Leslie Norton, age 10, of Englewood, Florida, fox her question:

When were the first U.S. come made?

Colonial America used the money units of England, various Spanish coins and for Indian trading they used wampum. But when the United States became a country in its own right, it needed a currency of its own. It was decided to base the new money system on the dollar and the first authorized mint was built in Philadelphia. On April 2, 1792, President George Washington signed the bill to make it legal and the first U.S. coins were minted. The historic event just happened to include a side trip to the President's own kitchen.

In those days, the word dime was spelled disme. The first dismes and half dismes were to be made of silver. Everything was set to go, when silver was found to be in short supply. However, we would not expect such a minor item to delay our Founding Fathers.

Nor did it. The silver to make the first U.S. coins of 1792 was melted down from the silver tableware of President George Washington's own home at Mount Vernon.