United States Private Mints 

Private Mints are personally-owned businesses that manufacture non-government bullion products and refine precious metals. Compared to sovereign mints, such as the Royal Canadian Mint, Canadian Mint, or the United States Mint, private mints do not have the authorization to produce legal tender coins. The U.S. Mint is the only recognized authority, in the United States, to produce legal tender coins and bars that are allowable for Self-Directed IRAs and other payment methods. 

On the other hand, private mints are flexible in changing mining custom options and designs. This grants private mints the opportunity to manufacture a vast collection of various unique designs. Even though private mints cannot manufacture legal tender coins, they are authorized to produce different precious metal bullion options. There is no restriction on mintage, design, shape, or composition, which empowers private mints to make some of the most innovative, impressive, and outstanding bullion types on the precious metals market. 

The most popular type of precious metal bullion produced by private mints is bullion bars. They are usually preferred by collectors and inventors since they can be easily stored or stacked due to their high purity and rectangular shape. When transacting for larger dollar amounts, the purity of the gold and silver bars can be determined. Therefore, larger investors will choose to purchase bars to reduce the number of bars they store in their depositories. 

Precious Metals Bars are mainly comprise of these metals:

• Copper
• Gold
• Silver
• Palladium
• Platinum

When investors are purchasing smaller quantities of metals or wish to be able to trade or sell off smaller portions of their investment, then the choice is to purchase bullion rounds. 

The shape resembles that of coins, but designs may vary for different private mints and these have no legal tender, therefore they do not have a face value on the coin.

Besides manufacturing bullion rounds and bars, private mints also produce custom pieces known as molded or sculpted bullion. The bullion pieces are usually made using silver or gold and can be used as gifts for special occasions, anniversaries, birthdays, events, or weddings. 

In the United States, there are several private mints. Below are eight private mints that produce and sell bullion. 

Golden State Mint

Golden State Mint is a family-run corporation that was founded in 1974. GSM has been in the precious metals business for over 40 years, and it is best known for having the shortest lead time in the minting industry and always meeting its guaranteed delivery times. GSM is located in Central Florida, but the company continues to expand its operations to cater to even more customers. GSM specializes in minting copper, gold, and silver and can produce endless designs and numerous sizes. GSM also gives the best prices possible by using the best method of making blanks (planchets), which reduces the amount of waste immensely.

Monarch Precious Metals

Monarch Precious Metals is a family-owned, privately held, and operated company. The institution was started in 2008 to cater to the increasing demand for silver bullion and gold. 

In the beginning, Monarch was a small local coin shop known as Oregon Coin and Jewelry. Since the shop was having difficulties finding silver bullion and selling it to its customers, it began making silver bullion on its own. A small induction meter was used to hand-pour silver bars before they were hand-stamped using individual letter stamps. Monarch Precious Metals was founded in due course, and production moved to an enormous warehouse.

Today, Monarch aims to provide the highest quality and most unique bullion products in the market. Its raw silver and gold are sourced from the finest refineries in the world. Additionally, each of its bullion products has to undergo utility checks for weight and purity before being shipped out. 

Regency Mint

Regency Mint is one of the foremost companies in manufacturing investment-grade precious metals and custom coins. The company is also known for its outstanding quality and remarkable capacity of more than 150,000 medallions per month. Regency's goal is to make custom coins using its clients' ideas for them to serve as timeless keepsakes that people can cherish. Each of Regency's coins is crafted with fine craftsmanship and uses the highest quality materials. Being an ISO 9001:2015 Certified Company, the company is known in the minting industry for its dedication to Customer Satisfaction and Quality Manufacturing. Regency uniquely designs coins for people that can be used to celebrate a significant event or milestone or become a collector's item. 

Scottsdale Mint

Scottsdale Mint was founded by Josh Phair in 2009 and is located in Arizona. Initially, the company began as a reseller for silver bullion and coins before shifting to a complete private mint and manufacturing coins and other bullion products for foreign governments and distributors around the world. Scottsdale releases numerous new bars and coins to the market every year for any investors searching for unique and avant-garde bullion products. The company's coins usually go out of mint quickly, raising the collector's value of the entire coin program and the individual coin. Gold and silver bullion from Scottsdale Mint can be purchased online, and orders above $500 are shipped for free in the United States. Scottsdale also offers designs from popular series such as Austrian Philharmonics, Canadian Maple Leafs, and American Eagles.

Sunshine Mint

Sunshine Mint is a well-renowned domestic and global supplier of base metal and precious metal mint products. Sunshine strives to serve its broad category of customers, including significant marketing companies, corporations, financial institutions, governments, and private groups. Sunshine Mint is also involved in custom minting. The company transforms concepts or images on any platinum, gold, silver, or non-precious metal minted product that the client chooses. Sunshine Mint supplies exceptional precious metal blanks to North American mints and the International Minting Industry. Apart from its fine gold and fine silver blanks, Sunshine also has the capability of producing blanks in platinum, base metals like copper and bronze, and various precious metal alloys.

SilverTowne Mint

Silver Towne Mint began as a small coin shop and grew to become two retail departments operating under one roof. Previous owned under SilverTowne, LP, The Mint's primary ownership is now under A-Mark Precious Metals, Inc. In 2016, A-Mark purchased the majority interest in the minting process from SilverTowne, LP. While still located in Winchester, IN location, and under similar management, the SilverTowne retail location and Silver Towne Mint are not owned by the same individuals. 

Silver Towne Mint produces a vast number of sovereign coins, bullion rounds, and bars, along with collectibles. Individual corporations can also work with Silver Towne Mint to produce specialty items and collectibles. The mint produces the highest quality products and they are ISO 9001:2015 Certified giving the mint the highest quality approval for investment grade products. 

Mason Mint

Mason Mint specializes in the production of unique minted silver products. The company is well-known in the minting industry due to its high standards for design and quality. Mason Mint has been in the precious metal industry for over 40 years and employs highly-skilled personnel who use the latest minting technology. The company also has partnerships with selected precious metal wholesalers across the United States, Asia, and Europe. Through its dealer program, authorized dealer partners can access Mason Mint's exclusive line products at well-discounted wholesale prices. Mason Mint is not just a typical mining company but a team of individuals with the common goal of supplying both the collector and investor silver market with exemplary products. 

Republic Metals Corporation

Republic Metals Corporation is a renowned private American mint that is headquartered in Miami, Florida. The company was founded by Richard Rubin in 1980 and has thrived to become one of the biggest precious metal refineries around the world. Republic Metals Corporation is also credited for being the first United States refinery to receive the esteemed ISO-14001 certification and Green Refining Technology certification. Republic Metals Corporation refinery has a refining capacity of 7,000 tons of silver and gold, and its catalog mainly includes mint and cast precious metals ingots or bars. Apart from its main facility in Miami, the company also has additional facilities in Los Angeles and New York City.

Final Thoughts on US Private Mints

Unlike sovereign mints, private mints do not deal with legal tenders but instead produce and refine non-governmental bullion coins. Private mints produce coins with their own designs or branding, metal content, and purity with no legal backings. Established private mints offer palladium, platinum, silver, and gold in the form of grain, wafers, rounds, and bars. One of the most significant advantages of privately-minted bullion is lower premiums in the prices. The absence of government regulation and mintage restriction creates opportunities for larger quantity produces, which lowers the bullion price. Competition from private mints and the availability of privately-minted bullion also reduce the cost compared to rare coins produced by national mints.