320 West Colfax Avenue
Denver, CO
303-405-4766
Denver mint website
- Hours: Open Monday-Friday. Closed weekends, Federal holidays and any time the Homeland Security level is orange or above
- Reservations: Recommended, see below for details
- Cost: Free, but you may have to pay for parking
- Location: Two miles East of I-25 on Colfax Avenue. Driving directions below.
- How Long: Tours last about 20 minutes
- Best Time to Visit: Any time
Denver Mint
If you ever wondered how all those coins in your pocket get made, this is the tour for you. The Denver Mint has been making our money since it opened in 1863. In those days, gold miners brought their nuggets directly to the mint to sell. Today, our coins contain no gold or silver, and the Denver Mint produces 32 million of them per year.On the tour, you will learn how United States coins are made, and will see stamping presses which can turn out up to 530 coins per minute. The Denver Mint is one of the three gold depositories in the United States, along with Fort Knox and West Point. The tour includes a display of six gold bars.
There are no restaurants at the Denver Mint, but their store is open to the public.
Leave everything behind when you go into the Denver Mint, except your identification and money, which you can carry in your pocket. You will have to pass through a metal detector to enter. Their rules are quite strict, and prohibited items include cameras, video recorders, bags of any kind, food, tobacco products, grooming items (makeup, hair brush, combs, lip gloss, hand lotion), umbrellas, strollers, pointed objects, aerosol containers, guns and knives. If you must carry medication with you, be sure it is identifiable. The tour is wheelchair accessible.
