History
As of 1937, it served as a storage facility for silver bullion and was thus nicknamed "The Fort Knox of Silver." Even without United States Mint status, it produced U.S. coinage. From 1974 through 1986, the West Point Mint produced Lincoln cents bearing no mint mark, making them indistinguishable from those produced at the Philadelphia Mint. The years 1977 to 1979 saw Bicentennial quarters and Washington quarters produced as well. Approximately 20 billion dollars worth of gold was stored in its vaults in the early 1980s (although this was still significantly less than at Fort Knox).
September 1983 saw the first appearance of the "W" mint mark (from this still unofficial U.S. Mint) on a $10 gold coin commemorating the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. This was the first legal tender U.S. gold coin since 1933. In 1986, American Gold Eagle bullion coins were solely produced at this facility, again with no mint mark. The West Point Bullion Depository was granted mint status on March 31, 1988 (Pub.L. 100-274).
An unusual coinage from this mint occurred in 1996 when a commemorative Roosevelt dime was produced for the 50th anniversary of this design. Given as an insert with the standard mint sets sold that year, over 1.457 million were produced. Thus this "W" mint marked dime is not particularly scarce but were only made for collectors.
Read more about this topic: West Point Mint
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