You’ll Be Amazed at How Many Coins The Denver Mint Makes Daily

Did you know that coins like pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters are made right here in Colorado? The Denver Mint has been striking coins we use every day in the United States for over 100 years. You can also take a tour of the Denver Mint to see how coins are made. This tour is something that I have never done, but it is certainly on my bucket list.

Making coins seems like it would be a lot of work. Thanks to technology and machines, it's not too much of a task for the Denver Mint.

The History of the Denver Mint

Before the Denver Mint became what it is today, it was established by Congress in 1862. At this time, coins were not produced, rather determining the quality of gold bullion. In 1895, Congress then authorized the Denver Mint to produce coins and provided a new building that opened in 1904 at the corner of West Colfax Avenue and Cherokee Street.

Additions to the Denver Mint took place in 1935 and 1946. Some of the expansion was necessary due to the United States government transferring one-third of the gold bullion from San Fransisco, California to Denver, Colorado.

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Where Do US Coins Come From?

Today, there are only two operating mints that produce coins in the United States. The Denver Mint and Philadelphia Mint. The amount of coins that the Denver Mint can produce daily is jaw-dropping. How many coins do you think can be made inside of the wall of the Denver Mint? If you guessed tens of thousands, you would be wrong. If you guessed hundreds of thousands, you would still not be touching the surface of the sheer amount of coins the Denver Mint Can produce daily.

According to coloradoencyclopedia.org, the Denver Mint is capable of producing over 50 million coins per day. The Denver Mint produces billions of coins per year too. So if you have spare change in your pocket right now, chances are that those coins were made in the Denver Mint.

The Denver Mint has 56 coin presses that operate five days a week and is run by approximately 350 employees.  If you are interested in taking a tour of the Denver Mint, you can find more information on the tours at usmint.gov. Just don't expect to take a selfie inside of the Denver Mint as photography is prohibited on the tour.