The San Francisco Mint: A Fortress Full of Money That Will Never Be Spent | Bay Curious

[@JacksonHoulihan]

It only says United States Mint in huge letters etched onto it

[@acarnold]

People too busy looking down at their darn phones to look up and see! ;)

[@marshallkrabs3348]

people are something else, it literally says it on the fucking building.

[@olneymaryland77]

Seriously, are we that illiterate? Or people think mints are just for after diner?

[@sfchris]

In all fairness, several of the people she asked sounded like tourists.

[@danieloshea3326]

People are reee-tarrr-ded

[@shnxii17]

"I have no idea what this is" The inscription on the building says United States Mint 😑🤯🤦‍♂️

[@TheMightyAgency]

I think they thought it's a flavor. It's a factory to make the mint concentrate. Ah, so minty.

[@vacciniumaugustifolium1420]

@@TheMightyAgency 😂

[@darktagmaster1861]

I guess that's why they pay so much for property. They're easily duped

[@vision-gc4hy]

lol. I know.

[@jeffw8218]

That’s Leftists for ya.

[@gmc9753]

I hope the building doesn't actually say "United States Mint" on it, and yet so many people have no idea what it is?

[@timbeckman1134]

It does, in fact, say United States Mint on the building in clear view from the sidewalk where everyone being interviewed was standing

[@selinov]

I always wondered what that big building by the water marked “Ferry Building” is. 🤔

[@charlesshreeve319]

I've always wondered what those buildings were that the funny white trucks come out of that bring the stuff that they put in our mailboxes.

[@RTWGraphics]

It's San Francisco. They're just concerned wether or not it's gender neutral.

[@hamaljay]

Welcome to America.

[@wartortle1375]

The Name is on the building!!! Lmao

[@strnvii]

Ikr

[@toordog1753]

The fool asks if they make money at a mint? Lolololol

[@charlesshreeve319]

Welcome to today's public - the Marching Morons.

[@befuddled2010]

@@toordog1753 Probably thought it was a candy factory.

[@stevec7770]

@@charlesshreeve319 yep ignorant fools

[@darrinsiberia]

that's so millenial... why is the mint next to a "safeway" ... your brain should be thinking of why the safeway is next to the mint!

[@alfredclethen]

The question should be why is a Safeway near the mint

[@mustang8206]

Ok Darrin

[@markbrophy5454]

You should be asking yourself why coins aren't made of gold or silver and why pennies aren't made of copper.

[@stevepettersen3283]

@@markbrophy5454 As you know, the use of those metals would make their value exceed their face value for the business strikes (pocket change). The mints do make gold and silver coinage for bullion and collector needs.

[@3052022]

Mark is referring to how the banksters have stripped your wealth and future

[@RckyMtneer]

Those are our future leaders, the young people who don’t know what the building is even with it’s name printed on the side!

[@bigtxbullion]

Nah. Someones gotta lead and they wont be a common consumer walking down the street. We need lots of consumers for this economy to work and the more oblivious the better. 🤑🇺🇲🏛👊

[@kap1526]

You need to understand the video would be way more boring if people knew what the building was. There fore when they asked them what that building was, they only included response from people that had no clue what that building was. Most people that walk around there will know what that is. Otherwise it would literally defeat the purpose of this "educational" video and you could have end it after minute one.

[@DaveLynchJazzGuitar]

God help this country !!!

[@foodiusmaximus]

when I lived in SF everyone knew what the building was. I only moved 5 years ago after living there for 20 years. I'm pretty sure they just needed to make interesting content. It's more compelling if no one knows what the building is.

[@Josh-ut4wv]

well also the lack of their coins going out for public use doesn't help their cause as the amount of coins you can find in your spare change with the s mint mark is nothing short of a miracle these days.

[@PreciousBoxer]

That's mainstream media for ya. More and more people are banking electronically these days so it probably wouldn't be too difficult to find these individuals.

[@northerniltree]

They don't taste like mints.

[@pixelpusher2219]

this 1950 s penny sure doesnt taste like mint

[@DallasLL]

Tastes like Safeway

[@MichaelOdomwest16thAve]

It literally says US Mint.

