The
United States Mint primarily produces circulating
coinage for the
United States to conduct its
trade and
commerce. The Mint was created by
Congress with the
Coinage Act of 1792, and originally placed within the
Department of State. Per the terms of the Coinage Act, the first Mint building was in
Philadelphia, then the capital of the United States; it was the first building of the Republic raised under the
Constitution. Today, the Mint's headquarters are in
Washington D.C. which is not a coin producing facility. It operates mint facilities in
Philadelphia,
Denver,
San Francisco, and
West Point, New York and a
bullion depository at
Fort Knox, Kentucky. Official Mints (Branches) were once also located in
Carson City, Nevada,
Charlotte, North Carolina,
Dahlonega, Georgia,
New Orleans, Louisiana,
Washington, D.C.; and even in
Manila, in the Philippines.