authorized in 1792, founded in 1873, name changed from Bureau of the Mint in 1984. It is one of the agencies of the Department of the Treasury. The Mint manufactures all US coins, and maintains stocks of gold and silver. It operates the Mints in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Denver, Colorado; the Assay Office in San Francisco, California; the Gold Depository in Fort Knox, Kentucky; and the Silver Depository at West Point, New York.