[@jasonpayne1240]

This was a fantastic video and very accurate with the information presented...cough...cough...I used to work there and there is a whole bunch of stuff with that building that no one ever sees not probably ever will. However, something of interest is that there are 44 coins “galvanos” around the outside of the mint. Each galvano represents a coin that was made in San Francisco at the time the mint was built in about 1935. Another fun fact is the northeast corner of the building points directly to the dome of city hall. Anyways. I hope they open the building up for tours someday. It has beautiful Art Deco designs in the lobby. A true monument to the hardworking folks during the Great Depression💰

[@nunyabiznass4702]

i wanna hear the goods! cough cough 😉

[@tenecaw5253]

Dope..tell me more

[@kconnor4568]

Seriously. You want to know when the mint will start open for tours!!,,! Guess what, you should go to the website and read it . Unless you either you don’t have the internet or you can’t find the website. It’s very easy, just open your computer, click on the browser, write in UNITED STATES MINT, open the link and then ( maybe, but type in San Francisco) you can either go to the website for San Francisco that should be able to click on the website that you want.

[@markabboud8564]

That’s so sad the newbie people in SF can’t read. The building says what it is. Plus, it’s a historical building here. I went there on a field trip in 1987 from Oakland. Beautiful place. They let each kid stamp their own penny

[@jmoney7289]

There is no way they let you stamp your own penny

[@wakeup3581]

I wondered what the building was and then I read it! I must be a god damn genius!!!

[@davidho9238]

The name is on the building on huge print.

[@Redvines69]

Some of my favorite coins in my collection are called "impaired proofs", which means they were for some reason or other removed from proof sets and spent at face value. Mostly quarters, but every now and then I find a dime or half that was from a set.

[@keywellcoinsmafiametals8726]

When I can find some good deals on ebay or at my local coin shop. If I can get impaired proofs close to face value. I buy them to spend! Especially the gold dollars are a lot of fun

[@ShawnTheRazor]

I just found a 1985 proof nickel that was in circulation. It looks absolutely perfect and def stood out.

[@johnnyherrera7220]

I knew this was a US Mint since I was a kid. Smh. I guess it's because I was born n raised in the city.

[@CalShanahanSF49ers]

Exactly. Me too. They clearly asked the gentrifiers

[@gunslingingbird74]

@@CalShanahanSF49ers Whaaaat?!? A woman with an Australian accent in SF is a gentrifier??? Whodda thunk!

[@CalShanahanSF49ers]

@@gunslingingbird74 u obviously want some male attention.. who would've thunk you'd turn to KZbin to find it 🏳️‍🌈

[@jocopowell]

"So do you want to know the short answer to what it is?" "Sure" "Drumroll...It's a U.S. mint." It literally says "UNITED STATES MINT" in huge letters on it.

[@victorialadybug1]

This is a very informative and interesting piece of financial history. Thanks for sharing!

[@jmejnovotney8942]

What is this place? What do they do there? "Secretive governmental thiinnngss"

[@NandiCollector]

classic answer ;)

[@jeffw8218]

BlueAnon in full effect

[@beardedbandito433]

Clearly whoever made the title of this video has never met a democrat. They’ll have it spent shortly

[@dansalamone8217]

Nice job on this, news that’s actually not negative. Good reporting thank you

[@janetta98]

If you don't know what this building is, then you aren't a San Franciscan. Sry.

[@AlphaGeekgirl]

Glad you said that. I knew what it was and I don't live there (but have visited from Australia)

[@jd3422]

How can anyone *NOT* know what that building is? It says UNITED STATES MINT in huge letters on the south side, facing Market Street.

[@doombuggywa]

Seriously nobody knew what the big building is that says US Mint on the side of it? Wow even more things to be embarrassed about San Francisco

[@kap1526]

You missed the point lol

[@memphisstef3808]

Also, they probably only showed the people who got it wrong

[@PreciousBoxer]

The final nail in the coffin for the four mints will be when big brother forces everyone to use digital currency.

[@ohd00bley]

...my brother worked there in the late 70's.

[@celtekrider2]

Thats so cool! He worked there right around the 1974 transition ill bet! What did he do there?

[@ohd00bley]

Prairie Bilton - I haven't a clue! You're correct about the timing of him working there, in fact you approximation of the time he worked there is better than mine. He retired from the SSA.

[@BayAreaCannabisReviews415]

San Francisco is gentrified that’s why they don’t know My dad has been living in San Francisco since the 80s and he knows what this is we live in the Hayes valley area and we are near this building

[@mustang8206]

So you think people don't know what it is because they are rich?

[@eastbaykidd8574]

@@mustang8206 I laugh at noobs who have no idea where China Basin is but blab about hanging around in Soma.

