UHR Books Are Shipping
I finally got my companion book to the 2009 Ultra-High Relief (UHR) Saint-Gaudens coin. The book was delivered by UPS via Next Day Air - Signature Required. I've seen several different opinions expressed here and there around the Web about this delivery method, but I think reader David B. summed it up best in his email to me:
I was a first day "orderer" of the UHR. I got all the notices for postponed delivery, then one day I came home and there was a package sitting on my back step. It was my UHR coin. Thanks goodness it wasn't raining and the neighborhood kids weren't roaming yet.
Yesterday, there was a knock at the door...a UPS delivery...right...the UHR booklet had arrived...SIGNATURE REQUIRED!
The UPS man thought I was nuts because I was laughing so hard!
Yes, there is much to laugh at, when the $1,200 gold coin is unceremoniously dumped on your doorstep while you have to sign for the $3 book!
However amusing this scenario is, the fact of the matter is that the U.S. Mint is really trying, despite incredible challenges with their fulfillment contractor situation. Obviously, the transition from their previous contractor, PFS-Web to their new contractor, Pitney-Bowes Government Solutions (PBGS) went very badly. And these books may have been a pawn in the ugly transition mess that ensued.
I have been trying for nearly two months now to get an official statement from the U.S. Mint regarding what was wrong with the original shipment of UHR books. The Mint's Customer Service reps were telling people that the books had been "warped" and "water damaged." The Mint put me off countless times, saying they would give me a statement when they could. Well, yesterday I think I exasperated them to the point of distraction because their chief spokesman, Greg Hernandez (Acting Deputy Director of Public Affairs) finally gave me a terse response that reads:
As stated on our catalog Web site, there were production problems with the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Gold Coin Companion Book. They have been resolved, and most of those who ordered the coin have received their books.
So, what did I do that was so exasperating? I shared some rumors that have been going around about the books. As we already know from simple observation, the hand-off between contractors was nightmarish. One of the most pervasive rumors has it that the books had been originally delivered to PFS-Web's warehouse, but when PFS-Web was summarily terminated at the beginning of the year, the books didn't find their way to the new contractor's warehouse (PBGS) in good condition. Were they "accidentally" left on a loading dock somewhere in the rain? Were they maliciously damaged by employees who were about to lose their jobs because PFS-Web lost the Mint contract? Did PFS-Web simply refuse to release the books, holding them hostage to force a settlement from the Mint?
Hernandez, of course, very emphatically denies that there was any kind of shenanigans with the UHR books. The books were simply the victim of unspecified "production problems." He characterized the rumors as being "a wonderful work of fiction."
Let's take a look at this from the Mint's perspective for a moment. Of course, the Mint is never going to admit that one of its contractors had engaged in the sort of behavior these rumors attest to. That's an invitation to a nasty lawsuit, for one thing. But to be honest, I don't believe these rumors, either. If any of them have any merit at all, it might be the one about the malicious employees, but even that is a big stretch. so why are we dealing with rumors like this?
Because the U.S. Mint didn't act quickly to simply put the speculation to rest by putting out a timely statement that briefly identified what the production problem was. Once again, a nasty rumor mill turns a minor incident into a major stink due to lack of communication.
But let's take this one step further, and ask why the Mint wouldn't want to release this simple statement that seemingly solves all the above problems. Is it because they are afraid of lawsuits from the company that printed the books? Would the Mint be subject to litigation for making a factual statement about a production goof? It doesn't seem likely that identifying the goof would be any more tortious than blaming them in general terms for the "production problems." After all, these weren't "shipping problems" or "storage problems" or "vandalism problems." "Production problems" already points the finger squarely at the book's production source. So, why the lack of details?
Moving on to other UHR Companion Book topics, I think the book is absolutely gorgeous! It is wonderfully written, carefully researched, and printed on ultra-high-quality paper. Some of the chapter-heading page images actually seem to glow almost holographically! Reading the book was a sublime pleasure that I expect to enjoy over and over again. I think it would be really nice to make a version of the book available to the public who couldn't afford the coin, but the book would absolutely have to be a different version, so that the original UHR books are always rare and special. Maybe make the cover a different color or something.
Speaking of differences between the books: Are the UHR books from the first printing exactly identical to the books of the second printing? After all, I could see the first printing becoming something of a collector's item if you could differentiate between the two. The Mint says that there is no difference between the two printings. Is this correct? I guess time will tell...
I was disappointed to find that the Mint never bothered to give credit to the writers and artists who wrote and compiled the book. The Mint took care to claim copyright for certain portions (normally, as U.S. government agency, everything the Mint creates is in the public domain.) I wish the Mint would have added a line or two next to their copyright claim, citing the book's author and designer. Hernandez is looking into the matter of providing this information to the public.
Comments
Well said, Susan.
It seems with every passing day we hear growing concerns about the Mint’s production. I mean, I can deal with the occasional snafu, but when the Mint ships something of considerable value (UHR) without signature and then requires one for the BOOK, something is inherently wrong.
