DENVER MINT TOUR ARTICLE Pubblico Deposited
The E-Sylum: Volume 8, Number 22, May 29, 2005, Article 14
DENVER MINT TOUR ARTICLE
The Daily Times-Call of Longmont, Colorado published
an article on May 27, 2005 about touring the U.S. Mint
in Denver,"At the U.S. Mint in Denver — one of two facilities that
manufacture U.S. coins (the Philadelphia Mint is the other)
— 25 percent of the nation’s gold bullion is stored. Eighty
presses, many of which are in the process of being upgraded,
work to convert blank coins into official U.S. currency.“While all you kids are asleep at night, we’re busy making
shiny coins,” says Dick Igez, a tour guide for the Denver Mint.The Denver Mint tours — temporarily closed off to the
public following the events of Sept. 11, 2001 — are significantly
different than they were four years ago""Whereas the Mint once offered tours about every 15 minutes,
tour guides now lead groups of 45 at most on a 35-to-40-minute
tour (each of which starts on the hour), jam-packed with
historical and procedural information.With the overwhelming amount of visual and auditory data,
you might find yourself rushed.Antique equipment used in the early days of the Denver
Mint’s run are in display cases across the tour area. But
with other distractions — windows showing the coin-making
process and the guide’s boundless and intriguing monologue
— it’s difficult to take in everything there is to enjoy in the
limited amount of time.""In 2003, the Mint hosted about 11,000 tourists, and in 2004,
that number doubled. This year, Hernandez says the Mint has
provided tours to about 48 percent more people than it did
last year at this time."- 2005-05-29
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