Era
The Founding & the First Mint
A new country invents a dollar — and learns how hard it is to keep it at home.
In 1792 the United States had a name, a constitution, and a flag. What it did not have was money of its own — the coins in American pockets were Spanish. Building a national currency from nothing was the young government's first real test of whether it could actually govern.
A timeline of the founding
Key facts
Questions collectors ask
Sources
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