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{{Organization 
|OrganizationName=Denver Mint
|OrganizationType=Government Corporation
|Mission=The Denver Mint is committed to producing high-quality circulating and commemorative coins for the United States, safeguarding the nation's gold reserves, and providing public education on the history and process of coin production. It aims to support the economy by ensuring an adequate supply of coinage and to maintain the integrity of U.S. currency.
|OrganizationExecutive=Superintendent
|Employees=350
|Budget=Not publicly specified (Part of U.S. Mint's budget)
|Website=https://www.usmint.gov/about/mint-tours-facilities/denver
|Services=Coin production; Gold and silver storage; Public tours; Numismatic education
|ParentOrganization=United States Mint
|TopOrganization=Department of the Treasury
|CreationLegislation=Act of Congress on April 21, 1862
|HeadquartersLocation=39.739101, -104.994837
|HeadquartersAddress=320 West Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO 80204
}}

The '''Denver Mint''' is a branch of the [[United States Mint]] that struck its first coins on February&nbsp;1, 1906.<ref>[http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/index.cfm?action=press_release&ID=639 "United States Mint at Denver Celebrates 100 Years of Change"]. The United States Mint. Retrieved Jun 20, 2009.</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Denver US Coin Mint |url=https://www.usacoinbook.com/encyclopedia/coin-mints/denver/ |website=usacoinbook.com |publisher=USA Coin Book |access-date=9 November 2019}}</ref>

{{Official URL (simple)|url=https://www.usmint.gov/about/mint-tours-facilities/denver}}

==Mission==

The mission of the Denver Mint is to manufacture coins to meet the needs of the U.S. economy, to secure and manage gold reserves, and to educate the public about the history of coin production in America. It strives to produce coins that are not only functional but also of high quality and artistic merit.{{Cite web |url=https://www.usmint.gov/about/mint-tours-facilities/denver |title=Denver Mint |publisher=United States Mint |access-date=February 7, 2025}}

==Parent organization==

The Denver Mint is operated by the United States Mint, which falls under the U.S. Department of the Treasury, ensuring the minting of coins is in line with national financial policy.{{Cite web |url=https://www.usmint.gov/about |title=About the U.S. Mint |publisher=United States Mint |access-date=February 7, 2025}}

==Legislation==

The Denver Mint was established by an Act of Congress on April 21, 1862, initially as an assay office, later authorized to produce coins.{{Cite web |url=https://www.usmint.gov/about/mint-tours-facilities/denver/history |title=History of the Denver Mint |publisher=United States Mint |access-date=February 7, 2025}}

==Partners==

* Federal Reserve for the distribution of coins.
* Numismatic organizations for educational outreach.
* Local and federal law enforcement for security.

==Number of employees==

The Denver Mint employs approximately 350 staff members, including coin press operators, security personnel, and administrative staff.{{Cite web |url=https://www.usmint.gov/about/mint-tours-facilities/denver |title=Denver Mint |publisher=United States Mint |access-date=February 7, 2025}}

==Organization structure==

The structure of the Denver Mint includes:

* Production Division for coin manufacturing.
* Security Division for safeguarding assets and premises.
* Public Affairs Division for managing public tours and education.

===Leader===

The head of the Denver Mint is called the Superintendent.

===Divisions===

* Coining Division for the actual production of coins.
* Assay and Refining Division for metal purity and quality control.
* Maintenance and Engineering for facility upkeep.

==List of programs==

* Coin Production Program for circulation coins.
* Commemorative Coin Program for special editions.
* Public Education and Tour Program.

==Last total enacted budget==

The budget for the Denver Mint is not separately detailed but is part of the broader U.S. Mint's budget, which was around $3.5 billion for FY 2023.{{Cite web |url=https://www.usmint.gov/about/reports/financial-reports |title=Financial Reports |publisher=United States Mint |access-date=February 7, 2025}}

==Staff==

The staff comprises skilled workers in coin production, security officers, and administrative professionals, all contributing to the mint's operations.

==Funding==

Funding for the Denver Mint comes from the U.S. Mint's budget, which is self-funded through the seigniorage from coin production, supplemented by Congressional appropriations when necessary.

==Services provided==

The Denver Mint produces coins for general circulation, commemorative coins, and stores silver and gold bullion. It also offers guided tours, educational programs on coin history, and maintains the integrity of U.S. currency through quality control.{{Cite web |url=https://www.usmint.gov/about/mint-tours-facilities/denver/visiting-the-denver-mint |title=Visiting the Denver Mint |publisher=United States Mint |access-date=February 7, 2025}}

==Regulations overseen==

The Denver Mint operates under regulations set by the U.S. Department of the Treasury concerning coin production, quality standards, and security protocols.

