At the U.S. Mint, even a 94-year-old woman is not to be trusted

The 94-year-old woman was Betty Soskin, the oldest National Park Service ranger in the U.S., whom Mint officials had invited Wednesday to be the guest star at a special ceremony.

[...] when it came time to leave the Mint, Soskin was subjected to the same rigorous metal detector check that all departing Mint employees must go through, to make sure none of the Mint’s stock in trade is hitchhiking out the door with them.

[...] she flunked it, six times in a row, setting off a bank of red lights as if it were a pinball machine.

“Oh no,” she said, sweetly, after a Mint cop asked her to remove her park service tie pin, and then she said “oh my goodness” when the cop asked her to remove her belt, then her shoes, then her jacket, then her watch, then her Smoky Bear hat, and each time she set off the red lights again.

[...] a guard used a hand-held wand and asked Soskin to stretch her arms and her legs and, at long last, the U.S. government decided that it was reasonably certain its oldest park ranger was on the up and up and she was permitted to depart the premises.

The park service half dollar is a “clad” coin made of base metal that costs the Mint about 20 cents to produce, according to Mint manager David Jacobs.

After pressing the button and sending the giant hydraulic press through its paces, Soskin smiled and sat down.

After the ceremony, the Mint went back into regular production of its proof coins.

Longtime Mint press operator Gary Ruvo inspects each of his coins for telltale specks of embedded lint.

The weirdest part of working at the Mint, he said, could be the vending machines in the employee lounge.

Because employees may not bring coins into the Mint, the vending machines accept only currency and give no change.