Fun Facts

Coins last a lot longer than bills.... The life expectancy of a circulating coin is 30 years, while paper money usually only lasts for 18 months. Now you see why using Golden dollars instead of dollar bills makes a lot of sense!
Where’s the world’s biggest mint?... The Philadelphia Mint, the fourth United States Mint in that city since 1792, is the world's largest mint, covering over 5 acres of ground.
“In God We Trust” was first used on coins during the Civil War.... This inscription was added to the two-cent piece of 1864. But it didn't become necessary to add it to all coins until 1955. The inscription "E Pluribus Unum," which means "One from Many" (as in one country made from many states) was first used on the gold $5 piece of 1795.
The first Director was a scientist and astronomer.... The first Mint Director, David Rittenhouse, was a famous Philadelphia scientist and astronomer who was appointed by President Washington in 1792. His first public service, in 1763, had been to settle a boundary dispute between Lord Baltimore of Maryland and the Penn Family of Pennsylvania. Mason and Dixon later confirmed his boundary lines.
The first Mint had a lot of horse power.... Horses, oxen, and men powered the Mint's coin presses before 1816. The first steam operated coin press appeared in 1836.
How old is Peter, the original Mint Eagle?... On display at the Philadelphia Mint is Peter, the bald eagle who lived at the first Mint and was befriended by its employees. After his untimely death, the workers had Peter mounted, and he has remained on display for more than 150 years.
Before the Mint Police, there was a Mint Pup.... Old records show that $3 was spent to purchase a watchdog to protect the first Mint in Philadelphia.
Half a dime wasn’t a nickel then.... The first American coins were half dimes - spelled "dismes" - which were struck in the fall of 1792. Though worth 5 cents, they contained no nickel, but were mostly silver with a trace of copper. The first circulating coins were one cent pieces made the following year.
Her best soup spoons make good pocket change.... Legend has it that Martha Washington donated the silverware from her table to make the nation's first currency.
This Native American had three different faces.... According to artist James E. Fraser, the Native American on the Indian Head and Buffalo nickels was actually a combined image created from three people: a Cheyenne named Chief Two Moons, an Iroquois named Chief John Big Tree, and a Sioux named Chief Iron Tail.