Standard Mint (Mesa, AZ)

Standard Mint Overview

Standard Mint was a silver manufacturer in Mesa, Arizona, active by 1986 and known from bars and large oval pieces struck in .999 fine silver. It entered this archive through Texas, by way of the 10 oz bar and 3 oz belt buckles in the 1986 The Lone Star State Collection, sold by Colonial Coins, Inc. of Houston.

The firm’s name and place are known from its own marks. Its pieces carry the legend “STANDARD MINT,” a Mesa telephone number in the 602 area code, and “MESA, ARIZONA,” followed by a serial number, the weight, and the fineness. Two independently dated 1986 pieces show the layout: a generic “Merry Christmas” 3 oz oval and a “Mesa, Arizona Centennial 1886-1986” 3 oz oval. Both are struck in the same field order, with the name and contact line first, then the city and state, the serial, “3 TROY OUNCES,” and “.999 FINE SILVER.” A 10 oz bar pairing Morgan and Peace dollar faces shows the same house approach on a larger format: “TEN TROY OUNCES OF .999 FINE SILVER” between two coin-face medallions. Together they show a standing product line of bars and ovals made for more than one customer, with the design and wording changed to suit each.

The Lone Star State pieces fit that pattern. The 10 oz bar, made in the Lone Star and Six Heroes designs, is struck “STANDARD MINT” and uses the same bar template as the Morgan and Peace bar, so its attribution is confirmed by a mark on the piece itself. The Colonial belt buckles, made in the same two designs in 3 oz, carry no Standard Mint name. Their field order matches the layout on the documented Standard Mint ovals, with Colonial’s name and Houston address in place of Standard Mint’s own, so the buckles are attributed to Standard Mint, not confirmed.

Standard Mint is not attributed to any of the 1 oz or ½ oz Lone Star State rounds. No round carrying the Standard Mint name has been located, and nothing on those rounds ties them to the firm.

Nothing in the sources checked so far documents the firm’s ownership, dates of operation, or customers beyond the pieces above. No corporate registration or trademark record under the name has been located, although the Lone Star State bar carries a registered-trademark symbol after the name. Until a record turns up, this page describes Standard Mint only from what it struck.

Standard Mint Notes

  • Location: Mesa, Arizona, per the struck legend on the ovals. The firm is not recorded in Texas.
  • Known products: 10 oz bars (Lone Star State and Six Heroes designs; Morgan and Peace dollar pair) and 3 oz ovals (Merry Christmas; Mesa, Arizona Centennial 1886-1986). The 3 oz Colonial belt buckles are attributed.
  • Marks: “STANDARD MINT,” a Mesa telephone number, “MESA, ARIZONA,” and a serial number in a fixed order; the Lone Star State bar adds a registered-trademark symbol.
  • Earliest documented work: 1986, from two independently dated ovals.
  • Texas connection: the Lone Star State bar (confirmed) and belt buckles (attributed), sold by Colonial Coins, Inc.
  • Mintages, ownership, and dates of operation are not documented.

Standard Mint References