Welcome to part 2 of our continuing series on Colfax Avenue. No other steet in Denver (actually, it stretches from Golden to Aurora) offers the history and diversity that Colfax provides.

In the 1860s, this street hosted some of Denver's finest merchants and was the avenue of the young city's finest homes. Nowadays, Colfax has pawn shops, thrift stores and the state capitol (the subject of a future report). And talk about diversity — it's home to the moneyless and is home to money's home: the U.S. Mint.

All 6 U.S. coins — penny, nickel, dime, quarter, half dollar & "golden" dollar — are minted here. Perhaps a quarter of this country's gold reserves are also here.

Since 9/11, public tours are hard to come by, but Ace & Friends scored with a behind-the-scenes visit. Enjoy the photos and check out the audio as A&F checks out Colfax's richest venue, the U.S. Mint.

As seen from Colfax Ave., the mint is not unlike other downtown government buildings. Little do passersby know, billions of dollars in coins and gold bullion are behind those walls.

Operating 24 hours a day, 5 days a week, the Denver Mint produces 20 million coins a day. Half of those are pennies [left] ... the world's most popular coin. The dimes [right] are in a reinforced push cart that transports them to the bagging operation.

The day of the tour was also the first day the mint began producing the Maine quarter in the U.S. state history series. Here's a sneak preview of the new quarter and the dies from which it's cast.

	The host for Ace & Friends' exclusive tour of Denver's U.S. Mint was Guillermo Hernandez of the mint's public information office. Note that he has earplugs draped around his neck. The production and sorting of metal coins can be very noisy. Guillermo Herndandez on the history of the Denver Mint

Directly across Colfax Avenue from the Denver Mint is the mint's gift shop. Here's a sample of what they sell.

Public tours are still available, but only on Tuesdays & Thursdays. They must be booked through your U.S. congressional representative. Larger, educational tours may still be reserved through the mint's public information office at 303-405-4759.