What happened to the 3 in. Bullion coins?????

When the new quarter program was announced there was supposed to be a 3 in. dia. 5 oz. bullion coin for each park. What happened to that idea? I haven't seen any yet! The following paragraph was from a US mint press release.


Additionally, under the United States Mint America the Beautiful Silver Bullion CoinTM Program, the United States Mint will mint and offer for sale silver bullion coins that are duplicates of the quarters. The bullion coins, to be struck in .999 fine silver, will be three inches in diameter and weigh five ounces. The fineness and weight will be edge-incused.

 

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no kiddin, where are those (not that I could afford them just now)

 

US Mint September 2010 Product Releases from CoinNews.net 8/31/10

 

I know this has been discussed - but i just love how they can have 5oz blanks but NOT the 1oz for collectors ????

 

+1

 

Daggarjon.....shhhhhhhh....you are not suppose to notice that and make it public.

 

It takes more effort and a longer time to make five one oz planchets than it does one 5 oz planchet. The strip has to make more passes through the rollers and extra annealing to get it down to the thickness for the one oz and then you have to punch out five blanks instead of one. So the planchet manufacturer can probably make five hundred oz of five oz blanks faster and easier than 500 oz of one oz blanks. It isn't a problem of a shortage of silver, it's a shortage of blanking capacity.

 

I dont buy the 'possibility' of being able to produce more 5os blanks quicker then 1oz blanks - thats a cop-out!

However, if its true - instead of buying a 5oz blank producing machine, why not add another 1oz machine to increase previously mentioned capacity??? Either way, the Mint could STILL be producing 1oz blanks - if they CHOOSE to!!!

 

The mint doesn't make the blanks. They get them from an outside supplier. And that supplier makes planchets for many other people as well, and they all want more. He probably HAS added more capacity and he is still maxed out.

I would also think that adding capacity is not something you can do very quickly. It is massive specialized equipment. And you are going to need more than just the blanking press. You would probably also need the rollers and probably more annealing furnaces. And then you are going to have to have someplace to put them so you may have to build a new building. Finally you have to consider do you WANT to add more capacity? What happens if metal prices drop and demand falls off? You don't want to have excess capacity just sitting unused.

 

There's been a delay issuing the 5oz'ers due to the ever increasing complexities of screwing us.

 

Care to explain how that makes any sense?

If you're feeling screwed by the Mint, you can immediately resolved this by not buying from the Mint, nor should you purchase any of its products on the secondary market.

 

Of course I'll explain. The mint gets better at gouging collectors with each new issue - but they need time to research how best to extract those funds from us. Unfortunately the mint is a monopoly operating for profit - the consumer always gets screwed in such cases. It's not so simple to say don't buy, as collectors MUST have one to complete their collection. I have scaled back (in protest) and will buy fewer than before.

 

One MUSTn't have one of everything. No one is forcing you to uphold this idea of what collecting should/shouldn't be. One can simply refuse to play that game. You can collect something else if you are so adverse to the marketing practices of the Mint. There is a world of coins out there not issued by the US Mint. Scaling back is hardly a protest, it's just accepting being screwed a little less than if you increased your budget to meet your idea that you need one of everything for 'completist' ideals.

 

I find it far fetched that the mint is screwing anybody

 

Buying fewer is definitely a protest and if enough do it, it will hurt the monopoly's profit - one does not always maximize their profit by charging more.

As for collecting strategy, to each their own. If one feels they have to have the new US issue, then......

 

So, it's okay with you if collectors completely support mint operations, even the cost of coinage used for commerce?

 

of course it is

 

i would rather have my money go to the mint rather then a ripoff dealer

 

What can I say???

 

Ah, but the dealer will get his too. When the mint gouges too much, sales are low, creating a rarity - then the secondary market makes the money.