The untold story of the men who forged a nation's monetary identity.
America's First Coins
and the Men Who Made Them
A definitive scholarly account of the founding figures and extraordinary craftsmanship behind the earliest coins of the United States Mint.
About the Book
The Birth of American Coinage
When the United States Mint opened its doors in Philadelphia in 1792, it was more than a factory — it was a declaration of sovereignty. The coins it struck were the young republic's most tangible assertion of independence, carrying the ideals of liberty and nationhood in silver and copper.
This book traces the remarkable men who designed, debated, and produced those first coins: the engravers who carved dies, the politicians who fought over every symbol, and the visionaries who understood that a nation's coinage was its most democratic form of art.
Because of the experiments done in creating them, these coins remain among the most important in the history of the United States— From the Introduction
What's Inside
Three Pillars of the Story
The Founding Figures
From George Washington's and Thomas Jefferson's monetary vision and David Rittenhouse's leadership to the master engravers of the early Mint, meet the men whose decisions shaped every coin in American history.
The Coins Themselves
A meticulous examination of the 1792 patterns and 1792 and 1793 circulating coins of the United States Mint — their designers, their designs, their dies, and their enduring numismatic significance.
The Historical Context
Set against the turbulent politics of the early republic, this is the story of how a fledgling nation built the institutions — and the currency — that would define it for centuries.
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Available in hardcover from the author. A landmark work for every serious collector and student of American history.