A group of 30 tourists stood in the foyer of the Denver Mint on Tuesday afternoon, surrounded by the sparking marble sourced from Vermont when the building was built in 1904.

An American eagle and flag stood above them on the flecked wall, engraved with gold and platinum — a monument to the importance the Denver historical building has had on the country for more than a century.

Just a few yards away, 54 coin pressers, multiple sorters and pick-and-place robots buzzed away, continuously stamping circular materials to make the coins the United States Federal Reserve Bank then uses for circulation.

The Denver Mint is one of two mints in the country that has circulating coin presses and strikes the currency, with the other being the original — and more theatric — Philadelphia Mint. 

Despite President Donald Trump calling for the end the production and circulation of pennies, the Denver Mint will continue on with its longstanding history behind it.

“Let’s rip the waste out of our great nation’s budget, even if it’s a penny at a time,” Trump wrote in a social media post Sunday evening.

But, according to the tour guide during the Tuesday afternoon endeavor, the Denver Mint still continues to be a top tourist destination. The 30 people piling into the halls during the frigid weekday afternoon certainly backed up the claim.

Where the country makes cents

The history of the Denver Mint stretches a bit shorter than the creation of the country’s currency in 1792.

While the Philadelphia Mint, then settled in the country’s capital, was the first mint, the Denver Mint followed around 100 years later.

The Denver Mint’s history starts with the discovery of gold in the Platte River in 1858, according to the U.S. Mint’s website. 

Miners in the area needed something to do with their gold dust, and the U.S. Congress approved the mint for coinage of gold at 16th and Market on April 21, 1862.

Congress then authorized the Denver Mint to start making coins in 1895 and the site for a new building was purchased at Colfax Avenue and Cherokee Street — where it still sits today.

Construction was not complete until 1904 and coin production did not start until 1906.

Tours started as soon as production began, still running multiple times a day 119 years later.

Now, the blue machines and yellow railings line the production area, with the tour towering overhead in a row of rooms filled with the manufacturing artifacts of the mint’s past.

A circulating coin press strikes 750 coins per minute, according to the mint’s website. The Philadelphia Mint produces 47,250 coins per minute if all of its 63 presses are operational and the Denver Mint makes 40,500 coins per minute. 

How money makes money

Interestingly, the both of the mints outsource the zinc and copper plating needed for pennies from a production company, Artazn, in Tennessee. The penny is the only coin officials outsource materials for.

But, the tour guide theorized that the outsourcing of the material is not the reason that the penny is losing value.

The mint makes its money by selling the coins to the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank at face value, despite lower production costs. These numbers fluctuated recently, though.

According to a 2024 report from the U.S. Mint, a penny cost 3.7 cents to make — including the 3 cents for production costs and 0.7 cents per coin for administrative and distribution costs. A nickel also costs 13.8 cents to make, with 11 cents of production costs and 2.8 cents of administrative and distribution costs.

The mint does not take a total loss, though, with the dime, quarter and half dollar still being significantly less to make than what they are sold for.

The mint also sells uncirculated coins and special-edition coins that are sold for a significant profit.

In 2024, the mint returned around $50 million to the general fund to help pay down the country’s fiscal deficit. 

In the same report, the mint reported losing $85.3 million in the 2024 fiscal year that ended in September on the nearly 3.2 billion pennies it produced.

Even if the penny was scratched from the future currency inventory, the mint will continue its longstanding history of pressing coins and giving out hour-long tours to golden-eyed visitors.

“It was absolutely wonderful,” said Terry Alford, a man on the tour who traveled out to Denver from North Carolina.

“Maybe we should lose the nickel, too,” Alford laughed. “It was great to see the mint, but maybe we should do without coins.”

His wife, Jenny Alford, added: “Tradition is one thing, but when it’s not making sense, you got to move on.”

No pun intended, we’re sure.