-guided tour, it's worth your time. Happy collecting!