==Headquarters address==

320 West Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO 80204

==History==

Founded during the Colorado Gold Rush, the Denver Mint initially operated as an assay office before being authorized to coin money in 1906. It has since grown into one of the largest coin producers in the world, with its historic building listed on the National Register of Historic Places.{{Cite web |url=https://www.usmint.gov/about/mint-tours-facilities/denver/history |title=History of the Denver Mint |publisher=United States Mint |access-date=February 7, 2025}}

===Clark, Gruber & Co.===
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 July&nbsp;25, 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 "fifteen or twenty coins a minute". "On the face is a representation of the peak, its base surrounded by a forest of timber and 'Pikes Peak Gold' encircling the summit.  Immediately under its base is the word 'Denver', and beneath it 'Ten D.'. On the reverse is the American Eagle encircled by the name of the firm 'Clark, Gruber & Co.', and beneath the date, '1860'."<ref name=Voynick>{{Cite book |last=Voynick |first=S. M. |year=1992 |title=Colorado Gold: From the Pike's Peak Rush to the Present |location=Missoula, Mont. |publisher=Mountain Press Publishing Company |isbn=0878424555 |oclc=314614194}}</ref>{{rp|26–27}}

A $20 gold coin was added, "the weight will be greater, but the value the same as the United States coin of like denomination". A $5 and a $2.5 gold coin were added, with production reaching $18,000 per week. On the front was the "head of the Goddess of Liberty surrounded by thirteen stars, with "Clark & Company" in the tiara.  "Pikes's Peak Gold, Denver" was on the other side, with "5D." or "2 1/2 D."<ref name=Voynick/>{{rp|27}}

In the almost three years of operation, they minted $594,305 worth of Pike's Peak gold in the form of gold coins.  Additionally, they purchased 77,000 troy ounces of raw gold, and shipped "large amounts of dust" to the [[Philadelphia Mint]]. The building, assaying and minting equipment was formally bought by the [[United States Department of the Treasury|US Treasury]] in April 1863. Clark, Gruber & Co. remained a bank until bought by the First National Bank of Denver in 1865.<ref name=Voynick/>{{rp|27}}

===Act of Congress 1862===
Established by an [[Act of Congress]] on April&nbsp;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.

Unlike Clark, Gruber and Company, though, the Denver plant performed no coinage of gold as first intended.<ref name=Voynick/>{{rp|77}} One reason given by the Director of the Mint for the lack of coinage at Denver was, "…the hostility of the Indian tribes along the routes, doubtless instigated by rebel emissaries (there being a Civil War) and bad white men."

Gold and nuggets brought there by miners from the surrounding area were accepted by the Assay Office for melting, assaying, and stamping of cast gold bars. The bars were then returned to the depositors as imparted bars stamped with the weight and fineness of the gold. Most of the gold came from the rich beds of placer gold found in the streams and first discovered in 1858, the same year Denver was founded.

When the supply of gold was exhausted from the streams, the emphasis turned to [[lode]] mining, uncovering veins of ore with a high percentage of [[gold]] and [[silver]]. By 1859, the yearly value of the gold and silver deposited at the Assay Office was over $5.6&nbsp;million. During its early years as an Assay Office, the Denver plant was the city's most substantial structure.

===Continuing history===
The United States Treasury did not expand its smelting and refining operations at the same rate as the discovery and production of gold. In 1872 a group of businessmen led by [[Judge Hiram Bond]] (formerly one of the largest brokers on the [[New York Gold Exchange]]), Joseph Miner and Denver Mayor [[Joseph E. Bates]] set up a firm [[Denver Smelting and Refining Works]] which built an independent complementary plant which processed ore into ingots which were then assayed, weighed and stamped by the Denver Mint.

There was new hope for branch mint status when [[United States Congress|Congress]] provided for the establishment of a mint at Denver for gold and silver coin production. The site for the new mint at [[Colfax Avenue|West Colfax]] and Delaware streets was purchased on April&nbsp;22, 1896, for approximately $60,000. Construction began in 1897.

Appropriations to complete and equip the plant were insufficient, and the transfer of assay operations to the new building were delayed until September&nbsp;1, 1904. Coinage operations finally began on February&nbsp;1, 1906, advancing the status of the Denver facility to Branch Mint. In addition, before the new machinery to be used at the Mint was installed for use, it was first sent to the [[Louisiana Purchase Exposition|St. Louis Exposition]] of 1904 for display. Silver coins were minted in Denver for the first time in 1906. During the first year, 167 million coins were produced, including $20 gold ([[double eagle]]) coins, $10 gold (eagle) coins, $5 gold (half eagle) coins, and assorted denominations of silver coins.

