On this day in 1792, the Continental Congress approved the Coinage Act.

What the Coinage Act Did. The Coinage Act authorized establishing the United States Mint. The first mint was built in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first coins were made of gold, silver, and copper.

Whose Idea Was It? The Coinage Act was prepared by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, and was approved by George Washington.

Counting By Tens. The Coinage Act stated that the US would begin issuing its own standardized coins based on the decimal system. The three main coins the 1 cent coin, the $1.00 coin and the $10.00 coin.

Heads and Tails. One side of each coin displayed an image about liberty and the year the coin was minted. The other side displayed an eagle and the words "United States of America".

What's a Coin Worth? Each new US coins had to have a value equal to its weight in gold and silver. Thus a $1 coin contained $1 of silver; the $10 coin contained $10 of gold. The value was based on prices of the time.

Make Your Own Coins. The public was invited to bring their own gold and silver to the Mint, where it would be evaluated, melted down, and made into coins. This was the Mint's only source of gold at the time; back then, no gold mines had been discovered in the US.

Penny for Your Thoughts. On March 1, 1793 the US Mint began to make 1 cent and half-cent coins. Half dimes, half dollars and $1.00 silver coins followed in 1794.