The Mint’s first circulating coins were 11,178 copper cents

In 1792, Congress established the first national mint to produce all the coins in the US

At the same time, the US also started producing the dollar, its first official currency. The US Mint has since issued coins throughout the country.

‘Mint marks’ are tiny letters on US coins that correspond to which mint location created them

As more mint branches opened up after Philadelphia (the first mint location), these “mint marks” helped hold each branch responsible for the quality of the coin. A coin minted in Philadelphia, for instance, would have the letter “P” on it. Some mint marks are extremely rare, making coins displaying them particularly valuable to collectors.

Before the US Mint, people made currency in private mints

Around the year 1652, New England coinage was created at private mints. Historically, private mints were often located in places where governments did not meet the demand for currency. This article dives into the history of private mints, including the ones people can still visit today.

The US has used a wide variety of different currencies between the 1690s and today

From colonial money to national banknotes, people have used all kinds of forms of currency throughout the history of the United States before settling on the dollar bills and quarters that we pay for things with today.

The US Mint was among the first federal agencies to hire women

In 1795, the US Mint hired two women, named Sarah Waldrake and Rachael Summers, as adjusters. At the time, adjusters weighed blank coins and “adjusted” those weighing too much by filing them down.

During the Civil War, the US government printed paper money for the first time

Those original paper bills were called “greenbacks” or “demand notes.” Since then, paper money has evolved with different designs, names, and values. Today, it is solely issued by the Bureau of Engraving & Printing.

Some coin denominations have ridges on their sides in part to prevent counterfeiting

You may have noticed that dimes and quarters feature small ridges on their sides that other coins, like pennies and nickels, don't have. This video can help you learn more about why the practice, called "reeding," was first started—and why it's still used today.

The designs on US coins have changed a lot over the years

From states producing and issuing their own coins after the Revolutionary War, to collectors’ coins in modern times, US coins have had many design changes throughout history. You can learn about the different variations, plus what design elements are added to all US coins today, in an article.

A live bald eagle named Peter once lived at the original Philadelphia Mint

During the day, he flew around the city, but at night he slept soundly in the first-ever US Mint building. Although he died at some point in the early to mid-1800s, mint artists still study him today when designing new eagle imagery for coins. Luckily, that’s not too difficult, given that mint employees pitched in to stuff him at the time of his death.

Colonial Americans used tobacco, wampum, and land-backed notes to solve a chronic coin shortage

British coins rarely circulated in the colonies due to an unfavorable trade balance, forcing colonists to improvise. They traded in Spanish dollars, Native American shells, tobacco warehouse receipts, and eventually paper money backed by land rather than gold.

The case against the penny

It takes roughly three cents to produce a single penny, with an annual price tag of nearly $100M. The ubiquitous copper coin is scarcely used, ending up in jars or lost in couches, necessitating even more replacement coins, perpetuating a vicious circle. Studies suggest eliminating the coin would not cost consumers money. See a quick overview of the problem here.

The US developed a coin circulation problem in 2020

As people reduced the frequency with which they paid for things in cash and change during the COVID-19 pandemic, opting for tap-to-pay systems or online shopping instead, the number of coins in circulation decreased. Those who did make cash purchases were more likely to keep their change at home rather than use it on a subsequent purchase.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

The platinum coin, explained by the creator of the idea

An obscure US Mint law permitting it to create platinum coins of any amount surfaced as a possible means of quickly paying down the national debt. Here's an explanation from the creator of the idea.

The first US stock exchange dates back to the 1790s in Philadelphia

Only two years after that stock exchange in Philadelphia started, the largest stock exchange in the US to date was created: the New York Stock Exchange.

Pre-coin currencies like shells were subject to counterfeiting

While it is difficult to pinpoint the very earliest form of money that was used, a type of shell called cowrie shells were used as currency as far back as 3300–2000 BCE. These shells were imitated using ivory, bone, clam shells and more.

The Articles of Confederation were the first governing documents of the United States

Drafted in 1777 and ratified in 1781, the articles created a weak national government without the ability to tax or regulate commerce. This led to problems for the new nation, necessitating the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

22 fascinating discoveries of massive gold coin hoards

The gallery highlights major gold coin treasures from ancient to modern times, from the Saddle Ridge hoard in California in the 1800s (now worth $10M) to finds in Baltimore, Kentucky, and more. Each discovery reveals something about the period, with some buried and others left in vaults.

Benjamin Franklin founded America's first lending library in 1731

Franklin convinced members of his intellectual club to pool resources and purchase books none could afford individually. The Library Company of Philadelphia was founded with 50 shareholders, each contributing 40 shillings, and served as the unofficial, de facto Library of Congress from the Revolutionary War until 1800.

See an image of the earliest surviving coupons used in America

This clip from the "Acquired" podcast shows an image of one of the original Coca-Cola coupons. The hosts argue that the coupons helped popularize Coca-Cola in its early days, making them a key component in the story of one of the world's most iconic brands.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

10 of the original 14 copies of the Bill of Rights still exist

Clerks produced 13 copies for the states, plus one federal copy. Today, eight states still hold theirs. Georgia's and New York's were likely burned, Pennsylvania's was stolen, and Maryland's whereabouts remain unknown.

George Washington spent thousands of dollars on ice cream in a single summer

Records show that America's first president purchased a "cream machine for ice" as early as 1784. An accounting record from 1790 reveals that Washington spent $200—roughly equivalent to $6,300 today—on ice cream.

The massive gathering that rang in the first Earth Day

Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970 and helped inspire a significant nationwide environmental movement. In Philadelphia, the holiday was rung in with a gathering in the city’s Fairmount Park featuring musicians, speakers, and over 10,000 attendees. This video from CBS offers remarkable footage from the day and explains why Philadelphians were especially drawn to the environmental cause.

The first ATM—dubbed a 'cash dispenser'—was installed in 1967 in London

Specifically, the first ATM (which stands for “automatic teller machine”) made its debut at a Barclays bank in London. A timeline of ATM history can help illustrate and visualize other key events in ATM history.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

Anticipating moon tourism by 2000, Pan Am issued 'First Moon Flights' club cards

More than 93,000 cards were issued between 1968 and 1971, creating a waitlist that began when Gerhard Pistor, an Austrian journalist, visited a Viennese travel agency to request a flight to the moon. The cards were issued at no cost and numbered in the order they were issued.

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

US consumers collectively owe more than $1T to credit card companies—almost as much as they owe in auto loans.

The first horror movie is believed to be George Méliès' 1986 short 'The Haunted Castle,' which pioneered the use of special effects

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

Sears sold DIY house kits starting at $600 in its famous catalog from 1908 through the 1940s, resulting in roughly 10,000 'Sears and Roebuck houses' being built.

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

English mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote the first computer algorithm a century before computers existed and hypothesized that computing devices would one day be able to compose music—foreseeing the generative AI systems of today.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.