Marketing Ploys of the US Mint?

Well I don't know if I'm right about this but my thoughts are that the US mint is constantly thinking of ways to keep us modern coin collectors on a string or in some way interested in being excited about buying modern coins. I'm just sayin'.

My years could be wrong but I don't think they're that far off. In 1989 after placing a Philadelphia mint mark on quarters, dimes, nickels and maybe cents since 1979 or 1980. It was reported that the US mint had erorred and left some mint marks off of some quarters. Yeah, that certainly stirred up some interest! How about all the edge errors on the Presidential dollars, practically every other year there's something going on with the Prez dollars it seems. Could some of those errors be intentional? I don't know, I kinda doubt it but ya' never know!


Anyway, I'm sure there are better examples when the mint has used selling ploys to stir up interest. How about in 2006 when the fractional gold buffalos were released and they never did it again? Do you realize how much those fractionals are going for on ebay?

If I didn't know any better I'd say they most likely have a giant advertising firm working for them and thinking of this stuff to keep us all reeled in. I'm just sayin'!! What do you think? Am I right or am I wrong?

 

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Probably both or at least definitely maybe.

 

I don't think any of it is planned, they're just THAT incompetent...management, anyway.

 

I think it is just poor quality control in many cases. I cannot imagine that the Mint would want to create rarities, as they really do not have much to gain in the secondary market. There have been questionable marketing moves like the presidential dollars and first spouse coins. The best marketing move they have made in recent years by far is the 50 State Quarters program, which brought a lot of people into the hobby. Let's see how the ATB Quarter program fares. TC

 

...i don't think the errors are created intentionally either. if they were then the

mint wouldn't have gone to all the trouble of halting the 2010 native american

coins so they could check them for taylor dollars with 2010 dates in the rolls!

i think they are just inept.

 

Just wait till the mint starts letting PCGS grade our coins at the mint, or as they come from the mint.
Wait and see!

There is nothing as satisfing as having the top grading company in the world be sure our mint coins are genuine as they fall out of the presses at the mint!

There will not even be any need for grades MS-60 thru MS-67 - every single coin will be the top 3 grades.

 

This is going to be when [FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica]PCGS Unveils 'The Big One' March 25 in Fort Worth[/FONT][/FONT] :hammer:

 

I don't think the Mint manufactures errors purposely. You think it's odd that seemingly every year there are errors coming out of their plant? Look at manufacturing anywhere. How many other plants do you know of that not only make tens of billions of products in any given year without making any mistakes? For the amount of product being spewed out it amazes me just how few errors occur. The Mint isn't run by gods...it's run by people like you and I, and I doubt anyone here can claim never to make mistakes at work on occasion.
Guy~

 

Just another way to spark interest, Thats all!!

 

The US Mint is a government agency...There is always the problem of bureaucracy! If you want to deal with incompetent, try dealing with the VA!

Quality Control is always an issue... I seem to recall that the annual reports from the US Mint have addressed the problem but have not successfully resolved how to raise the quality control.

I can't buy into the idea that these errors are marketing ploys or strategies. just my p.o.v. . . .

 

I've been collecting coins for years and years, but I'm an off and on collector. I'm interested for a while, then I lose interest, only to come back a couple years later. This time when I came back, the first thing I noticed was the unusual amount of error coins being marketed. It reminded me of when I collected sports cards in the early 1990s. You would buy pack after pack, box after box, case after case of cards to look for that elusive "special card" that was worth bookoo bucks, only to look at the ads in the price guide and see dealers selling these special cards by the hundreds.

I'm not convinced that the errors are deliberate. I do know that newer, high speed machinery of any kind creates more mistakes than before because of the need for fewer people to operate, thus fewer eyes to see the errors as they go by. In this day and age, quantity first, quality last.

Maybe the coin collecting world should take a new approach to collecting errors. If the mint isn't worried about these errors, maybe we shouldn't worry about them so much either.

 

...i guess what bugs me is this. the mint increased their price of the products for

2010. i think WE would and should expect a quality product ESPECIALLY when

there is an increase in cost. and on top of that the mint sets and proof sets contain

FEWER coins than last year!! AND the lincoln cents are ZINC coated with copper to boot! i think we have a good reason to be unsatisfied.

