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Message:: [QUOTE="Lembeck13, post: 3746148, member: 47036"]Your point is understood but (almost certainly) Samuel Brown was simply a sleaze bucket onesie and a relative latecomer to the ranks of corrupt Mint factotums. My discomfort comes from the Mint sliding out of the money business into the more speculative realm of bullion for bullions sake. This is a major step up/down from their other less lucrative endeavors such as the mad proliferation of endless commemorative coins/sets. As an aside or, if you like, Exhibit A, I recently contacted the Mint's answer line and asked whether premiums paid for "America the Beautiful" silver proof quarters go toward the preservation/advancement of the locales they commemorate. After much fumbling and dead air the response came back - "No." "So where DO the premiums go?" I asked. "That's decided by Congress." she politely replied. "Is there a list of past premium beneficiaries" I asked. "I don't know" the hapless GS-5 voice of the U.S. Mint replied adding "Maybe your congressman knows." As I stepped onto the dreaded Möbius strip of taxpayer inquiry, the scent of sizzling pork filled my nostrils and I realized - "These are just silver proof quarters... what evil/financial legerdemain/slush lurks in the Mint's bullion trade?" Assuming I ever get a straight answer... Film at 11.[/QUOTE]