Connecting America

No-one ends up working at the United States Mint by accident, says its Director, Paul Hollis.

“To have the opportunity to work for an iconic institution like the United States Mint is, for a lot of people, huge. It’s meaningful,” he tells The CEO Magazine. “At the end of your career, you can be proud of what your participation and contributions were and know that they will outlast you.”

Hollis has known that his future career path lay in numismatics, or currency, for as long as he can remember.

“I’ve loved coins since I was a little kid,” he confesses.

One of his earliest memories is when his grandmother presented him with a coin that she had saved during the Great Depression.

“I think most kids at seven wouldn’t have been enthusiastic, but for me, it was a moment in my life where I was struck by how cool it was,” he recalls.

Ever since then, coins have been a source of great passion for Hollis. For show-and-tell at primary school, he handed out 1943 steel cents (one cent coins struck from steel because of wartime copper shortages) to his classmates. At junior high, he gave a presentation about David Rittenhouse, who was appointed the first Director of the United States Mint in 1792, while his peers spoke about Babe Ruth or Amelia Earhart.

Alongside his career as professional numismatist, including 20 years running his own firm, Paul Hollis Rare Coins, he served three terms (12 years) in the Louisiana House of Representatives. In 2025, Hollis was nominated by President Donald Trump as Director of the United States Mint. He was officially sworn in as its 41st Director on 5 January 2026.

For Hollis, the appointment marks the culmination of a childhood ambition.

“If you had asked me as a teenager what I wanted to do when I grew up, I would have responded that I wanted to be the Director of the United States Mint,” he says.

Reflecting a nation

Hollis is still pinching himself that he is following in the footsteps of such notable figures as Rittenhouse, leading a federal institution that was founded at the same time as the nation.

“Back in 1792 they had to make sure that the value of the coin, the gold content, the purity and design were reflective of a new, strong and emerging nation,” he says.

The organization continues to generate such reverence through the billions of coins it mints today at production facilities in Denver, Philadelphia, San Francisco and West Point. Alongside its headquarters in Washington, DC, the Mint also operates the Fort Knox Bullion Depository.

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“Our relationship with the United States Mint is built on a shared reverence for history, craftsmanship and education. Working together allows us to connect the extraordinary narrative of our nation’s coinage directly with the global collectors who value its legacy. It’s an inspiring partnership that honors where we’ve been while continually shaping the future of numismatics.” – Kimberly Kiick, Executive Director, American Numismatic Association

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The balance between preserving the legacy of United States coinage with modernization is key for Hollis. The Mint remains classic in its processes but embraces technologies such as laser engraving. Quality and craftsmanship are non-negotiables.

“We are as nimble to embrace technological advancements as we need to be,” he says. “We are classic because we recognize that there is a strong likelihood that everything the United States Mint produces will outlive us.”

Three sides of the coin

Hollis thinks of coins as ‘small metallic canvases’ crafted by talented artists and engineers that tell the story of the nation’s heritage and history. What may surprise many, he adds, is that they have three sides: the front, the back and a third side – the edge of the coin. Words have been struck on the edge of the coins since the early 1800s.

“The attention to detail, quality and craftsmanship was no different then than it is today,” he says.

Within the Mint, there’s an ingrained culture that recognizes everyone is working for the world’s biggest manufacturing entity of coins, one that has endured through wars and other global upheavals.

While its main objective is to produce coins for the purpose of commerce, Hollis acknowledges that it also serves the coin collectors of the world via its website and partners like the American Numismatic Association, as well as selling bullion to authorized dealers. Such a network means it’s one of the few federal agencies that is entirely self-funded from its operations.

“Since 1996, the United States Mint has not had an appropriation from Congress,” Hollis explains.

It is able to sustain itself through seigniorage – the margin of profit that exists between the manufacturing cost of a coin and its face value.

A token of history

This year is particularly significant in the history of the United States Mint as America250 celebrations drive some of the most significant coin redesigns in a century.

“Fortunately, a bill was passed by Congress years ago that gave the latitude to honor America’s heritage, and we’re doing that with something special this year,” Hollis says.

The collectors’ cent will have a dual date marking the semi-quincentennial (1776–2026), as will the nickel. The real excitement, however, is around the new dime, the first redesign in 80 years, five new quarters and a new half-dollar featuring Lady Liberty.

“It’s just a stunning coin,” he says. “It would hurt my feelings if people didn’t get excited by it.”

It’s Hollis’ hope that people study the new coins, learn about the history behind them and that, ultimately, they are handed to children or grandchildren who will hold them in their hands and treasure them just like he did so many years ago.

“Maybe that child will say, ‘This is really cool, I’m going to keep this with me.’ And in time they will learn about history through tangible links that coins provide to the American people,” he says.

“In addition to being currency, coins are also a way to connect America.”