14. The UNITED STATES MINT (not open), W. Colfax Ave., between Cherokee and Delaware Sts., a massive two-story granite building, one of the three coinage plants in the United States, is also one of the two chief Federal gold repositories, the other being Fort Knox, Ky. The exact amount of gold deposited here has not been disclosed, but more than $2,500,000,000 was transported from San Francisco in 1934, which required twenty-five trains of ninety-seven mail cars; carrying charges amounted to $547,000. A total of$3,171,000,000 was stored here during that year, said to have been a record at the time.
In 1863, the Federal Government purchased the private mint of Clark, Gruber & Company, 16th and Market Streets, which had been coining $5, $10, and $20 gold pieces since 1860. The Denver Mint, which began operating in 1869, confined itself at first to melting, refining, assaying, and stamping bullion; no coining was done until 1906, two years after the completion of the present plant, in which some 200 men are employed in coining pennies and silver pieces; the last gold coins were minted in 1931.
The mint was the scene of a bold and well-executed robbery on December 18, 1922. As a Federal Reserve truck in charge of four guards was being loaded with $200,000 in $5 bank notes, a sedan pulled up alongside and three men leaped out, covered the guards, seized the currency, and tossed it into their car. The bandits opened fire with shotguns loaded with buckshot; guards in the building returned the fire as the car raced off. One bandit was later found dead in the bullet-riddled car parked in a private garage nearby. The others, and the money, have never been found
pages 141-142, Colorado. A Guide to the Highest State.
I have had the pleasure of providing chair massage inside the Mint for Employee Health Day many years ago. It was interesting getting my aluminum massage chair in the Mint because everyone and everything must go through a metal detector. Employees are not allowed to have coins in their pockets. While I had previously gone on the public tour, it was quite interesting to speak with the employees about other functions of the mint. I have a mild interest in numismatics, I greatly enjoyed talking with the ladies who examine and create the dies for the coins and proof coins for proof sets.
This branch of the United States Mint was established by an April 21, 1862, Act of Congress after the Treasury Department proposed that a Branch Mint be established for the coinage of gold. The need for this new facility was because of the discovery of gold at the Platte River near Denver. The United States Mint at Denver opened for business in September 1863, as a United States Assay Office. Coin production operations at this facility began in the facilities of Clark, Gruber & Company - a private mint then located at 16th and Market Streets. (Waymarked at Clark & Gruber Mint) The Clark, Gruber & Company was later acquired by the federal government for $25,000.
In 1874, Congress gave the United States Mint at Denver the authority to produce coins for the United States and some foreign countries. The Denver facility became a functional branch of the United States Mint on February 20, 1895. The site for the newly enacted United States Mint at Denver was located at the West Colfax and Delaware Street. The site was purchased April 22, 1896, for approximately $60,000, and construction began in 1897. The transfer of assaying duties did not begin at Denver until September 1, 1904, and the production of gold and silver coins began in 1906. Although the United States Mint at Denver facility has expanded over the decades, today, the facility is still located at West Colfax Street location.
Only Denver and Philadelphia offer free public tours. Because of security concerns, visit the Denver Mint Tour page for specific hours of tours and restricted items. No free samples are given at the finish of the tour! There are several other Waymarks at and near this location, so enjoy.