A western assay office transformed into one of the nation's principal circulating-coin plants as Colorado mining and population expanded.
Why it matters
The D mark links western production to long-running twentieth- and twenty-first-century series. It must be interpreted with the coin's date: an 1850-D gold dollar is Dahlonega, while a 1950-D nickel is Denver.
History
The government acquired the Clark, Gruber & Company operation and opened an assay office in 1863. Congress renewed authority for a coinage mint in 1895; construction of the present building began in 1899, and coin production started in 1906. Denver now supplies a major share of United States circulating coin demand.