Potentially Important CoinWeek Article.

cladking

This is an interview with David Ryder that has implications for the future of the mint and hobby.

https://coinweek.com/us-mint-news/challenging-the-status-quo-an-interview-with-u-s-mint-director-david-j-ryder/

neildrobertson

I support the general idea that it will be good for him to challenge the status quo when it comes to coin design.

I also always hope that the mint will adopt a less is more approach, and limit the number of products the mint offers. It's too easy for me to look at all of the options and just give up.

BryceM

Well, I'd certainly encourage them to change something...... what they're producing now mostly looks like Chuck-E-Cheese tokens.

Interesting that when he was Mint Director previously they had 2.5 million customers. Now it's down to 500,000.

Hemispherical

David Ryder said, “...I have an interesting program with the British Royal Mint on the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower landing in America.”

I think this will be very interesting!

Thanks for posting the interview @cladking.

CaptHenway

"CW" is Coin World. This is from CoinWeek. I respectfully suggest that you edit the thread title a bit.

ricko

Good interview, and if he truly does some of the positive things he is hinting at, it will be good for the hobby... and potentially good for U.S. coinage...We shall see if he follows through. Cheers, RickO

Kudbegud

• I like - the option of basic packaging to lower cost. The fancy packaging is nice but I would probably just order the basic version.
• I like - the working with other mints and improving design and production to 21st century thinking.
• I would have liked - talk of adopting bi-metalic ringed coinage as almost every other country in the world has done

A nice interview of mostly soft ball questions. Some hard ball questions would have been good. I understand if the questions are too confrontational or about past questionable topics that more interviews may be a long time coming.

cursive

I would have liked a question about modifying the circulating denominations. The main duty of the Mint should be producing coins that are useful in commerce, not products that are attractive to collectors. With an engaged leader there's no reason you can't have both, but circulating coinage really is more important.

ms70

"Louis Golino: Last October during the third Numismatic Forum, you discussed plans to release a scarce coin into circulation. Is that still in the works?"

"David Ryder: As has been reported, we put out that penny [the 2019-W Lincoln cent] in the proof set [the 2019 U.S. Mint Proof Set] that was pretty popular. Another program has not been announced and will be in a similar product, but I can’t yet go into details on that."

I can't get excited about a coin that is intentionally "scarce". That's not a rare coin, it's a marketing tactic.

DCW

@CaptHenway said:
"CW" is Coin World. This is from CoinWeek. I respectfully suggest that you edit the thread title a bit.

And I only opened this thread because I thought it meant "Civil War."

thisistheshow

I am not really a fan of or excited about privy marks- and he did point those out in the interview as something that he thinks would generate customers.

santinidollar

Good luck with convincing the egos in Congress not to micromanage special coinage.

cladking

@CaptHenway said:
"CW" is Coin World. This is from CoinWeek. I respectfully suggest that you edit the thread title a bit.

You're right. I almost changed it when I saw it since "CW' has always meant "Coin World" to me as well. Coin Week does some good work and deserves a plug as well.

batumi

@neildrobertson said:
I support the general idea that it will be good for him to challenge the status quo when it comes to coin design.

I also always hope that the mint will adopt a less is more approach, and limit the number of products the mint offers. It's too easy for me to look at all of the options and just give up.

Neildrobertson: I agree with the 'less is more' approach. In 1986, if one chose to collect AGE 1 oz. for example, there was one coin-two counting the proof version for at the time about $800.00 which I did for awhile to both 'collect' and stack a little bullion in an attractive, easily tradeable form. Not a big outlay at the time for a couple ounces of gold. Fast forward to 2006 with four options in AGE's, two Buffaloes along with three platinum issues all in the 1 oz. size offered along with much higher metals prices transformed into a substantial outlay for most collectors. This trend is continues on to the present. It slowed in 2009, but has been six to eight offerings in the one ounce gold, platinum, and Now palladium issues alone! Add commems, fractionals, and spouses, it would take a considerable sum if one chose to collect them all!