United States Mint - Philadelphia, PA
N 39° 57.159 W 075° 08.896
18S E 487335 N 4422512
The Philly Mint was created for establishing our national identity & creating our own unique commerce with our own currency, independent of all foreign powers. Mid-18th century political literature is rife with the expressed need for a national mint.
Waymark Code: WMHX2J
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 08/21/2013
Views: 10
The mint building is huge and expansive and was designed by Philadelphia architect Vincent G. Kling. It was the world's largest mint when it was built and held that distinction as of January 2009. The Philadelphia Mint can produce up to one million coins in thirty minutes. The mint also produces medals and awards for military, governmental and civil services. Engraving of all dies and strikers only occurs here.
The mint is also touted as a local tourist attraction. Tours can be taken where all stages of minting are explained, along with displays of past equipment. This takes place via an enclosed catwalk above the minting facility itself. Various video stations are placed along the tour route, where visitors can push buttons to watch videos about various stages of the minting process. Most of those videos were narrated by Baseball Hall of Fame announcer for the Philadelphia Phillies (and voice of NFL Films), Harry Kalas. SOURCE
The building is located at the northeast intersection of 5th and Arch Streets. There is also a huge, gray block Cornerstone which can be found on the southwest corner of the building (oddly enough and not the northeast corner where one might expect it to be), directly across the street from Christ Church Cemetery and easily be seen from the opposing sidewalk. The block rests flush with the surrounding red, speckled, possibly granite building blocks. The block is about three feet squared. It is six inches from the ground and a foot from the corner. The block reads:
UNITED STATES MINT OF AMERICA
Lyndon B. Johnson
President
Department of the Treasury
Henry H. Fowler
Secretary
Bureau of the Mint
Eva Dams
Director
General Services Administration
Lawson B. Knott, Jr.
Administrator
1968