The Danbury Mint is a division of MBI, Inc. that markets a variety of collectibles. Danbury Mint historically marketed high quality medals and ingots produced by others exclusively for them. The company also sold numerous other collectible offering including plates, bells, sculptures, etc. Danbury Mint is well known for its 1:24 scale die-cast vehicles, including a now discontinued James Bond's DB5.
Their licenses include: Boyds,
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...
King Features
King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial ...
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
Gary Patterson
Gary Allen Patterson (born February 13, 1960) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the special assistant to the head coach at the University of Texas. He is the former head football coach at Texas Christian University ...
,
Peanuts
''Peanuts'' is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ''Peanuts'' is among the most popular and infl ...
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
,
Red Hat Society
The Red Hat Society (RHS) is an international social organization that was founded in 1998 in the United States for women age 50 and beyond, but now open to women of all ages.
History
In the fall of 1997, Sue Ellen Cooper, an artist from ...
,
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
and
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
. Products include commemorative coins, jewelry, sports collectibles, and Christmas ornaments.
History
The Danbury Mint was founded in Westport, Connecticut, by
Ralph Glendinning
Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf").
The most common forms ...
and
Ted Stanley
Theodore Richard Stanley (April 26, 1931 – January 3, 2016) was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. He co-founded the Danbury Mint with business partner Ralph Glendinning, which was then a subsidiary of MBI Inc.
Early life
Born in Re ...
in 1969, as a subsidiary of Glendinning Companies. Their first product was a series of medals commemorating the
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, ...
moon landing.
The Danbury Mint has since created many commemorative items—figurines, collector plates, dolls, die-cast cars, etc.—based on historical events and people. Examples include, Shirley Temple, Princess Diana, Barack Obama's inauguration, Corvettes, Hummel figurines, and gold Christmas ornaments.
Danbury's first sister division was formed in 1970 under the name Postal Commemorative Society, changed to
PCS Stamps & Coins
PCS Stamps & Coins, formerly known as the Postal Commemorative Society, markets a variety of heirloom collectibles. It is the world's largest philatelic organization. Products include collectibles that contain U.S. silver dollars, other historic ...
in 2006 to reflect a shift in the product mix from stamps to coin related products. In 1973, both divisions were incorporated as MBI. In 1975
Easton Press
Easton Press, a division of MBI, Inc., based in Norwalk, Connecticut, is a publisher specializing in premium leather-bound books. In addition to canonical classics, religion, poetry and art books, they publish a selection of science fiction ...
was formed as MBI's third division, and MBI was spun off from Glendinning Companies as a separate company.
Philanthropy
Over half of the Danbury Mint's profits support mental health research. The Stanley Family Foundation is the majority shareholder of the company. This charitable organization funds research that would reduce the burden of serious mental illness. Top scientists in the field of genetics, stem cell biology and neurobiology rely on funding from The Stanley Family Foundation to finance their research.