The debate in Congress continues

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"They make good money on the Bullion and Collector coins. Bullion especially now, the Mint has been hoarding these metals since near the beginning of time, and I am sure they payed nothing close to whatever the spot is now."---Alcochaser

I thought I read in a thread here at Coin Talk that the mint buys the metals as they need it to make the coins for that year. I know they hoard some coins, SacDollars for instance, but I didn't think they hoarded all the metals for all their coins.

Bruce

 

The Federal Reserve takes the coins from the mint at face because the Federal Reserve is not actually part of the Government. I know that sounds strand that the Federal Reserve is not a Government agency but there not. They are a bank that the public has been dupped into believing is part of the Government. You would think that since they print our currency that it is a Goverment agency but it is not. Look it up.

The Federal Reserve takes the coins from the mint normally in trade as well for old coins that have been damaged as well. Also anytime I sell a cent for a cent. I didn't sell anything. I exchanged monies. There is no technically way to sell money at face value. It is always a trade in funds. I have never sold a roll of quarters for $10.00 I just exchange it for paper money.

 

You would think something like that would have required a constitutional amendment.

 

Bring back fractional notes

 

We have a constitution?? I thought they killed that off in the Patriot Act?

 

It would only require a constitutional amendment if the composition of our coinage was specified in the constitution or one of the amendments. It is not, therefore no constitutional amendment is needed to change it.

 

Almost. The constitution is on life support, but it's still hanging in there. Hopefully the next few administrations will realize, like Franklin did, that our freedoms are more important than a little temporary safety.

 

I always like this type of discussion about how our government could save millions and millions by doing something about our monitary system. Then there are the many posts explaining the cost of a cent.
THINK. If the government made coins of something very cheap, saved even billions of dollars, just how much less would any of your taxes be? Do you actually think there would now be a discount in your income taxes? Where I live we have income taxes, state income taxes, local taxes and now just inacted the highest sales taxes in the nation. Would any of these go down if they saved money on the production of a cent?
Many years ago our state government said if we have a state lottery the proceeds would pay for the school system. We started with a weekly lottery, then a bi weekly lottery and now there is one every day. Do you think our school system now no longer needs our taxes? More broke than ever.
So we save money on a cent and a nickel. Just how much of a raise in pay would out congressmen get from that?

 

Frankly I am a lot less concerned about the 50M they are blowing on making low value coins that end up in jars or even in the garbage for that matter, than I am the billions they are wasting on other things that are out of the public's attention now. Like a Middle Eastern war, the crumbling banking industry, huge amounts of money owed to China etc.

It is nice to know that our "hardworking" congresspeople are trying to save a few pennies, whence dollars are haemorrhaging out on their ridiculous pork barrel projects and senseless occupations of stupid countries.

 

Don't forget about the Penny Shortage situation during the latter 20th century? You could turn in rolls of pennies for something like 5%-10% over face value. I remember it occurring but I can't remember what timeframe it was.

Ribbit

 

1974.

 

I was a young toad at that time. :whistle:

Ribbit

 

It's not that it cost the government a liitle more to make a penny or nickle than it's face value, but when it is when the melt value starts to out weight it's face value. At this point you will start to find tons of it hidden in "empty" cargo containers bound for Malaysa and points beyond, where it is melted for it's zinc and copper. Talk about a penny shortage, how about a nickle shortage too.

 

I remember reading about how silver mines would play on the so-called "official" value of silver and the real world value of silver, then would redeem silver for silver certificates when it was favorable for those, then redeem silver certificates for silver again when it was favorable for them. If silver was worth more than the silver certs, they would skip the government and sell it raw.

 

The Treasury stockpile of silver was depleted years ago (They did silver auctions, and sold silver coins such as Ikes, silver proof sets, and commemorative coins specificly to sell down the silver stockpile. The Silver eagle was specifically created to reduce the silver stockpile. Well several years back they finally wiped out the stockpile and all of the silver eagles, commems, and silver proof sets created since then have required the mint to go out and purchase the silver on the current metals market.

 

Interesting, but something tells me the gold reserves are not in the same situation

 

Unlike GDJMSP, I believe the government still has gold reserves, but the legislation for the gold eagles and usually the gold commems requires the mint to use newly mined US gold whenever possible and if it isn't available to purchase the needed gold on the open market. It does not authorize the mint to tap into the reserves to make the coins as it did for the silver ones.