[@RobertStCyr-pe7ic]

I lived in San Francisco fourty years ago. For a while I lived on Market Street just a couple of blocks away from the building. It surprises me that someone who lives in San Francisco doesn't know that the building is the US Mint. Everybody did when I lived there.

[@beavacuda]

What's the place that tells you what it is on the front of it? This vid speaks volumes about the folks that still live in SF

[@lindaeasley5606]

The SF mint is considered the premiere US mint. There's official US mint facilities in Denver and Philadelphia , also .All of our coins come from these but the SF mint makes proof coins for collectors as well

[@jmoney7289]

What ya know about west point

[@deluxeddelirium]

I just went there today! It was very cool. I'm glad you guys made a video of the history!

[@nunyadambusiness3530]

The SF Mint, printing so much money, a home costs over $1 Million in the city.

[@gunslingingbird74]

Half the comments are "How do they not know what the building is? It's written on the side," and the other half are "I know what that building is because I was born and raised here, so I know the secret SF handshake that gives me cool powers like knowing what a building that says what it is on the side is." 🙄

[@eriks9576]

Your Tax Dollars at Work! Thanks Uncle Gov

[@CoinDoctor1]

A few technical errors, but overall nice video.

[@potatothorn]

yeah i think they should have mentioned whether all coins are polished like that, i doubt they are

[@CoinDoctor1]

@@potatothorn Not to the degree that proof coins are polished.

[@potatothorn]

@@CoinDoctor1 right? these look REally Shiny

[@lewisevans4655]

0:36 puberty forgot about this guy

[@basicrockandmorsongs8034]

Ben Franklin or Mr.Franklin to you I suppose, made it to the top of the world, the top of the spire.. And he said What great things we have to say and see about the United States of America, sorry about the plight,.. but yet in his resistance he added, he replied What do we do with all these poor, with all the poor ? And she said let them die and let's eat them ! So lo and behold we are here because we both don't know what to say about them. But they do want to eat, and they both eat pigs. And so who are they ? Americans..,your fellow americans. And so now do you see what it means to be here ? Like the United front.

[@vipermad358]

“Bay Curious”? Was this title created by 4th graders?

[@etiennedegaulle3817]

I think a 4th grader could probably figure out the building that says US Mint in large letters is, well, the US Mint.

[@GenXstacker]

Uh...the govt will find a way to spend it. Trust me.

[@gblargg]

*currency. Money is something that keeps its value.

[@Roger__Wilco]

I didn't know there was so much demand for commemorative coin sets that a mint with so many employees would be dedicated just to making them!

[@FlyByNick]

Oh lookie...they even had FEMA camps back in the day but were in the shape of TeePee's.

[@JoseLopez-hh6fp]

The Napoleon Dynamite song seems out of place here.

[@ElEfectivovlogs]

I remember that building I used to deliver to Starbucks in the close shopping center

[@codemonkey2k5]

Yeah knew it was there, didn't know it was wasting resources on collectables.

[@trasberg2560]

Seems like a huge waste of government resources to me too! And why are we still making the penny? Time to retire those worthless chunks of metal and round up or down like they do in Canada

[@zachgilbert3815]

@@trasberg2560 lol, yeah and do you think every single business in the COUNTRY is gonna round down or round UP? And believe me those extra pennies from every single purchase are gonna start adding up after a while

[@zuke-ci4vd]

As a 4th generation native San Franciscan I find this video incredibly insulting. Growing up here in The City, I can not remember ANYBODY that did NOT know what this building was. As so many have already stated in the comments, the building has "United States Mint" emblazoned across its facade! I have always thought that KQED was about promoting intelligent conversation, not ridiculously contrived fluff.

[@MetalBum]

Hmmmm. Buy silver.

[@SilverWatcher.]

Yes sir everyday every way. Buy buy buy

[@brianb6957]

Yep, real money!

[@Caligulashorse1453]

Nah I’m just gonna invest in Brazilian reels

[@johngraham8893]

Like a New Zealander would know what the building is! (at 0:40)

[@humzahj.]

Whoever made this has a great music taste, Turtles Have Short Legs by Can playing in the background

[@AGhostintheHouse]

You can also hear Music for a Found Harmonium at 3:44, now I'm going to look up T.H.S.L by Can!

[@AGhostintheHouse]

I heard that at the beginning of the video and really liked it, glad I found your comment, thank you! I'm a guitar and bass player and a drummer, I'm going to have some fun with Turtles!

