"The Congress shall have the Power . . . To Coin Money." (Constitution of the United States, Article I, Section 8.)

After the Constitution's ratification, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton personally prepared plans for a national Mint. On April 2, 1792, Congress created the Mint, and authorized construction of a Mint building in the nation's capitol, Philadelphia where it produced its first circulating coins -- 11,178 copper cents delivered in March 1793. Soon after, the Mint began issuing gold and silver coins as well. President Washington, who lived only a few blocks from the new Mint, is believed to have donated some of his own silver for minting.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury first issued paper currency of the United States in 1862 as a result of a shortage of coins and the need to finance the Civil War. During the Civil War period, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was called upon to print paper notes in denominations of 5 cents, 1 cents, 25 cents, and 50 cents. The reason for this is that people hoarded coins because of their intrinsic value which created a drastic shortage of circulating coins.

How Coins are Made