Mint To Resume Production of Hot Springs Quarters

Coin World is reporting that the mint is going to strike more Hot Springs Quarters and maybe others, even though “final’ mintages have been announced, to fill bulk orders for 200,000 coin bags. I would imagine these bags are purchased by the TV marketers to meet their sales. WHAT A CROCK – looks like they can have coins minted at will, even though the federal reserve has a glut of quarters on hand.

Reminds me of the 1974-S cent where the mint stated it intended to kill the secondary market. But that was before collectors paid for all of the mint's operations.

 

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Maybe folks should be grateful these bulk orderers didn't ask for more 1955/55 Lincolns?

I agree "WHAT A CROCK!" and if antics like this continue, the US MInt will shoot itself in the foot thereby selling only to BIG TICKET buyers and those folks who don't know any better.

 

I kind of liked the idea of the lower mintage of the ATB quarters, but if more of these are going to be made they should be sent to the banks and released into circulation at face value and not to HSN, etc to be sold at a premium. TC

 

Personally, I don't think this is legal.

From the US Mint's web site you can see the Authorizing Legislation.
The ATB coin legislation can be viewed from http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/index.cfm?action=legislation

Under Section 102 subparagraph (4) "Issuance of Coins":
‘‘(4) ISSUANCE OF COINS.—
‘‘(A) ORDER OF ISSUANCE.—The quarter dollar coins
issued under this subsection bearing designs of national
sites shall be issued in the order in which the sites selected
under paragraph (3) were first established as a national
site."
Doesn't this mean that the coins must be released (issued) in order? Meaning, once Yellowstone has been released they can no longer release (i.e. mint up) the Hot Springs?

 

Good question! Until the State/Parks quarters they couldn't mint coins dated one year in the next year.

Whatever the law, the mint again stabs collectors in the back - the collector that pays the full cost of running the mint and who counts on final meaning final to establish the secondary market. Until this fiasco, the Hot Springs were the lowest mintage of the Parks and States and I just bought up a bunch of them (thank goodness at not too much of a premium), relying on the final mintages.

I'd have to say, based on this total disregard for collectors, although I'll still order from the mint, since I have no choice, I'm scaling back quantities ordered and looking for other hobbies to spend my dollars. I'm sure it's happened more, but this is the second time the mint has undermined my investment/speculation in coins. Definitely time for a change in management at the mint - I'm writing my congressional representatives to say so.

 

Another concern is will the mint create a new variety of these quarters, so that collectors will have to purchase them from the TV marketers at some ridiculous premium? So, that leaves me with the idea that I better order some from them before a variety is discovered, so that I can get in on the ground floor.

 

And do any of you have any proof who bought these? \

NO

 

Who do you think buys 200,000 coin bags? Maybe it's our local banks, so they can service their coin collector customers. LOL

 

It likely it's the networks, but we have no proof. Does the freedom of information act cover such transactions?

 

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I don't know, but I doubt anyone, short of the government, can get access to those records. If FOIA's did apply, I could get access to your purchases from the mint.

 

BUMP. This act by the mint is really bugging me now. Isn't the purpose of the mint to supply the public with circulating coinage and not purposely fuel the secondary market? As statequarterguy notes, it makes logical sense that the buyers of these bulk ATB quarters will be the same ones that colorize them or market them in red oak presentation boxes. I may not collect this series now. TC

 

No it does not. It means they could not release a later coin in the series before an earlier one. There is nothing there that forbids striking more of an earlier one (that has already been issued) once a later one has been issued.