[@iancrossley6637]

There are giant Dimes on the building 1:08.

[@michaellittlewood3032]

We went there for school field trips 60's-70's.

[@martybraga4832]

I was going to say the same thing, went on a field trip there in the late 70's. They gave us each a freshly minted penny as a souvenir

[@michaellittlewood3032]

@@martybraga4832 Oh yeah good memory. I managed to keep that penny until just a few years ago. Peace fellow S F. Mint field tripper

[@topgeah]

“Turns out its a US mint” “Wow, thats pretty wild” Who would’ve known

[@tortuga_t4rslownsteady805]

Being from the Bay Area I’m not surprised people who live in the city have no clue what it is.

[@drewconway7135]

“Hey, you know that huge building that has UNITED STATES MINT etched into it in enormous letters and takes up an entire city block? What’s that for?”

[@Tear777]

Thank you for such a nice program! It is important for young people to learn! I was shocked so many people had no idea.

[@fjb4932]

It's best you don't learn how little they know. And even more how little they care to know. Idiocracy ...

[@BallardBaller]

Did you ask why they still make the penny?

[@Nicholas-f5]

Cool history but does seem like a waste of energy, money and space for a few collectors. I went to Safeway the first time and figured out what this was.

[@adithyam3202]

OK Mr. Simpleton, 1. You underestimate how many collectors there are. 2. You underestimate the value of silver coins. 3. You underestimate how much people pay for these coins.

[@chrishagreen]

Actually the Mint is the only department of the govt that shows a profit. And coin collectors have a large influence on coin design. FYI Kennedy Halves are produced just for collsctors. They aren't minted for general circulation.

[@HusseinDoha]

@@chrishagreen Government departments are NOT supposed or obligated to show profits. The government is to provide services, any extra money they make, goes to treasury, which then Congress spend on services for the public. I understand you were replying to a guy who said the this Mint is waste of time and money. Well It produce medals. And the silver coins it produces turn money. I would say this mint should do some circulation coins currency like the Philadelphia and Denver Mint.

[@annettevega3141]

I worked there from 1984 to 1991. The one on Herman st San Francisco. Started at the mint on 5th and Mission

[@uo9zzzyxwvutsrqp0nmkjihgfe43]

is it easy to get a job here? I wanna work here.

[@annettevega3141]

No not really. Once your in its cool its a federal government job a lot of back round check your dealing with money. You have to have a real clean record

[@mnml_blk]

I lived in SF for the better part of 15 years and everyone always called it "the Mint" there's even a bar named after it on Market Street a few blocks down the hill. It literally says United States Mint right above the windows.

[@DDay-vv9ec]

They have tunnels running under Neath it.

[@acarnold]

It's Castle Lemongrab!

[@kconnor4568]

Not to troll but I m pretty sure that it was opened earlier. Minting coins, from what I understand, was minting Morgan’s in 1878. It is much more than a museum. It also makes special mint products that are used for special coins and sets. These were made collectively for sets and special coins both of which were highly collectible but, I don’t know what the reason was, but the special coins have fallen out of favor. It could have been the price or the fact that they aren’t that collectible anymore It is a shame, because coins from that mint were highly collectible and in great demand .

[@Josh-ut4wv]

The funny thing is that the mint has gone into obscurity due to the fact they dont make money for circulation anymore they along with the one they opened in west point a few years ago make all the proof sets and most of the silver/gold/platinum coins. Though even when the mint still made coins from it they had a lot of issues basically they couldn't produce as much as the Denver and Philadelphia mints making a lot of their coins hard to find key dates for collectors (EX: 1909-s indian head/wheat/VDB, 1908-s, 1931-s, etc)

[@skipstalforce]

Allen Greenspan of the Federal Reserve says gold and silver are not money so it's just a museum full of Grampas old relics.🙄🤣😂🤣🤣😂🤣

[@fastnbulbouss]

The Marx Brothers brought me here.

[@seriouslyreally5413]

The San Francisco Mint was there before the Safeway🙄🙄🙄

[@bodybalancer]

Who wants to go Money Heist aka Casa de Papel on their asses?! 😂👺 they arent even planning to spend it?! Nobody will miss it! Let’s goooooooooo lol

[@RealLifeFinance]

Been coin collecting for 4 decades and never knew this

[@crazyoncoffee]

You must be joking? You must either not be from the US or live 2000 miles away from SF

[@djcrazy2685]

knowledge is definitely the key here bc i learned something!!

