My numismatic bucket list is to visit the site of every U.S. Mint, past and present. Thus far, I've visited exactly one!
I went to the Philadelphia Mint back at the beginning of my YN days. . . 15 years ago (where does the time go?
). Now as an adult with a deeper understanding of numismatics, I wanted to revisit the Mint and recently had the opportunity.
They were renovating the entrance while I was there, so it made it difficult to experience the mosaics because the lobby and mezzanine were very dark. After going through security, you can take a free self-guided tour, but the Mint doesn't allow photos inside.
The tour begins on the second floor mezzanine with an exhibit about the history of the four Philadelphia Mints, including artifacts from each. Peter the Eagle is probably the most famous artifact, but to me the coolest and most important was the Mint's first screw press from 1792.
Also notable are the original lock from the first Mint, two original plaster casts of the Saint Gaudens $20, and boxes used to transport gold to Fort Knox. Unfortunately, the exhibits were very dark, the lighting was poor, and it was difficult to see the artifacts. I also didn't go into the theater because it was so dark that I couldn't tell if it was open.
The highlight of the tour is the third floor gallery, where you can overlook the production floors. The exhibits up there did a great job of explaining the minting process, including through actual nonsense hubs, dies, and coins that you could touch. There is no guarantee that production will be happening while you're there, so I was lucky to see the full process underway for nickels, dimes, and quarters. Only the medal/commemorative room was quiet. I felt like a kid in a candy store watching the minting process unfold and pointing out all the steps to my family (read: geeking out).
After you come down the escalator/elevator, you enter into the first floor
gift shop run by a third party company, Aramark. They have a wide selection of Mint-themed souvenirs, a variety of older coins sold in overpriced third party holders, and a smaller selection of current numismatic Mint products. Much to my surprise, they had several products that are out of stock on the Mint's website, including the 2025 LESPS and, even more surprisingly, the 2013 Girl Scouts proof and uncirculated silver dollars. The latter were on sale and I needed the uncirculated dollar for my commemorative type set, so I picked it up for under melt value. I also snagged the 2025 LESPS since they're selling on
ebay for much more than the issue price I paid.
Outside the gift shop they had a feature I remembered from my first visit: machines that exchange paper money for the latest quarters. Last time I was there, the machine was for the 2010 Mount Hood
ATB Quarter. This time, one machine dispensed 2025 Althea Gibson quarters, while another machine claimed to dispense a mix of 2024 and 2025 quarters. The latter only gave me Vera Rubin and Stacey Milburn quarters, but I was happy because I haven't encountered any 2025 quarters in circulation.
Overall, I had a fantastic time visiting the Philadelphia Mint and would highly recommend the trip to any numismatist. I plan to return to Philly one day to visit the sites of the first and second mints, as well as the existing third mint building. Thanks for coming along virtually!
Posted 12/29/2025 8:32 pm
