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(Constitution of the United States, Article I, Section 8.)
When the framers of the U.S. Constitution created a new government for their
untried Republic, they realized the critical need for a respected monetary system.
Soon after the Constitution's ratification, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander
Hamilton personally prepared plans for a national Mint. On April 2, 1792, Congress passed
The Coinage Act
, which created the Mint and authorized construction of a Mint building in the nation's
capitol, Philadelphia. This was the first federal building erected under the Constitution.
President George Washington appointed Philadelphian David Rittenhouse, a leading
American scientist, as the first Director of the Mint. Under Rittenhouse, the
Mint produced its first circulating coins -- 11,178 copper cents, which were
delivered in March 1793. Soon after, the Mint began issuing gold and silver coins
as well. President Washington, who lived only a few blocks from the new Mint, is
believed to have donated some of his own silver for minting.
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