 

LOL

I'll be sure I'm not picking up the soap at that time.

 

I met Director Moy and attended a CCAC meeting once and I am pretty sure of two things:

1) The Mint works hard at minimizing the number of errors it releases to the public; it would be against federal law for Mint employees to create "errors."
2) Every coin program begins as an act of Congress; it is in the packaging of these coins for collectors that the Mint has a say.

Is Right?

 

Grizz,
The price increase may in part be attributable to the increase cost of copper, gold and silver. Based on price as a factor, we should expect a quality product! If the Mint sends out inferior quality product then it is up to the consumer to send it back and let them know about it.
just my p.o.v.

 

To address your question more specifically, no, the mint does not ever make errors to increase sales or interest, they don't need to. On this point I agree with what Mr. Gasparro said in "The Autoritive Reference on Lincoln Cent, Wexler", "The mint was a factory" and it still is a factory. They want to make as many coins as possible with as few errors as possible with as little cost as possible.

The presidential dollars edge lettering was new in modern times so mistakes were bound to happen. Really the doubled lettering and and missing lettering though valued by many is a simple error and has little to do in relation to importance to say doubled dies. They are not even in the same ballpark IMO. The 2010 date on a 2009 coins is a rariety because that's a major mistake, That one's embarresing to the mint's quality control - they plain ole fasion do not like that and I'd say a head or two has rolled for that one already.
With the factionals as with not minting proof AE's last year I just think those decisions are made arbitarily with little regard for collectors interest at all - this is what bothers me more that than anything because they just simply did not care about us. It's hard to think they have the brains to both do a thing that says they don't care about collectors on the one hand and that they were trying to drive up interest on the other. I worked for them (Govt. agencys) for thirty years - they ain't that smart.
Plus they don't lack for buisness as far as I can see.

The fact is The Mint makes billons of items with a tiny fraction of errors rivaling any other manufactoring facility in the world.
They don't want mistakes of any kind and mistakes are an embaresment when found and popularized.
They don't need errors to sell coins - they do just fine with or without them.
But they are a Govt. agency and they will deny mistakes or erroes until there is no other alternative all day long.

 

Ben, I agree that there is a definite factory image about the Mint. I also concur that the Mint produces product with cost as a serious consideration.

I do not know, and am interested to hear what others think:
Does the Mint care enough about the money that collectors spend to influence its production decisions and processes?

 

....yeah, i know this. but sending them back doesn't change a thing. they continue to operate in a sloppy manner and it just irritates collectors to be
forced to send them back at the collectors expense! it's RIDICULOUS!!
AND UNACCEPTABLE!!

 

Yes they do care to a point and a probably big point but,,,
They are a Govt. agency and as such will make arbitrary decisions at times to meet who knows what buisness process applications.
They can and do do this because they are a bit untouchable on minor decisions that they determine only they can understand or quantify.
All Govt. agencies do this to some extent or another at times.
I've seen it ten thousand times.
An agency will decide this or that and then sell it, (or force it) on the employees who then have to sell (or force it) to customers. Happens all the time and is always propped up by reasons so nebulus that to interprete them is impossible and overwhelming - that's the point to confuse and defuse at the same time and it works.
To sum it up:
The mint cares a great deal about us as collectors until some objective gets in the way - at that point we are as spots on the wall until the next time they need us - it's hit or miss!!!

 

Your all wrong about the Mint. Like all government organizations there are different branches that perform different functions. Inside the USMint is the Mint Error Secret Service department. Note the letters highlighted spell MESS which is what they are responsible for producing.
This department is solely in buisness to produce, create, distribute, notifiy the public of all errors in coins and currency. Haven't you all noticed that almost as fast as an error coin is produced, news of it has already been plastered all over the news media? They have spies right her on this forum and the more they state that no such thing exists, the more you must realize that they are only protecting thier jobs. Note carefully how some defend the USMint's quality controls and you'll find a spie. :goofer::rolling:
And be carefull of the MESS police.