I was invited to visit the opening ceremony of the redesigned and refurbished Philadelphia U.S. Mint Visitor's Center on July 3, 2012. I represented the Original Hobo Nickel Society (OHNS) whose members had loaned several Hobo Nickels to be part of a display at the Center.

The ceremony began with welcoming remarks by Marc Landry, Philadelphia Plant Manager, who introduced Deputy Mint Director Dick Peterson and Rosie Rios, Treasurer of the United States. The ceremony was informative, short and to the point. After the ribbon cutting the public was then invited to take the public tour.

The public tour begins in the lobby which contains a gift shop and a nice modern welcoming area. I thought that the artwork on the walls added to the welcoming atmosphere. There is a system that continuously projects Mint operating information (number of employees, etc.) against the wall.

The mezzanine, reached by an escalator and an elevator, contains a darkened side nook that shows a short video reviewing the history of minting coins. The floor displays original equipment used to produce coins and several cases of historical artifacts including a case showing American folk art consisting of Hobo Nickels, military WWII coin rings, and other material. The display is concise, informative and in my opinion very interesting. There is an interactive game for kids and their parents to enjoy while they learn about coining history. I really enjoyed the folk art display.

Another escalator and elevator takes you to the second floor corridor that displays the modern technology used to make coins today. The display is clear and highly informative. It shows the first mint Janvier pantograph reduction machine used to convert coin plaster models into hubs, displays positive and negative hubs, dies used to make the coins, and includes some coins magnified to identify errors found during Mint inspection prior to distribution to the public.

There are interactive displays along the corridor explaining the minting process and the views of the production floor. The public tour includes observation windows that overlook a representative section of the production floor containing planchet blanking machines, annealing ovens and coin stamping and other machines. The tour ends with a view overlooking the medal production area.

The Center redesign was done by Quatrefoil and the refurbishment was managed by the mint.

The public tour was highly enjoyable. It wasn't the same as the on the floor tour provided during the Denver ANA show a few years ago but it was informative and interesting. It takes approximately an hour to hour and a half to complete.

I highly recommend the tour when attending the ANA show in August 2012 and anytime you are near Philadelphia. The Mint is across the street from the National Constitution Center, a block from the Federal Reserve (which also provides a public tour), a block from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall attractions, and is five blocks from the Convention Center where the ANA show will be held.

The central Philadelphia area is safe and friendly and worth a visit! For history buffs (me) it is near (approximately 20 miles and a little over 30 minutes by interstate) to Valley Forge, and is close enough to Gettysburg to make the trip worthwhile anytime you are in the area. For non-collectors, there are enough museums and other attractions to satisfy most of the family.

For more information, see:http://www.usmint.gov/mint_tours/?action=philadelphia