Other than the nation’s first mint at Philadelphia, the Denver Mint is a branch of the United States Mint that produces an incredible amount of circulating coins every year. In fact, Denver alone produced nearly half of the 11.9 billion coins that circulated in 2019. With the level of importance it has today in the Mint’s overall production, it is hard to believe that it was once only an assay office.
However, because of the familiarity of the “D” mintmark, many have neglected to give an adequate amount of props to the Colorado facility. While coins produced at San Francisco and West Point have garnered all the attention lately in the coin hobby with special releases, let us not forget just how important production at Denver really is.
Denver Mint - Assay Office
The Colorado Gold Rush began in 1858 as gold was first discovered on the Platte River near the city of Denver. The discovery carried with it a tremendous amount of excitement but for the longest time, mining was exclusive to placer claims, or a parcel of land for which the claimant has asserted a right of possession and the right to develop and extract a discovered, valued mineral deposit according to the Bureau of Land Management. However, those miners found themselves having trouble distributing the mined product. Why? Just like California saw in the early 1850s before the opening of San Francisco, transportation was an issue that forced them to get rid of the gold dust at a loss. From 1860-1862, three firms manufactured both $5 and $10 gold pieces. Clark, Gruber & Co. was the most distinguished of the three and produced the largest amount of gold coins.
It was not until April 21, 1862, that Congress approved an act that would establish a mint in Denver that was to be exclusive to coining gold. The government then purchased the Clark, Gruber & Co. facility and its machines for $25,000 and would finally open its assay office in late September of 1863. They were limited to melting, refining, assaying, and stamping gold bullion in addition to returning unparted, stamped bars to the same depositors. The office maintained this way until 1869 when Congress approved the office to operate with an assayer in charge and a melter. The branch of the Mint was not operating under terms that warranted a full crew of officers. Its duties now were limited to the melting and assaying of bullion and the return of it to those who deposited it.
Denver Mint - Official Production Facility
During its first year of operation, the Denver Mint produced a little of two million gold and silver coins. During that time, gold coins were being made in denominations of $2.5, $5, $10, and $20. Since then, Denver has left its stamp on Lincoln pennies beginning in 1911, the Kennedy half dollars beginning in 1964, and were producing steel pennies during the Second World War.
Denver Mint - Additions
While the Denver Mint is today producing half of the circulating coins to be released, its capacity to do so was not reflective of the original building. Greater production and increased storage capacity have caused a number of additions since its first opening in 1906. The first addition occurred in 1935 when extra space was necessary upon the government transfer of one-third of the nation’s gold bullion from San Francisco to the facility in Denver. The government sought a more secure location inland than the facility in California. Today, the Denver Mint still stores bullion among other locations of the Mint.
The 1960s saw the Mint in Colorado in need of maintenance and upgrades. They were given an option to renovate the original building or move to a different location. After several years of finding locations and debating the move, the government decided to keep the mint at its existing location. In 1972, the building was actually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. While they decided to keep the same building, it did not move them any further along when it came to the lack of size and production.
Through 1984-1985, a third addition to the building was built on the western side. Conflicts once again occurred in the late 1980s when a new visitor’s center was proposed to adapt to the nearly 500,000 people who were visiting the facility every year. The final structure was completed in 1992 and incorporated modern concepts while keeping motifs from the original building. Finally, in 1996, a die shop was built on the western edge of the facility and would be the final addition to the Denver location.
Denver Mint - Today
As previously mentioned, Denver accounted for over 5.8 billion coins released for circulation in 2019 with the rest being minted at Philadelphia. Other than circulating coins, Denver produces commemorative coins, uncirculated coins for sets, and coin dies. It is one of four production facilities for the U.S. Mint (the other three being Philadelphia, San Francisco, West Point) in addition to its Bullion Depository in Fort Knox and its headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Source: United States Mint
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