Money Makers 
           "The Congress Shall Have The Power...To coin Money and regulate the value thereof."
                                         United States Constitution, Article I, Section 8.

                                          By: Kelsey 

                                               The United States Mint

     The framers of the United States Constitution realized that they needed a respected money system after they created the new government.    Soon after the signing of the Constitution, Alexander Hamilton, who was the Secretary of the Treasury, made plans for the first national mint.  On April 2, 1792, Congress built a mint in Philadelphia, the nation's capitol.  The mint was the first federal building built under the Constitution.  The first director of the mint was David Rittenhouse,  a leading American scientist.  In 1793, the new U.S. mint produced and delivered 11,178 copper cents which were its first circulating coins.  Soon afterwards, it began issuing gold and silver coins too.  President George Washington lived just a few blocks from the mint, and is said to have given his own silver to be minted. 

     In 1792, a law was made that all American money was to be made out of silver, gold, or copper.  All ten dollar, five dollar, and two dollar fifty-cent pieces were made of gold.  During the Great Depression in 1933, the mint stopped making gold coins.   There was a silver crisis in 1965and they had to replace the silver in quarters and dimes.  They are now made of copper and nickel alloy.  From 1965-1970  the half dollar was made of 40% silver.  Now, it is also made of copper and nickel alloy.   Pennies are made of copper-plated zinc, which is less expensive for the mint to make.                                                        

                                                                               
                                                                                United States Mint

                            The United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing

.    The Bureau was established on August 29,1862,    in the basement of the main Treasury
building. There were only six employees then.   Today there are about 2,500 employees who work in two buildings in Washington D.C. and a new building in Fort Worth Texas.  The Bureau produces our paper currency.    There are only nine engravers in the whole U.S. who work for  the Bureau, and they engrave each printing plate by hand!  They produce over a billion federal reserve notes each year. The bureau uses a paper that is composed of 25% linen and 75% cotton.  Red and blue synthetic fibers are distributed throughout the paper.   Before World War I, the fibers in the paper were made of silk.  The Bureau   also produces U.S. postage stamps and produce over 20 billion stamps per year.   For 100 years they have been the largest supplier of postage stamps.  They also produce miscellaneous documents of security for other government agencies.                                             

                                                                                      
                                                  Click here to find out about the future of money!

                                                                                    
                                                                 U.S. Bureau of Printing and Engraving