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U.S. Mint at Point worth its weight
By Greg Bruno
Times Herald-Record
West Point - You've driven by it a hundred times, on your way to an Army football game or a cookout at Bear Mountain State Park: New York's Fort Knox.
Buoyed by the unveiling of the nation's first pure gold coin, the U.S. Mint at West Point swung open its doors yesterday to give the media an unprecedented look at the country's second-largest reserve of gold.
Roughly $31.8 billion worth of the precious metal - 55 million ounces - is stored behind razor wire and vaults off Route 218, in the shadows of the U.S. Military Academy. Only Fort Knox in Kentucky has more.
"Most people do not even know there is a U.S. Mint in New York," said plant manager Ellen McCullom during a media tour yesterday.
Largely by design, the U.S. Mint at West Point has remained out of public view since its opening in 1937.
Operated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury - not the Army - it was originally opened as a storage facility for silver bullion.
The mint made pennies in the 1970s, followed by gold medallions in the 1980s. Today, the mint is the world's largest maker of 22-karat gold coins - American Eagle bullion. But global investors in recent years have moved toward the purer 24-karat bullion. The mint hopes the new Buffalo coin will appeal to both investors and collectors.
The design is a replica of the Indian Head, or Buffalo nickel, struck from 1913 to 1938. It features a buffalo standing on a grassy mound on one side and a Indian chief on the other.
The mint will begin selling the new buffalo coins, in bullion and proof versions, tomorrow. The price of the collector proof will be $800. Spot gold was worth about $579 yesterday.
While the focus of yesterday's unveiling was the coin, mint officials were clearly giddy at the chance to show off the Hudson Valley's best-kept secret.
Security was tight during the two-hour tour, with checkpoints, metal detectors and video cameras recording every move.
Mint police carried handguns, and plain-clothed officers tracked visitors with a scrutinizing eye.
Unlike plants in Denver and Philadelphia, the West Point mint does not offer public tours.
By Greg Bruno
Times Herald-Record
West Point - You've driven by it a hundred times, on your way to an Army football game or a cookout at Bear Mountain State Park: New York's Fort Knox.
Buoyed by the unveiling of the nation's first pure gold coin, the U.S. Mint at West Point swung open its doors yesterday to give the media an unprecedented look at the country's second-largest reserve of gold.
Roughly $31.8 billion worth of the precious metal - 55 million ounces - is stored behind razor wire and vaults off Route 218, in the shadows of the U.S. Military Academy. Only Fort Knox in Kentucky has more.
"Most people do not even know there is a U.S. Mint in New York," said plant manager Ellen McCullom during a media tour yesterday.
Largely by design, the U.S. Mint at West Point has remained out of public view since its opening in 1937.
Operated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury - not the Army - it was originally opened as a storage facility for silver bullion.
The mint made pennies in the 1970s, followed by gold medallions in the 1980s. Today, the mint is the world's largest maker of 22-karat gold coins - American Eagle bullion. But global investors in recent years have moved toward the purer 24-karat bullion. The mint hopes the new Buffalo coin will appeal to both investors and collectors.
The design is a replica of the Indian Head, or Buffalo nickel, struck from 1913 to 1938. It features a buffalo standing on a grassy mound on one side and a Indian chief on the other.
The mint will begin selling the new buffalo coins, in bullion and proof versions, tomorrow. The price of the collector proof will be $800. Spot gold was worth about $579 yesterday.
While the focus of yesterday's unveiling was the coin, mint officials were clearly giddy at the chance to show off the Hudson Valley's best-kept secret.
Security was tight during the two-hour tour, with checkpoints, metal detectors and video cameras recording every move.
Mint police carried handguns, and plain-clothed officers tracked visitors with a scrutinizing eye.
Unlike plants in Denver and Philadelphia, the West Point mint does not offer public tours.
