Philadelphia Mint

The nation's first mint provides a wide array of coins and manufacturing services. Like the Denver facility, Philadelphia makes circulating coins of all denominations, commemorative coins as authorized by Congress, and produces the dies for stamping coins and medals. Philadelphia manufactures the "P" mint mark portion of the uncirculated coin sets. In addition, the Philadelphia Mint employs the elite team of sculptor-engravers who are entrusted with creating designs and sculptural models for the production of all the Nation's coins and medals. All tours are self-guided; no reservations are necessary. Video/Audio stations throughout the tour. View the actual coining operations from 40 feet above the factory floor.  Watch as large coils of copper and nickel are fed through large presses which punch out smooth discs called blanks.  The coils, when unraveled, are 5 football fields long!  Later, the blanks are poured into the coining presses and become shiny, new United States coins. See the first coining press, used to strike our nation's first coins in 1792.  Coiners in colonial Philadelphia worked 11 hours each day, 6 days per week.  Employees earned about a dollar a day. Coins were practically made by hand in colonial Philadelphia.   In fact, it took coiners at the First United States Mint three years to produce our nation's first 1 million coins.  Today, in Philadelphia, we can produce 1 million coins in 30 minutes! See the Key to the First Mint, and the Mint Deed signed by President Andrew Jackson.  Note the chair and boot scraper from the First Mint and other exciting artifacts. Marvel at the seven glass mosaics created by Tiffany of New York to celebrate the opening of the Third Mint building in 1901.  These five foot treasures highlight the coining processes in ancient Rome. Meet Peter the Mint Eagle, a real Bald Eagle who made the First United States Mint his home.  Today's Mint artists still study Peter when working on new eagle designs. See the actual gold medal presented to General Anthony Wayne for his capture of Stony Point during the Revolutionary War.