RIP...US Mint

IMO, it appears that the general enthusiasm for newly released US Mint products has greatly diminished among Coin Talk members. There seems to be far fewer threads started here anticipating new US Mint releases, discussing 12:00 ET ordering experiences, and commiserating about sell-outs and future value. Has anyone else noticed this? Maybe people are still ordering behind the scenes and just not discussing it here anymore.

Poll: In the past 2-3 years, has the amount of your US Mint purchases increased, decreased, or remained the same? Why?

I have cancelled all my subscriptions, and it has been almost a year since my last purchase from the US Mint. Even before that time, I noticed that my purchasing was on the decline even when the number of offerings increased. I have become uninspired by their recent offerings. What say you?

BTW, this beauty was just released today:

https://catalog.usmint.gov/effigy-m...#_ga=1.95121500.1759899815.1482406121&start=1

TC

 

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When you produce too many products for collectors, they lose their collectibility.

 

Yeah the mint is getting up there with inane offerings that no one wants or that people simply feel obligated to buy. I'd say part of the problem is that the CCAC is more interested in making statements than they are at selecting coinage that collectors want.

 

I've actually increased in my purchases. From 0 to about 3 haha. Mostly because in the past I was too young and didn't have the money to fork over to the mint. But last year I bought a couple of the silver medals and a couple normal medals.

 

My purchases have remained about the same but that will end with the completion of the quarter program. I may still order some bags of Philly quarters for my continuing hunt for errors but that's it. My main focus until I kick the bucket is to do as many upgrades as I can on my classic U.S. series. No more Mint/Proof/Special Issues.

 

The only thing I've bought was the 2014 Kennedy 50th anniversary sets.

 

It's not collectible unless you can make a million bucks selling it, right fellows? I continue to order what I need from them.........

 

Less with the Presidential series ending.

 

I get the ASE proof every year. That's it.

 

I don't buy from the mint. I can get proof coins cheaper from a dealer.

 

As much as I love the US and Canadian mints, they both release an annual flood of material with hefty premiums that has just become overwhelming and tiring. As others have noticed, coins have slowly started to go the way of stamps. Hopefully we won't get released to death and burn out.

The Canadian mint seems to sell out on a lot of their releases, but the US Mint less so. When I visited the Denver mint last year, they still had stacks of numerous commemoratives for sale from the past few years in the gift shop. I bought one of the 2014 Civil Rights coins, which I was surprised to still see for sale despite its relatively low mintage. And the stuff keeps piling up. I had purchased some of the 5-ounce ATB hockey pucks, but even they start to wear a little thin after a while - plus I never bought them directly from the mint. I don't buy mint or proof sets and haven't for years. If I buy "collectors' only" coins, such as the Native American series, I buy them from dealers at coin shows for $3 - $5 a piece raw. I still buy ASEs, but again never from the mint directly. If I visit a city with a US mint I definitely visit and buy something in the gift shop, but that represents the vast majority of my direct mint buying over the past few years.

All of that said, I don't think the US Mint is going anywhere. It's far too profitable. But we'll see what happens in a coin-free society if or when that happens.

 

The Mint is doing to coin collecting what the BEP did to stamp collecting about 30 years ago.

 

Is the question we raise one of quantity or quality?

 

It's not just CT members. Every now and then they do something very exciting like the first few ASE sets or the baseball commems, but for the most part the recent design picks have all been blah at best and very uninspiring. The meh attitude of everyone with 99 percent of their new products is largely a result of lack luster designs, subject matter to an extent with the commems, and really just the same things over and over.

Both. Quality is substandard for a world power mint especially at the premiums and the product offerings are very limited with the majority being the same coins recycled into different packaging. Modern wise world mints are simply much more interesting

 

Coin collecting is alive and well, and not near death. As evidenced by this forum.......can you keep up with all of the posts on here (this site)? I tried stamps but couldn't get interested.......coins better.

 

Interestingly enough, the number of mint offerings has dropped since the peak times in the 2000-2008 period.

There are still a lot of products compared to before the State Quarter era, but less than 2008. Remember state spoons? That was once a mint product!

http://www.coinnews.net/2008/11/10/...e-coin-products-offers-last-chance-sale-4503/

https://web.archive.org/web/2013031...8/11/us-mint-cuts-product-offerings-by-60_10/


The State Quarter Series introduced a lot of new collectors, but with the end of the series in 2008 coupled with the crash around that same time, the number of collectors dropped from its peak.

 

In terms of the OP question, my purchases have dropped. At one point I was one of the people that ordered a silver proof set every year. However, my collecting focus changed and I noticed most of these sets can be bought outside of the mint for lower prices (with some exceptions like the 2012 set).

I also agree that the mint has been lacking in quality designs. Combine poor designs with higher prices, and that leads to lower sales. There have still been some good items released, but many of them are just reissues and not original items (like the 2014 Kennedy set: new finishes, but same design; also the 2016 centennial gold: different metal content, but basically a reissue of a classic design). The baseball coin in 2014 was one of the most innovative items from the mint and yet I believe they still messed up by having the same design across clad, silver, and gold.

 

I was really against that at first too, but once I got them in hand that was the one time I actually thought it was appropriate and couldn't see how they could have improved such a fitting design. I wish they would do more design contests for commemoratives and other products given that they have proven time and time again to almost never pick the best one and a lot that are in the proposals are just awful to begin with

 

Gots the dollar coin as a pocket piece........

 

I expect some pictures when that bad boy gets a hole in the middle of it