On April 2, 1792, Congress passed the Coinage Act, also known as the Mint Act, which among other things, created the United States Mint.
In colonial America, settlers were expected to follow the rules set by the king of England. While a few charters allowed colonies to produce their own coins, most did not. Then in 1652, the people of the Massachusetts Bay Colony took a chance when England was without a king and established their own mint in Boston. Though a new king later came to power, the Boston Mint struck all its coins for 30 years with a 1652 date, to lead the British to believe all those coins had been minted then.
A century later, as America went to war with England for its independence, the issue of coin production arose again. In February 1777, a congressional committee suggested the creation of a national mint in America. While the Treasury Board was supposed to begin planning a mint, they took no further action. However, this was the first known instance of Congress’ interest in creating a national mint.
The following year, the Articles of Confederation authorized the states to strike their own coins. That same year, a committee designed the Treasury seal, which is used on US money and is part of the Mint seal.
Then in 1782, Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris addressed Congress, asking to establish a US mint, with the production costs to be paid by those that used the coins. Four years later, the Continental Congress authorized the establishment of a mint but stated that coins should be produced on contract rather than at the expense of the public.
However, in 1789, the new Constitution went into effect, replacing the Articles of Confederation. Under the Constitution, Congress was given the power to make money, regulate its value, and punish counterfeiters. It also prohibited the states from producing their own money. Two years later, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton submitted a report to Congress suggesting a mint. Congress responded and produced a resolution in March 1791. A little over a year later, the resolution became law on April 2, 1792. It authorized the creation of national mint “at the seat of the government of the United States.” The US Mint building in Philadelphia was the first Federal building created under the Constitution.
The act called for the Mint to make coins of gold, silver, and copper. The first coins struck were half dimes reportedly made from silverware donated by George and Martha Washington. The first coins to be struck and circulated were 11,178 copper cents delivered on March 3, 1793. Sometimes called the chain cent, it was unpopular with the public because the chain of 15 links on the back (meant to symbolize the states) reminded many of slavery. It was quickly replaced with the wreath cent, which you can view here.
Click here to view lots of coins, sets, coin covers, and more. And we’re adding more all the time.
Click here to read the full text of the Coinage Act of 1792 and click here for more history on the US Mint.
Click here to see what else happened on This Day in History.
Love the posts, but do you think you could improve the resolution of the photos?
The chain said to cause the unpopularity of the chain cent because it reminded people of slavery is a stretch that I have not seen before. Most scholars that do not deal in promoting revisionist history believe the chain was seen as a bad omen for the liberty of a new country.
Always good to hear other points of view. Political correctness and “alternative facts” does sometimes leads to revisionist history, just have to be aware of the source.
“Money, Money, Money, Money, MONEY” as the song goes.
If the chain was supposed to represent the 13 colonies, why are there 15 links? Were they expecting to add two more colonies/states? I thought the resolution of the coins was great and appreciated the ability to view these old coins.
I had hoped for an explanation of the 15 links.
I looked it up: the links represented the number of states when the coin was minted, not the original colonies.