The mint was individually listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1972. It was further included as a [[contributing building]] in the listing of [[Civic Center Historic District (Denver, Colorado)|Civic Center Historic District]] in 1974.<ref name=nris/><ref name="nrhpdoc-NPS">{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=74002348}}|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Civic Center Historic District |publisher=[[National Park Service]]|author=Barbara Norgren |author2=Cynthia Emrick |date=December 10, 1973 |access-date=October 22, 2022}} With {{NRHP url|id=74002348|photos=y|title=accompanying 51 photos from __}}</ref><ref name=nrhpdoc-NARA>{{cite report |type=none |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/84129195 |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Civic Center Historic District |publisher=[[NARA]] |author=Barbara Norgren |author2=Cynthia Emrick |date=December 10, 1973 |access-date=October 22, 2022 |archive-date=October 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221022071350/https://catalog.archives.gov/id/84129195 |url-status=dead }} Includes __ photos. ({{NationalArchivesNote}})</ref>

Today, the Denver Mint produces commemorative coins, coin dies and uncirculated coin sets. It has a production capacity of more than 50 million coins a day and roughly 350 employees.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Encyclopedia Staff |date=2016-05-25 |title=Denver Mint |url=https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-mint |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=coloradoencyclopedia.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
* The Denver Mint is featured in the 1993 [[Sylvester Stallone]] film ''[[Cliffhanger (film)|Cliffhanger]]'', as the production point of the money stolen in the film, and the departure point for the plane.
* The Denver Mint appears [[Anachronism|anachronistically]] in the 1870s in the 1967 ''[[The Wild Wild West]]'' episode "The Night of the Circus of Death".
* Similarly to above, The Mint is also anachronistically set in the 1870s in the 1960 ''[[Shotgun Slade]]'' episode "The Missing Train".
* The Denver Mint is referenced in the title of a [[Jimmy Eat World]] track from the album [[Clarity (Jimmy Eat World album)|Clarity]] called ''Lucky Denver Mint''.
* In the 1969 [[Burt Reynolds]] film ''[[Sam Whiskey]]'', the Denver Mint is the scene of a reverse-heist; gold previously stolen from it had to be covertly returned to protect the reputation of the late thief's widow. 
* In the 1959 [[Maverick (TV series)|''Maverick'']] episode "Full House", Bret Maverick, played by [[James Garner]], was mistaken by several high profile outlaws for the outlaw leader they were there to meet. Bret came up with a plan to rob the Denver Mint, but his real plan was to have them arrested during the robbery so he could collect the bounties on the others.

==See also==
{{Portal|Numismatics|Money}}
*[[Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Denver Branch]]
* [[List of mints]]
* [[Historical United States mints]]
* [[Charlotte Mint]]
* [[Dahlonega Mint]]
* [[New Orleans Mint]]
* [[Philadelphia Mint]]
* [[San Francisco Mint]]
* [[Silver mining in Colorado]]
* [[Gold mining in Colorado]]


==External links==
* [https://www.usmint.gov/about/mint-tours-facilities/denver Official Website]
* [[wikipedia:Denver Mint]]
* [https://www.nps.gov/places/denver-mint.htm National Park Service - Denver Mint]
* [http://www.usmint.gov/ The U.S. Mint]
* [https://competition.usmint.gov/visiting-the-united-states-mint-in-denver-colorado/ Visitors' information at the Denver Mint] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210044703/https://competition.usmint.gov/visiting-the-united-states-mint-in-denver-colorado/ |date=2017-02-10 }}

==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{Cite web |title=History of the Denver Mint |department=Fact Sheets: Currency & Coins |url=http://www.treas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/denver-mint.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103104450/http://www.treas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/denver-mint.shtml |archive-date=January 3, 2007 |publisher=U.S. Treasury Department |access-date=March 17, 2017}}

{{US currency and coinage}}
{{Registered Historic Places}}
{{Denver}}

[[Category:1862 establishments in Colorado Territory]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Denver]]
[[Category:Colorado State Register of Historic Properties]]
[[Category:Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado]]
[[Category:Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado]]
[[Category:Mints of the United States]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Denver]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Denver]]
[[Category:United States Mint]]
[[Category:Civic Center Historic District (Denver, Colorado)]]
[[Category:Historic district contributing properties in Colorado]]
[[Category:Government buildings completed in 1897]]
[[Category:1897 establishments in Colorado]]
[[Category:Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements architecture]]