The Second Philadelphia Mint est. 1830s
By the late 1820s the United States Mint in Philadelphia had outgrown its space. On March 2, 1829, Congress appropriated money for a new structure. Land was purchased on Juniper Street and on July 4th of the same year the cornerstone was laid, with the anticipation that the facility would be ready for occupancy in 1832. The appropriated funds for the new Mint were $120,000, however as so often happens with construction projects, the job exceeded both its budget and its schedule, and was not occupied until 1833, at a cost of over $209,000. Equipment was moved from the old facility and used for a couple of years before new, more efficient equipment was installed in the latter half of the decade. This included steam-powered coining presses and a transfer lathe, both of which added greatly to the quality and quantity of coins produced at the Mint.
The officers of the Mint as it moved to its new location were Mint Director Samuel Moore, Chief Coiner Adam Eckfeldt, and Assayer Jacob Eckfeldt. While Director Moore was replaced within two years by Robert Maskell Patterson, both Eckfeldts would remain at the Mint through the decade, with Adam retiring in 1839 and Jacob remaining for many years afterward. The Chief Engraver at the time was William Kneass. However in 1835 the talented Christian Gobrecht joined the staff, and by the close of the decade his designs could be seen on all the silver and gold denominations being produced at the U.S. Mint.
