The United States started minting its own coins in 1792, when the newly built Philadelphia Mint struck roughly 1,500 silver half dismes under the authority of the Coinage Act signed that April.1United States Mint. Coinage Act of April 2, 1792 Copper cents and half cents followed in early 1793 as the first federal coins to reach the public in real quantities. Silver dollars arrived in 1794, and gold coins in 1795.
The Law That Authorized American Coinage
The Coinage Act was signed on April 2, 1792 and recorded as 1 Stat. 246. It created the United States Mint, made the dollar the country’s standard unit of money, and set up a decimal system dividing the dollar into tenths (called “dismes”), hundredths (cents), and thousandths (milles).1United States Mint. Coinage Act of April 2, 1792
The Act authorized ten denominations across three metals: gold Eagles ($10), Half Eagles ($5), and Quarter Eagles ($2.50); silver Dollars, Half Dollars, Quarter Dollars, Dismes, and Half Dismes; and copper Cents and Half Cents. Each coin’s face value was tied to a precise weight of metal. A silver dollar, for example, had to contain exactly 371.25 grains of pure silver, and an eagle had to contain 247.5 grains of pure gold.2GovInfo. 1 Stat. 246 – Act Establishing a Mint and Regulating the Coins of the United States
Congress treated the integrity of the new coinage as a matter of national survival. Mint officers had to post $10,000 bonds before taking office, and Section 19 of the Act made it a felony punishable by death for a Mint officer to deliberately debase the coinage or steal metals entrusted for coining.1United States Mint. Coinage Act of April 2, 1792
The 1792 Silver Half Disme: The First Federal Coin
The very first coins produced under federal authority were about 1,500 silver half dismes struck in 1792. They carried a bust of Liberty on one side and a flying eagle on the other. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson took delivery of the entire batch on July 13, 1792, and recorded distributing them along his route home to Virginia.1United States Mint. Coinage Act of April 2, 1792 President Washington later referred to the strike in his Fourth Annual Address to Congress that November, calling the production “a small beginning.”
1793: Cents and Half Cents Reach the Public
Meaningful public circulation of federal coins began in early 1793, when the Mint shifted to copper cents and half cents. Workers fed blank copper discs into hand-operated screw presses one at a time, and daily output was small. One of the earliest designs, the Chain Cent, showed Liberty on the front and a chain of linked rings on the back. Newspaper writers complained that Liberty looked frightened and that the chain evoked bondage rather than unity. Director David Rittenhouse ordered a redesign, and the Chain Cent was pulled after a short run, which is why surviving pieces are now among the great rarities of American numismatics.
1794 Silver Dollars and 1795 Gold Coins
Silver dollars had to wait until the Mint accumulated enough bullion. The first were struck on October 15, 1794, using a Flowing Hair design by Mint engraver Robert Scot. Only 1,758 were produced that year, making the 1794 Flowing Hair dollar one of the most sought-after coins in existence.3United States Mint. 230th Anniversary Flowing Hair Coin and Medal
Gold coins followed in 1795, when the Mint released its first Half Eagles ($5) and Eagles ($10). The Quarter Eagle ($2.50) arrived in 1796. All three gold denominations initially carried a Capped Bust Right design, also by Scot, with Liberty on the front and an eagle on the reverse.4United States Mint. Gold Eagle Coins Because early equipment was primitive, strike quality, weight, and thickness varied noticeably from piece to piece.
Why the Rollout Took Several Years
The staggered debut of the different denominations was not just a matter of engineering. Under the 1792 Act, the Mint operated on a “free coinage” system: anyone could bring gold or silver bullion to the Mint and have it coined into money at no charge or for a small processing fee. The Mint did not buy metal on the open market. That meant production of silver and gold coins depended on merchants, banks, and individuals choosing to deposit raw metal. Copper the Mint had to source itself, which is part of why cents and half cents moved faster than dollars and eagles. As gold strikes later occurred in North Carolina, Georgia, and eventually California, Congress opened branch mints closer to the mines.5United States Mint. History of the U.S. Mint Overview
Where the First Coins Were Struck
The Coinage Act required the Mint to operate at the seat of government, which in the early 1790s was Philadelphia. President George Washington appointed the scientist David Rittenhouse as the first Director, and the facility became the first federal building erected under the authority of the Constitution.5United States Mint. History of the U.S. Mint Overview Rittenhouse purchased two lots at Seventh and Arch Streets for roughly $4,266.67 and oversaw construction of a three-story building, reportedly the tallest in Philadelphia at the time, along with a separate smelting house.6United States Mint. Philadelphia Mint Sourcing coin-striking machinery was one of his hardest early tasks, since the technology had to be adapted largely from scratch.
Foreign Coins Kept Circulating for Decades
The Mint could not produce enough coins to meet the country’s needs, so Congress let foreign coins keep functioning as money during the transition. The Act of February 9, 1793 explicitly granted legal tender status to foreign gold and silver coins at specified exchange rates. Spanish milled dollars were valued at 100 cents each, and British and Portuguese gold coins were valued at 100 cents per 27 grains of actual weight.7United States Mint. Legislation to Allow Foreign Coins as Legal Tender
The 1793 law was written as a temporary measure. It stated that most foreign gold and silver coins would lose legal tender status three years after the President proclaimed that the Mint had begun regular coinage, though Spanish milled dollars were exempted from that deadline.7United States Mint. Legislation to Allow Foreign Coins as Legal Tender The act covered only gold and silver coins. Foreign copper was never given legal tender status, so from the very start Americans had to rely on the Mint’s own cents and half cents for small change.
Congress extended the deadline for foreign coins several times as domestic output lagged. Full removal did not happen until the Coinage Act of 1857, more than six decades after the Mint opened its doors.8United States Mint. History of U.S. Circulating Coins