And what’s with all of these shipping delays? I personally have a few orders that are still in limbo, in a constant state of Mint-flux I say, some of which have been delayed multiple times each. Every e-mail I receive from them announcing yet another only disheartens me further and reduces my desire to continue purchasing from them.
It just seems a vast majority of the Mint’s customers aren’t getting the quality they feel they deserve from the Mint’s customer service department, that’s for sure. When will the Dept of Treasury finally listen to all of these public concerns and appropriately address them?
My question for you as a Mint customer is…when is enough, enough?
Where to begin..?
The Mint has lost it’s credibility. Calling their “800″ number for factual, consistent, honest answers only re-inforces my opinion that the customer service reps are instructed to be dishonest if the truth is detrimental. Or worse, they aren’t instructed at all and they just “wing it”.
My personal experience, over years, is that “customer service” has become another empty phrase by another low-bidder provider and deaf bureaucrats. Mr. Moy… ya get what ya pay for.
In many attempts to untangle delays, conflicting e-mails and account “mysteries” I’ve found these contract service providers are reliably? untrustworthy, which recent history confirms with crystal clarity.
Some orders seem to proceed without problems but they seem, in many cases, to be exceptions among multitudes of gross mishandling and “grosser” explanations.
Finally, the Mint’s bureaucracy has become so incompetent and paranoid that they are less than useless when looked to for solutions and honest answers.
Well here we go again! I ordered the Braille Silver Dollar 2 minutes into the 1st hour of sales 3/26/09. It said Back Ordered 4/01/09 I just got another notice saying it won’t be shipped until 4/16/09!!!
Why do they sell what they can’t provide???
Re: backorders and delays, I have had the same problem on virtually everything I have ordered this year. One bright spot though, when I ordered the childhood Lincoln cents I also ordered a couple Kennedy rolls. While the cents went on backorder I did receive the Kennedys yesterday. It was fairly quick. The “D” coins look almost proof-like, must have been a new die. Then I opened the “P” roll and found several coins with what appears to be grease on them. Ah well.
I just have one question for everyone….Wonder if the the home shopping networks go through the same hassels? I doubt it….there have been several items that I’ve ordered on the day of release and seen them selling the same thing on a shopping network way before I receive mine. Money talks. I truly think that there should be strict limits placed on these home shopping networks. They rip the people off! They get first dibs on everything and then jack the prices up for re-sale. I guarantee that I will see 2009W Eagles on TV before I get mine. These networks pretty much control the industry…ever tried to get coins certified? As a private collector it takes several weeks to have a certified coin….networks have them just days after release. That leads into a whole different discussion on the integrity of the grading services.
Sorry if this was off topic…just frustrated in the direction coin collecting is going.
Tim, it is hard to discuss any aspect of new products from the mint this year without venting some frustration. We would all feel better if the mint would just be open and honest, but they have decided to be neither and that only makes things worse. The few official statements from the mint have been so thoroughly washed as to say nothing and what hasn’t been said would fill at least one volume. No explanation has been tendered to justify taking more than a couple of business days to ship in stock items. PBGS is, in many cases, taking more than a month to do so. Why the mint resists offending contractors that have utterly failed their charges at the expense of offending its customers (where its profits come from) is beyond me. Maybe if things were getting better I could think they are working hard and don’t have time to talk, but things are getting worse, seemingly by the day. There is no acceptable justification for the failure to communicate truthfully.
Clair
I just got confirmation on my UHR book and look forward to reading it,very excited. I seen it shipped on us mint site tracking last night, but I also seen something that worries me. I signed up for subscriptions last week on 2 proof sets,2 silver proof sets, 2 silver eagles, 1 gold buffalo. On mint website it says all items shipped on April 6. How is this possible? None of these are available yet in 2009 are they? Please fill me in on what is happening here.
Robert – It is odd that the Mint does it that way but what “shipped” is just your subscription, not any actual coins. I guess the subscriptions “ship” over to the pbgs fulfillment center so they can go to the back of the line like everything else seems to. I know that sounds a bit sarcastic but others will agree with me. It seems that subscription fulfillment goes to the back of the line instead of the front of the line. Seems the Mint can’t get anything right these days. If you look at the price of the “shipped” item it will show as zero.
I still have a handful of unfulfilled orders that I’ve placed going back to January (Still have not received my UHR book yet). I just do not understand how an organization can be so incredibly incompetent with seemingly no attempts to right the operation. To me the real kicker is the fact that the UHRs shipped without needing a signature and now the $20 book needs a signature. How much more can they embarrass themselves.
Thank you, Dave I was getting a little worried they would bill me and ship me something other than what I ordered. The us mint is a little scary right now.lol
Things could be a little scary for employees at PBGS. I wonder if any pink slips have been sent out there. If none yet, they keep this up, they may just close the whole fullfilment center. Find someone who can fullfill orders on time.
coiny
P.S. Yeah, i’m on that long waiting list too. Probably go further back inline now!
