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Fate of west coast Mint could be up in the air
- Published: Mar 21, 2025, 12 PM
President Trump and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have now targeted the San Francisco Mint for closure in a bid to sell the real estate on which the National Register of Historic Places structure stands, theoretically to reduce government expenses.
The facility has been the stalwart of numismatic sets, primarily Proof coinage and medals, for decades, having first being pressed into service in 1937 at 155 Hermann Street. The San Francisco Mint has also produced coins for general circulation. It served as an assay office for a time before being returned to full Mint status on March 31, 1988, under the same law, Public Law 100–274, that established the West Point Mint as a full Mint from a bullion depository.
The San Francisco Mint is not open to the general public. The San Francisco Mint employs 152 people.
None of the U.S. Mint facilities receives appropriations determined by Congress. All funding is derived from the U.S. Mint’s Public Enterprise Fund, established under Mint reform legislation in 1996, that receives revenue from the profits generated from what the Mint produces: numismatic product, commemorative coin, bullion coin and circulating coin sales.
Since the PEF’s establishment, more than $17 billion has been returned to the Treasury to help reduce the national debt.
Valuable asset
Roughly six weeks ago, a social media influencer on X, the Musk-owned platform formerly known as Twitter, presented the notion to cease operations at the San Francisco Mint and sell off the real estate.
Subsequently, a regional General Services Administration representative and an unnamed DOGE appointee visited the San Francisco site to address the possibility that the San Francisco Mint would be no longer.
During the inspection, the two representatives had been under the belief the facility was office space, and not a full-fledged coin and medal production facility. The suggestion was posed for another agency to assume control of the structure for office space.
In early March, GSA engineers visited San Francisco to assess what needed to be done for closure and to generate a written report.
A report has yet to be generated, but a strategy is reportedly progressing toward the San Francisco Mint closing its doors.
Mint-wide, the bureau has already trimmed more than 100 full-time staffers, with an edict from DOGE to trim another 200, while the bureau wrestles with vacancies, some of which still need to be filled. Many of the positions trimmed were resolved through resignations and retirements.
The U.S. Mint’s procurement authority was removed, and the Mint is now required to request DOGE approval for materials acquisition, including metals for coins.
Closing the San Francisco Mint could affect the production of many numismatic products, such as Proof sets, silver Proof sets, Proof commemorative coins and Matte silver presidential medals.
In 1955, 18 years after first opening, the San Francisco Mint stopped minting coinage for circulation for the ensuing 13 years.
In 1968, the facility took on most Proof coinage production from the Philadelphia Mint, and struck supplemental circulating coinage from 1968 through 1974.
Since 1975, the San Francisco Mint has been used mainly for Proof coin output.
Since 2012, the facility has also produced circulation finish quarter dollars in rolls for numismatic sales.
All of the Mint sites — the Mints in San Francisco, Philadelphia, West Point and Denver, the Fort Knox Bullion Depository, and Mint headquarters — are codified in law.
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Community Comments
Fate of west coast Mint could be up in the air
- Published: Mar 21, 2025, 12 PM
President Trump and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have now targeted the San Francisco Mint for closure in a bid to sell the real estate on which the National Register of Historic Places structure stands, theoretically to reduce government expenses.
The facility has been the stalwart of numismatic sets, primarily Proof coinage and medals, for decades, having first being pressed into service in 1937 at 155 Hermann Street. The San Francisco Mint has also produced coins for general circulation. It served as an assay office for a time before being returned to full Mint status on March 31, 1988, under the same law, Public Law 100–274, that established the West Point Mint as a full Mint from a bullion depository.
The San Francisco Mint is not open to the general public. The San Francisco Mint employs 152 people.
None of the U.S. Mint facilities receives appropriations determined by Congress. All funding is derived from the U.S. Mint’s Public Enterprise Fund, established under Mint reform legislation in 1996, that receives revenue from the profits generated from what the Mint produces: numismatic product, commemorative coin, bullion coin and circulating coin sales.
Since the PEF’s establishment, more than $17 billion has been returned to the Treasury to help reduce the national debt.
Valuable asset
Roughly six weeks ago, a social media influencer on X, the Musk-owned platform formerly known as Twitter, presented the notion to cease operations at the San Francisco Mint and sell off the real estate.
Subsequently, a regional General Services Administration representative and an unnamed DOGE appointee visited the San Francisco site to address the possibility that the San Francisco Mint would be no longer.
During the inspection, the two representatives had been under the belief the facility was office space, and not a full-fledged coin and medal production facility. The suggestion was posed for another agency to assume control of the structure for office space.
In early March, GSA engineers visited San Francisco to assess what needed to be done for closure and to generate a written report.
A report has yet to be generated, but a strategy is reportedly progressing toward the San Francisco Mint closing its doors.
Mint-wide, the bureau has already trimmed more than 100 full-time staffers, with an edict from DOGE to trim another 200, while the bureau wrestles with vacancies, some of which still need to be filled. Many of the positions trimmed were resolved through resignations and retirements.
The U.S. Mint’s procurement authority was removed, and the Mint is now required to request DOGE approval for materials acquisition, including metals for coins.
Closing the San Francisco Mint could affect the production of many numismatic products, such as Proof sets, silver Proof sets, Proof commemorative coins and Matte silver presidential medals.
In 1955, 18 years after first opening, the San Francisco Mint stopped minting coinage for circulation for the ensuing 13 years.
In 1968, the facility took on most Proof coinage production from the Philadelphia Mint, and struck supplemental circulating coinage from 1968 through 1974.
Since 1975, the San Francisco Mint has been used mainly for Proof coin output.
Since 2012, the facility has also produced circulation finish quarter dollars in rolls for numismatic sales.
All of the Mint sites — the Mints in San Francisco, Philadelphia, West Point and Denver, the Fort Knox Bullion Depository, and Mint headquarters — are codified in law.
Connect with Coin World:
Sign up for our free eNewsletter
Access our Dealer Directory
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on X (Twitter)
Whether you’re a current subscriber or new, you can take advantage of the best offers on magazine subscriptions available in digital, print or both! Whether you want your issue every week or every month, there’s a subscription to meet your needs.