U.S Mint Director Ed Moy impressed me as a straight shooter. When people at the Coin Collectors' Forum asked some tough questions, (see previous two pages,) Moy gave them straight answers. There is a widely held perception among the coin collecting community that the U.S. Mint doesn't give a hoot about collectors, which is why it says one thing and does another (when it comes to coins going up for sale,) and why the collectors can never find out any information from the Mint when errors emerge. I have to admit that it gets a little old constantly being told, "We'll have some information for you soon. When we do, we'll let you know." (This is the U.S. Mint version of "don't call us, we'll call you.")
I found it particularly disturbing when a Mint official kept using the term "error control" rather than the standard production-environment term "quality assurance" (QA) (or "quality control" (QC)) when referring to the Washington "Godless" Presidential Dollar errors. I was trying to learn more about the work-flow on the production line and was constantly stonewalled, as were the rest of the numismatic media, while the Mint official kept up a mantra that included this curious term "error control." It was very telling of the fact that, in my opinion, the Mint sees itself on the defensive against the evil error coin collectors who live to exploit and publicize the Mint's every weakness. In other words, it's an "us against them" mentality. But wait, shouldn't the U.S. Mint consider the coin collecting community to be its staunchest ally, its most reliable customer and promoter?
When I took over this journalistic position, writing about coins for About.com, I told everyone who would listen that I was going to help change the way the U.S. Mint viewed our hobby. I was going to be the ambassador that brought the two communities together in everlasting harmony. But people would just snicker behind their hands and mutter that many very determined journalists have gone before me, (Coin World editor Beth Deisher's name was mentioned a lot here,) and that I shouldn't get my hopes up in this regard.
But now we have Ed Moy! Perhaps there is hope, because Moy seems sincerely interested in the coin collecting community's views and concerns, and he seems sincere in his desire to foster a good relationship between the Mint and the collectors it serves.
More from the Forum on the next page...
I found it particularly disturbing when a Mint official kept using the term "error control" rather than the standard production-environment term "quality assurance" (QA) (or "quality control" (QC)) when referring to the Washington "Godless" Presidential Dollar errors. I was trying to learn more about the work-flow on the production line and was constantly stonewalled, as were the rest of the numismatic media, while the Mint official kept up a mantra that included this curious term "error control." It was very telling of the fact that, in my opinion, the Mint sees itself on the defensive against the evil error coin collectors who live to exploit and publicize the Mint's every weakness. In other words, it's an "us against them" mentality. But wait, shouldn't the U.S. Mint consider the coin collecting community to be its staunchest ally, its most reliable customer and promoter?
When I took over this journalistic position, writing about coins for About.com, I told everyone who would listen that I was going to help change the way the U.S. Mint viewed our hobby. I was going to be the ambassador that brought the two communities together in everlasting harmony. But people would just snicker behind their hands and mutter that many very determined journalists have gone before me, (Coin World editor Beth Deisher's name was mentioned a lot here,) and that I shouldn't get my hopes up in this regard.
But now we have Ed Moy! Perhaps there is hope, because Moy seems sincerely interested in the coin collecting community's views and concerns, and he seems sincere in his desire to foster a good relationship between the Mint and the collectors it serves.
More from the Forum on the next page...