Why I am boycotting new issues from the Mint.

Aside from the 2021 Morgan internet nightmare, I won’t buy new issues from the mint anymore. I don’t care how interesting or collectible they may be. Their incompetence, plus promulgating a system that favors flippers and profiteers just turns me off. I wasn’t planning on getting those pseudo-Morgans anyway, but this nonsense clinches my avoidance of new issues. Here is a sample of the eBay latest gouging, for those defending the mint, and this junk collectible:

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

The mint, the flippers, the scalpers, the gougers, etc. are all one big happy incestuous orgy. They'll all catch some nasty disease and die some day.

Meanwhile, the collector is left holding his ... oh never mind.

I've yet to have been compelled to buy anything from the mint.

 

modern mint products just don't get my notice, if i want a Morgan or a peace dollar I'll buy the older coins they are more interesting at least to me then the "quote" new peace and Morgans from the mint

but this is JMHO

 

I saw no reason to even attempt to get these issues from the mint. I have MS69 examples of both the Morgan and Peace Dollars in the form of DC over-strikes and beyond that I have plenty of examples of all the mint marks. 1883-O alone I have forty some odd examples....

 

I'm not surprised but frankly I'm not interested. It's all manufactured rarity anyway (as a sports card collector...this is a common issue these days) designed to make something more valuable. Give them 6 months to a year and we will see just how much they are worth then. My guess is, I can pick up a couple cheap at that time if I so desire.

 

The gas station buys a gallon of gas for $2 and resells it for $2.50 and no one complains.

The supermarket buys bananas for 20c and resells them for 30c and no one complains.

The coin dealer buys a coin for $85 and resells it for $125 and they are evil.

 

I enjoy seeing this if you know what I mean believe me I've seen way worse.

 

Who said we don’t complain? Price gouging is price gouging.

 

There's a difference...the collector can buy directly from the mint and doesn't need the middle man. Eliminate the middle man (i.e. the scalper) and the collector has no issues buying directly from the mint.

$125!!! yeah right.

 

He didn’t even bother reading my post. Obviously, he did not look at the wildly inflated flipper prices. I would happily buy gasoline at wholesale price, if it were available to the consumer, without a mandatory middleman.

 

That isn't the point here. I am a businessman and would never fault anyone for making a profit on a sale of any kind..... The issue here is that the US mint has a hundred year history of catering to the collector. Us guys... We spent a hundred years buying their mint and proof sets effectively making them a viable collectible in the marketplace..... Now we collectors are on the outside looking in. The website is entirely geared towards catering to the TV and Ebay hawksters. Did you even bother to look at Tuesdays posts of all the genuine collectors kicked off the US mint website while hoping to score one for themselves?.... No sir. this has nothing to do with profiteering in my eyes. This has everything to do with dancing with the partner that brought you to the dance. And the US mint has forgotten that partner.

 

I think the beef is not that people should be denied a profit but that the Mint appears to favor dealers/wholesalers/etc. who crowd out the individual collector from Mint-direct purchases either mostly or completely. I don't know how fair that accusation is but I see it on CT all the time.

Now if someone can buy a product for $85 and then sell it for $250 or $850 then we've just validated the "bigger fool" theorem.

 

Price gouging!! It's not a bottle of water in the middle of the desert. It's a collectible trinket. You act as if you're entitled to have one.

Regardless of whether dealers bought any of the coins, it is clear that demand was greater than supply for this issue. Removing dealers wouldn't lower the price in the marketplace, it'd just change who was making the money. Collectors would (and do) buy them for resale.

Oh, I read your post. Same old whining about their site not working properly and people other than you making money.

 

Another troll for my ignore list.

 

I have been a US Mint customer since 1959. I am no more. I have 13 grandkids (one more due in November) and 21 great grandkids. I am trying to get them interested. The US Mint is seriously challenging that hope. It is not just the bed time deals with the major dealers, but also, the coins themselves. Most denominations and variations are only available from the mint or coin dealers. Both charge a premium.

Can you collect all the US Quarters by looking at your change - no. Dimes - no. Nickels - no. Cents - no. Halves - a real big no. You have packaging, shipping, promotion and fabricated rarity to pay for. In most cases you need to buy several just to get the one you want. The US Mint is not collector friendly. If anyone doesn't believe this, just go to the Red Book. Look at the issue price and present value of items from the mint.

I am all in favor of boycotting all US Mint products and ignoring any attempt to get me interested in keeping up with the status symbols. I am already there.

 

Businesses adapt to survive. The Mint is in a position that they have to try and appease both sides. Like it or not, the dealers are needed by the Mint. They provide advertising for the Mint in their shops and carry products that many collectors would not know about and/or not take the time to buy direct. They also buy up a ton of product. While Joe & Jane collector are buying up one silver eagle and one proof set, the dealer is buying up 100 proof sets and 300 silver eagles.

And let's be honest here, most collectors that complained about not getting one would have bought multiple examples and resold the others if they had been lucky enough to get through. We've seen that over and over again. "I just wanted one for my collection" is really "I'd have bought one for me are resold the other 9 on eBay". We all know that is true.

And how come these collectors that lost out never post about their other Mint purchases? Where are their posts about buying the Christa McAuliffe commem or the Women's Suffrage commem? Funny how so many collectors are only interested in those that will sell out and go up in value. The system is only rigged when it comes to these items.

 

What was the price of these, $85 each?

I'm out for a lot of reasons but that price sealed the deal. It's price gouging plain and simple.

I am disappointed, but still lots of nice coins available for half that price.

I've been focusing on crown sized coins, especially Libertads.

 

The Mint is required to cover their costs. They're not making a ton of money on these. They're covering their costs.