[@sfchris]

I always thought the "S" stood for "behind Safeway", or "next to Sees Candy".

[@MarleyKeithPlumb]

It's just a prop, most of the money is safety in a storage shed behind Gorbachev Dacha somewhere in Siberia. Damn it, I forgot to lock it. Now we have to go back. Nevermind, I'm sure it will be safe.

[@kaynef6637]

It says San Francisco Mint in huge letters on the building , can’t people read in San Francisco ?

[@bjmoe9138]

I have a penny with S on it I'm rich now?

[@andycheng9066]

mike ahmed what year? An average wheat penny is worth about 2-5 cents each

[@PapaKryptoss]

Bwahaha

[@Thumper68]

No but possibly depending on year and strike.

[@robertsmith1860]

Or you could have a Lucky Penny.

[@gunslingingbird74]

@@robertsmith1860 You mean the all night diner on Geary? That placed closed down a few years ago. It was the best drunk food in town.

[@TheDirtymikenation]

So Funny asking people what it is with the term United States Mint engraved on the building right behind them

[@jrpcoins]

My favorite mint mark next to the CC but that mint is no longer running even though I think they should resurrect it and strat minting coins there again!

[@DP-hy4vh]

I got a few pennies and nickels made before 1974 that have the "S" mint mark. Also have some silver coins with the "S" as well.

[@summer-west]

The old wheat pennies with the “s” under the date were stamped there

[@curtisrandolph1887]

One step further in their lack of knowledge is most people do not know why coins are no longer made out of Silver and Gold but out or worthless base metals.

[@cesarsantellana1768]

Whats worse? 90% of 6 people didn't know it was a US mint or how 90% of comment section is reacting to 6 people not knowing it was a US mint?

[@user-gh8wt2zi2n]

It's hard to believe that people don't know what it is but then again a lot of the San Francisco population isn't from there, so they dont know anything. Even without seeing the name though its pretty obviois to me

[@rkryukov996]

It’s Rajad Gulag’s Fortress

[@faithinverity8523]

It is so easy to be incurious in America. How does anything get done?

[@timg2727]

How is nobody talking about the Napoleon Dynamite background music?

[@brianbennett2397]

It's a great video; lose the horrible background music, and it will be perfect.

[@alisabutler4576]

ok you and the people you asked are not native San Franciscans! We Friscans always knew it was a Mint! SMDH!

[@byteme0000]

"In its vault is stored millions in gold and silver bars." Really? Lol. I'd like to see that. I wonder.

[@Evil0tto]

The building quite literally has "United States Mint" written on the side, and people don't know what it is?

[@dahc5906]

s mint and cc mint are worth alot more but tuff tp come by. i use del there but you will get search . ive collect some great coins and paper money... i hope some day ill find cc mint . ive got s , o ,p,d there is more .

[@simonmiddleton4487]

If gold and silver are just barbaric rock's, what's with all the security?

[@samiam9059]

Great video.... Need to do a video of fort knox presently and show that all the gold was not spent as some have claimed.

[@DallasLL]

Were they using windows 3.11? Hahahaha maybe that’s why they didn’t know what it was lol

[@solomontyson4589]

So I'm from the city but that has nothing to do with using common sense and your 👀 But looking at this comment section I'm going to digress 😌

[@waltermotoviloff70]

Jesus it hurts to watch everyone say they don’t know when the building says “United States Mint”

[@alfonsorivera6179]

If anyone cares, the song in this video is from Napoleon dynamite. I also didn’t hear a thing she said after I realized that.

[@IDFC76]

It's The Back of Lincoln Penny... Duh

[@babyinuyasha]

"That rare penny" most S mint coins from that time are far from rare.

[@tedgegi155]

Well, mintage-wise compared to Philadelphia & Denver for each comparative year, it has always trailed much further behind. But, agreed, "rare" isn't the correct term to use.

[@leiag201]

just another reason why the US economy is on life support, and will not make it to thru this decade

[@SilverBull30]

How did she not use the word proof even once? .....lol

[@davidcarmack5074]

How can no one know what it is? It says right on the building U.S. Mint.

[@andyreznick]

Coupla years late getting here, but I'd like to say Job Well Done!

[@youtubeAgent007]

I know there's a lot of men with guns in there but you just don't see them or their vehicles never..

[@abrahamgomez1166]

funny how they went from real money to fake money now and people still don't realize what happened.