As the country’s first Mint, the Philadelphia location has a fascinating history. The timeline below includes this facility’s important moments. Learn more about where the Philadelphia Mint fits in the Mint’s story, at History of the U.S. Mint.
April 2 - The Coinage Act of April 2, 1792 establishes a national mint. Congress chooses Philadelphia, then the nation's capital, as the location.
President George Washington appoints a leading scientist, David Rittenhouse as the first director.
July 18 - Two lots are purchased for $4,266.67 at 7th and Arch Streets to build a three-story building, the tallest building in Philadelphia at that time.
March - The Mint delivers its first circulating coins: 11,178 copper cents.
The Mint hires its first female employees, Sarah Waldrake and Rachael Summers. They work as adjusters, weighing blank coins and “adjusting” those weighing too much. Learn more about their story at Women at Work.
The Mint moves to a second facility at Chesnut and Juniper Streets.
March 23 - The first steam coin press is installed, increasing the speed of coin production.
June - The Philadelphia Mint moves to its third location on Spring Garden Street. Cost of the site and building is $2 million and includes seven Tiffany glass mosaics.
The Philadelphia Mint moves to its fourth, and current, location on Independence Mall.
The Tiffany glass mosaics originally in the third Philadelphia Mint are re-installed in the fourth building. They are unveiled during a ceremony on June 8, 1971.
The mosaics can still be seen on a tour today.
Philadelphia’s mint mark, "P," appears on the one cent coin for the first time. This change is only for the 2017 issued cents, in honor of the Mint’s 225th anniversary.
