A Trip to the U.S. Mint

By: Nicole Oldham Kathy Tevelson

Andrew DuaMattias van 't Hoenderdaal

Going to the MintOur field trip was to the

Philadelphia Mint.

The Philadelphia Mint has the nation’s first coin

press.

This is a replica of Peter the Mint Eagle….a living

bald eagle that lives in the mint.

Come on a virtual field trip to learn about the Philadelphia Mint

Taking a Tour

Kathy is excited to see how money is made.

Mattias and Andrew want to give thumbs up and learn

about coins.

Nikki wants to pose like Mary Tyler Moore as she enters the

Mint.

The U.S. Mint was created in 1792.

Early HistoryIn 1939 the U.S. cent was nicknamed “silly head”

because people thought it looked funny.

In 1909 Lincoln appears on the penny.

All mint employees worked 6 days a week for 11 hours a day when it first

opened.

Philadelphia used to be the capitol of the U.S. which is why the U.S. mint is located here.

The first step in modeling a coin is a drawing.

How to Make Money

After a design is approved, a United States Mint sculptor-engraver can create a model.

Plaster is poured over the clay model. The design is

perfected and then another model is created.

The finished models are reviewed and a new project is

created. It is put in a coin database before being

released to be manufactured.

Specially designed cutters turning at high speed

reproduce every detail of the money design.

Did You Know?

Nickels didn’t have any nickel in them from 1944-1945

Ferris wheel and cartwheel are U.S. mint nicknames for

silver dollars

Before the Mint Police, a watchdog

was bought for $3.oo and used as

security

“In God We Trust wasn’t printed on

money until the Civil War

The World’s Largest Mint is the

Philadelphia Mint

After our tour, we thanked everyone and left….

As we put away our cameras we noticed the following

sign:

NO PHOTOGRAPHS PERMITTED: Visitors taking photographs may

be subject to criminal prosecution…OOPS!

What We Left With

Kathy picked up a bunch of brochures

to take home to her son.

Andrew bought newly

printed money.

Nikki was happy

when she found a quarter

Mattias left with

two empty

pockets

Making Sense Out of Making Cents...

Let Me Explain :-)