West Point Mint
U.S. Bullion Depository, West Point, New York | |
Location | West Point, NY |
---|---|
Nearest city | Peekskill |
Coordinates | 41°23′47″N 73°58′56″W / 41.39639°N 73.98222°W |
Area | 4 acres (1.6 ha)[1] |
Built | 1937[1] |
Architect | Louis A. Simon[1] |
NRHP reference No. | 88000027 |
Added to NRHP | 1988 |
The West Point Mint is a
It gained official status as a branch of the United States Mint on March 31, 1988. Later that year it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[4]
Building
Prior to its 2005 remodel that added a second story,[5] the mint was a 170-by-256-foot (52 by 78 m) one-story reinforced concrete structure with a flat roof. The walls are mostly featureless with some recessed arches at the entryways. It is on a 4-acre (1.6 ha) parcel of land near the northern facilities of the United States Military Academy, with parking lots on either side. The interior contains minting presses and bullion compartments.[1]
History
As of 1937, it served as a storage facility for
September 1983 saw the first appearance of the "W" mint mark (from this still unofficial U.S. Mint) on a
bullion coins were also produced at the mint.In 2002, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point was honored for its 200th anniversary, and a bicentennial commemorative silver dollar was issued and unveiled on March 16 of that year, featuring a cadet
Special West Point coinage
An unusual coinage from West Point occurred in 1996, when a commemorative Roosevelt dime was produced for the 50th anniversary of the design.[10] Given as an insert with the standard mint sets sold that year, over 1.457 million were produced. Thus, although this "W"-mint-marked dime is not particularly scarce, it was made only for collectors. In 2015 another "W"-mint-marked dime was issued along with a 2015-W dollar, these as part of a three-coin set to commemorate the March of Dimes. Only 75,000 sets were produced.[11] In 2014, a reverse-proof silver Kennedy Half Dollar which was part of a commemorative set, along with the 24K gold proof Kennedy Half Dollar were produced there to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy Half Dollar design, again with the "W" mint mark.[12]
In 2015, the West Point Mint struck
The first cents to display the "W" mint mark were produced for collectors in 2019. These West Point Lincoln cents were added to traditional mint and proof sets and were minted in three different finishes. An uncirculated 2019-W cent was included with the uncirculated set, a proof 2019-W cent was included with the proof set, and a reverse-proof 2019-W cent was included with the silver proof set. There are no mintage limits for these sets and individual buyers are not limited in the quantities they are allowed to order.[14]
On April 2, 2019 the United States Mint announced that 10 million quarters would be placed into circulation containing the "W" mint mark in an effort to promote the hobby of coin collecting. Although quarters had been produced at the West Point Mint before, none of them included the "W" mint mark. These quarters are a part of the
On January 10, 2020, the United States Mint announced that each of the three annual sets released in 2020 would include a "W"-mint-marked Jefferson nickel, just as was done with the Lincoln Cents the previous year. A proof nickel was included with the clad proof set and a reverse-proof nickel with the silver proof set.[17] Originally the uncirculated coin set was to contain a 2020-W uncirculated nickel, but this plan was scrapped due to the ongoing coin shortage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.[18]
Present
Today[
The West Point Mint still acts as a gold bullion depository, and silver is kept on site only in quantities to meet minting demands. Due to the presence of so much gold bullion on site, security is high. The mint does not give public tours, and its address is withheld by the National Park Service in its National Register listings, though Google Maps gives the site as 1063 NY-218, West Point, NY 10996.[citation needed]
See also
- List of Mints
- Historical United States mints
- American Arts Commemorative Series medallions
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Orange County, New York
References
- ^ a b c d e Daddio, William F. (May 28, 1987). "National Register of Historic Places nomination, U.S. Bullion Despository, West Point". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
- ^ "A rare look inside the West Point Mint's massive gold vaults and coin operations". FOX 5 New York. April 17, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ a b "West Point Mint Facility". United States Mint. June 3, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
- ^ a b "The West Point Mint Facility". Gold Coins Trader. Archived from the original on March 31, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
- ^ a b "The United States Mint at West Point". H. I. P. Pocket Change. United States Mint. 1999. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
- ^ 1974 Annual Report of the Director of the Mint
- ^ "The Early Quarter Dollars of the United States: Commemorative Coins of the United States (Page 28)". PCGS. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
- ^ "Timeline of the United States Mint, 1900s". United States Mint. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
- ^ Hill, Michael (March 16, 2002). "West Point observing 200 years of history". Tulsa World. Associated Press. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
- ^ "1996-W Roosevelt Dime". Roosevelt Dimes.
- ^ 75th Anniversary March of Dimes Sets
- ^ Roach, Steve. "Proof 2014-W Kennedy gold half dollar: What a 'perfect' example sold for recently". CoinWorld.com. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
- ^ Gilkes, Paul. "Edge approaches differ on Enhanced Uncirculated dollars". CoinWorld.com. Amos Media Company. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
- ^ Gilkes, Paul. "U.S. Mint offering West Point Mint cents as numismatic premiums". CoinWorld.com. Amos Media Company. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
- ^ Gibbs, William T. "Collectors start finding 2019-W quarters, and some are profiting". CoinWorld.com. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
- ^ Gilkes, Paul. "Adding V75 privy mark means 2020-W quarter for American Samoa will be released last". CoinWorld.com. Amos Media Company. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
- ^ Gilkes, Paul. "Mint to issue 2020-W Jefferson 5-cent coins as annual set premiums". coinworld.com. Amos Media Company. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- ^ Gilkes, Paul. "2020 Uncirculated Mint set won't contain 2020-W 5-cent coin". coinworld.com. Amos Media Company. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
External links
- West Point Mint Facilities – U.S. Mint website