On April 2, 1792, Congress passed the Coinage Act, establishing the first national mint in the United States. Before this, during the Colonial Period, monetary transactions relied on foreign or colonial currency, livestock, or produce. After the Revolutionary War, the Articles of Confederation authorized states to mint their own coins. With the ratification of the Constitution in 1788, discussions arose about the necessity of a national mint.
Philadelphia, then the nation's capital, was chosen as the site for the first Mint. President George Washington appointed scientist David Rittenhouse as the first director. Rittenhouse purchased two lots at 7th and Arch Streets in Philadelphia to build a three-story facility, the tallest building in the city at that time. It became the first federal building erected under the Constitution.
Coin production commenced immediately, covering copper half cents and cents, silver half dimes, dimes, quarters, half dollars, and dollars, as well as gold quarter eagles ($2.50), half eagles ($5), and eagles ($10). In March 1793, the Mint delivered its first circulating coins: 11,178 copper cents.