As long as we’re being sarcastic, I don’t think any pink slips are likely at PBGS because I don’t think there is anyone there to give them to. I think products are shown as being on backorder because no one is working in receiving and shipments from the mint and other vendors are piling up on the loading dock. There is no one to let go in the order packing group, I have an order that has been “in stock and reserved” for 33 days now. The only way they could get that far behind is to not be there. That has relieved all pressure on the shipping guy and he has taken an extended vacation. What little management there is walks the warehouse floor, randomly filling enough easy orders to pay their own salaries and no more. I think they are just waiting until they have enough material in the warehouse to truck it all to Mexico and sit on the beach and sell it on EBay for the rest of their lives.
OK, back to reality (whatever that is). I noticed this morning that PBGS removed the notice from the UHR order page that coins may ship on June 24 and now it looks like they have product in stock. I can’t help but wonder if this is just an attempt to encourage orders and that they will be hit with backorder notices as soon as they come in. For them to be forecasting a two and a half month delay and then suddenly have stock is hard to believe (or at least would be for anyone but PBGS). Then there is the proof Lincoln dollar, which says it will be available to ship on April 3 (four days ago) but also says that new orders are being placed on a waiting list because they are oversold (this is a logical thing, since some of the production is reserved for sets that are not out yet, and those sets may not sell out). The “pre-charge” for my Braille dollars has expired now so they might actually ship sometime soon (but as has come to be PBGS practice, they will probably not be charged again until at least two days after they actually ship). Unfortunately, the Braille dollars are the newest of three of my orders that are all “in stock and reserved”, so “first-in, first-served” (FAQ #205) is still a dream, even if I was the only person placing orders.
On the more pleasant of topic of this blog’s headline, I received my UHR book and am pleased with its content. The only thing to pick at is the fact that Mr. Moy is pictured more than anyone else, he appears three times, Roosevelt twice, and Saint-Gaudens only once. The book presents already published information along with new and more detailed data.
Clair
The US Mint has alienated me more than once, why would anyone be surprised that they are having problems?
They just unceremoniously canceled an order that was place almost a month ago because “the credit card was declined”. However I had specifically called and made sure the card for this order was accurate and to verify what card would be used. This order was for about $50 and should not have been canceled because of this. I think the US Mint uses this as an excuse to cancel orders.
This happened in January also when I had placed an order with them using a credit card with a significant balance available on it.
How do the Internet & local coin shops get these items when I can’t? Why does the Mint cater to the “big boys” when they are supposed to be taking care of the collecting public?
I am very upset, and after sitting on hold with the Mint for 10 minutes they will automatically just hang up on you.
Susan, I would like to suggest to you and those who were concerned about the strong odor coming from the 2009 UHR display box and harming the coin to remove it and set it out in the open air for a week or so to allow the paint to dry more and the fumes will dissipate. I did this and it worked fine for me. You can repeat it later if you still think it needs to be done again.
I got my book today – shipped UPS w/ Signature versus the coin arriving on the doorstep no signature required.
I’ve got mixed feelings about the book. Much of the background material is excellent, but the book has several weaknesses –
First, the text seems designed to give the reader the impression that Saint-Gaudens’ vision for his coin was never achieved and that the Mint was only now, under Moy’s leadership, able to provide that success. Not fully accurate from two points. One, the Mint did create the Ultra High Relief Proof pattern, approx. two dozen struck, according to Saint-Gaudens’ design. So, yes, the Mint fulfilled his design. However, it was not practical for mass production. Two, the number of times that the Mint discusses enhancing, tweaking, or flat-out modifying the original design means that the 2009 coin was not to Saint-Gaudens design either.
Second, no mention was made of why the Mint preferred to pursue the 27mm version of the coin.
Some interesting inferences and facts from the book – Moy requested authorization for a proof version which was approved and no mention was made of the uncirculated version in Moy’s original memo – fascinating discussion of the difficulties of edge lettering using a multi-part collar – guarantee by Moy that the coin will only be offered in 2009 (at least in gold depending on the whims of Congress) – close examination of the dates given indicates that the Mint nearly wasn’t able to meet its release goals – strong inference that the Mint couldn’t strike a 34mm version in UHR for mass production, even with today’s technology – laughable inference that the Mint will now produce additional artistic coins because it reproduced this one.
Keith, those original dozen or so coins are quite remarkable examples of what could be achieved 100 years ago…
Each complete experimental Extremely High Relief coin required seven blows at 150 tons pressure from the hydraulic press–six in a plain edge collar to bring up the design and a seventh in a three-part collar to impart edge lettering. Between each strike, the planchet was annealed to compensate for work hardening produced in the press. After heating to a deep red, the planchet was dipped into a weak nitric acid solution, which removed any oxidized copper from the surface. Repetition of this treatment left the coin’s surface depleted of copper. All known Mint State specimens have the color of nearly pure gold rather than .900 fine alloy color.
While I enjoy the book greatly, I too am a little disappointed at the amount of “aren’t I great” included at Mr. Moy’s bequest.
Clair
Just received my companion book today. It’s bound upside down. The Mint waited 2.5 months to get things “right” and then sent this out. Sure glad they delayed the product to ensure the extra quality control.
I am now playing tag with my UPS driver for my booklet. Like everyone else, the coin was delivered to my doorstep with no signature required. The booklet?… you know the story.
Hopefully, I can direct the shipment to my place of work for signature.