US Mint - The History of the US Mint

The history of the US Mint starts when the subject of a National Mint for the United States was first introduced by Robert Morris.

During the Confederation the different States had the unquestioned right to coin money, but only according to the standard of fineness, weight, and value, prescribed by the central government. As head of the Finance Department, Mr. Morris was instructed by Congress to prepare a report on the foreign coins, then in circulation in the United States. On the 15th of January, 1782, he laid before Congress an exposition of the whole subject. Accompanying this report was a plan for American coinage. But it was mainly through his efforts, in connection with Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, that a mint was established in the early history of the Union of the States. On the 15th of April, 1790, Congress instructed the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, to prepare and report a proper plan for the establishment of a National Mint, and Mr. Hamilton presented his report at the next session. An act was framed establishing what became the US Mint, which finally passed both Houses and received President Washington's approval April 2, 1792.