The U.S. Mint Coin Collectors' Forum was interesting from both perspectives - it was interesting to hear what the Mint had to say, but it was equally interesting to hear some of the complaints and suggestions that other collectors brought up. A couple of people voiced the opinion that if the Mint expects the Presidential Dollar coin series to be successful, it must persuade the government to get rid of the paper Dollar bills. U.S. Mint Director Ed Moy, who led the Forum, stated that he believes the Dollar coins will be successful despite the circulating Dollar bills. Moy said that many people are using the Dollar coins, especially in vending machines and parking meter kiosks. He expects such uses to grow, and as people use the Dollar coins more often in these places, they'll become more used to carrying them around. Eventually they'll be just as ubiquitous as the paper Dollar bill, he hopes.
Another collector asked why so few First Spouse coins were made. (The first two First Spouse gold coins sold out completely within hours of going on sale.) The First Spouse mintages were set at a maximum of 40,000 coins across both options (Proof and Uncirculated.) Moy explained that when the Mint did some marketing research a few months before the coins were to go on sale, their research studies indicated that there was only a market for about 5,000 of the coins. Fortunately, the marketing folks at the Mint added about 30 to 35 thousand to that estimate, but it still wasn't enough. Moy promised that the Mint will carefully evaluate the situation for future issues.
One collector asked if we could get high relief coins again, such as the Saint Gaudens $20 gold piece types. Moy said that he, too, would love to see a 21st century coin "renaissance" to compare with the renaissance led by Saint-Gaudens at the start of the 20th century. High relief coins are impractical for circulation because they don't stack, plus they're difficult to strike in a high-capacity production environment, but Moy hopes that we can have some high relief commemoratives in the future.
Moy also noted that the forthcoming American Bald Eagle coins would be coming out in gold, silver, cupro-nickel clad, and that there would be a 3-coin set.
More from the Forum on the next page...
Another collector asked why so few First Spouse coins were made. (The first two First Spouse gold coins sold out completely within hours of going on sale.) The First Spouse mintages were set at a maximum of 40,000 coins across both options (Proof and Uncirculated.) Moy explained that when the Mint did some marketing research a few months before the coins were to go on sale, their research studies indicated that there was only a market for about 5,000 of the coins. Fortunately, the marketing folks at the Mint added about 30 to 35 thousand to that estimate, but it still wasn't enough. Moy promised that the Mint will carefully evaluate the situation for future issues.
One collector asked if we could get high relief coins again, such as the Saint Gaudens $20 gold piece types. Moy said that he, too, would love to see a 21st century coin "renaissance" to compare with the renaissance led by Saint-Gaudens at the start of the 20th century. High relief coins are impractical for circulation because they don't stack, plus they're difficult to strike in a high-capacity production environment, but Moy hopes that we can have some high relief commemoratives in the future.
Moy also noted that the forthcoming American Bald Eagle coins would be coming out in gold, silver, cupro-nickel clad, and that there would be a 3-coin set.
More from the Forum on the next page...