In keeping with Colorado history, Daryl Mercer will talk about the Colorado Gold Rush and how it brought about minting of coins in Colorado.  Ultimately how it led to the establishment of the Denver Mint.

The mission of the U.S. Mint is to serve the American people by manufacturing and distributing / circulating, precious metal and collectible coins and national medals, and providing security over assets entrusted to us.

Since the Mint institution’s founding in 1792, the U.S. Mint has taken great pride in rendering the story of our nation in coins. To hold a coin or medal produced by the Mint is to connect to the founding principles of our nation and the makings of our economy.

The Mint is the nation’s sole manufacturer of legal tender coinage and is responsible for producing and circulating coinage for the nation to conduct its trade and commerce.

The predecessors of the Denver Mint were the men of Clark, Gruber and Company. During the Pikes Peak Gold Rush, they coined gold dust brought from the gold fields by the miners. In 1858, Austin M. Clark, Milton E. Clark and Emanuel Henry Gruber founded a brokerage firm in Leavenworth, Kansas, and then established an office in Denver at the beginning of the Colorado Gold Rush. Desiring to save on shipping and insurance costs associated with shipping gold back east, the firm opened a private mint. On 25 July 1860, the mint opened in a two-story brick building on the corner of Market and 16th Streets, minting $10 gold pieces at the rate of 15 or 20 coins a minute.  

Pikes Peak gold coin.

The Denver Mint:  Established by an Act of Congress on April 21, 1862, the United States Mint at Denver opened for business in late 1863 as a United States Assay Office. Operations began in the facilities of Clark, Gruber and Company, located at 16th and Market Streets and acquired by the government for $25,000, which it was simply able to print off at the location.

The Denver Mint is a branch of the United States Mint that struck its first coins on February 1, 1906.  The mint is still operating and producing coins for circulation, as well as mint sets and commemorative coins. Coins produced at the Denver Mint bear a D mint mark (as did the Dahlonega Mint, which closed before the Denver branch opened). The Denver Mint is the single largest producer of coins in the world.

The United States Mint at Denver manufactures coin dies, stores silver bullion, and mints coins, including:

• Circulating coins
• Numismatic products including annual uncirculated coin sets
• Commemorative coins as authorized by Congress

What is in your coin collection, pocket or safe deposit box?

Do you have a coin with Colorado history?