This series uses coins from my typeset as a backdrop to trace the United States Mint in the Modern Era. Each post in this series is self-contained and can be read on its own, but together they follow a single thread: the transition of the United States Mint from a struggling governmental organization to a self-funded, revenue-driven enterprise.
Prologue, “The Inevitability of Clad Coinage” (1792-1964), covers the history of silver coinage within the United States up until its transition to clad coinage — the historical implied value of silver at $1.29 per troy ounce and the United States Mint’s confrontations with Gresham’s Law.
Part 1, “A Mint in Crisis” (1934–1982), covers the abandonment of silver coinage and the improvised, often anonymous measures — suspended mint marks, frozen dates, ghost production — the used by the United States Mint to manage two back-to-back metal crises, first silver, then copper.
Part 2, “The Emerging Mint” (1970–1992), covers the years just after those crises, as the Mint began treating collectors as consumers rather than a problem to manage — not intended for circulation coinage sold to collectors, the return of commemorative coins after a 30-year absence, and the launch of the bullion coin program.
Part 3, “An Ascendant Mint” (1992–present) covers the Mint’s full transformation into a self-funded enterprise after the 1992 and 1996 acts freed it from congressional appropriations — and the resulting explosion of products, such as special finishes and novelty mint marks, as well as the marketing strategies that followed, reshaping the nature of coin collecting.
Current and Upcoming Posts
Prologue, “The Inevitability of Clad Coinage
Post 1. Silver and the Coinage Act of 1792, July 31, 2026
Post 2. Gresham’s Law and the Coinage Act of 1853, August 31, 2026