Dumbest thing the US mint has done since 1980?
numismapiddler
Posts: 79 ✭✭
This should be a fun thread. Please keep it civil so it won't get closed.
I'm moving the new colorized coin to the top of my list.
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There are so many contenders. It is a tough call. In general I find all of the gimmicky designs, modifications, and faux rarity annoying.
Minted more Sue Bucks then Golden Bucks without getting the dollar bill withdrawn. Certain failure.
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The dumbest thing that the US Mint does is to issue special collector coins with very low mintages that sell out in a few minutes thus creating instant wind-falls for those lucky enough to get one to flip at an obscene profit. They shouldn't offer coins that they can't make enough of to meet demand. Rather than limit mintages, limit the order period to two weeks and then make just enough to meet the number ordered.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
You think the US Mint has done dumb things?
Look into the insane Royal Canadian Mint products.
"“Those who sacrifice liberty for security/safety deserve neither.“(Benjamin Franklin)
"I only golf on days that end in 'Y'" (DE59)
How about slapping in notes crooked & stuck in glue in those recent coin and currency sets. Then sending them out to us without even looking.
I never buy the mints junk.
The First Spouse series in gold was a waste of resources. Even with the super low mintages, there has been virtually no collector interest.
I don't know...everyone gives the mint a bad rap but they do their best to try to spur collector interest while having to deal with politics and the rest. The state quarter program was a hit. Not everything is going to be a home run. I appreciate their efforts!
Yea, but they don’t need to keep doing the “limited edition” nonsense, especially when the feedback has been consistently negative.
Mostly they do what Congress tells them to. Those representatives were put there by us, so.......
Now, they do have the responsibility to execute nice designs, and here they have come up with some real disasters. As for the worst thing they’ve done that they actually had control over? I dunno, pick one. 80% of new designs qualify in my opinion.
The dumbest thing is making cents and nickels that cost more than face value to make, but that’s not their call.
My major issue - and this is a personal one - was when they produced no proof ASE's in 2009. I had been building a nice set, year by year... even have the '95W.... When they did that, I stopped the series... still get one now and then, but the set was ruined for me. The only other complaint regarding the mint, is the incredibly poor sales service on the day a new item is offered. The phone lines are impossible, and the quantities small.. so unless really lucky... oh well. Cheers, RickO
I disagree. The people who were lucky enough to get one made alot of profit. Those who didnt, didnt lose a penny. Its kinda like winning the lottery before you buy the ticket. If they did it any other way, it wouldent be worth anything. Makes it fun!
A lot of it is dumb and I really don't follow it
I don't know if it was the dumbest thing among all the other dumb things, but my "pet peeve" dumbitude was when they decided to put Alice Paul on the First Spouse issue for the Chester A. Arthur presidency.
The Mint had come up with the inspired idea of putting a contemporary coin face on the issues of presidencies without wives while in office (the "Liberty" series). That made for an appealing subset of classic coin designs for the otherwise uninspiring series, a subset (Jefferson, Jackson, Van Buren, Buchanan) disrupted by an out-of-left-field decision to substitute a subject that had nothing to do with either the First Spouse or the contemporary coin design theme.
Here's a warning parable for coin collectors...
That one is high on my list too. Why not use the V nickel Liberty Head.
But the whole series is a disaster. Should have been in silver or maybe a low gold % electrum to do something different.
Pennies have got to be the dumbest thing in history. It's bad enough they've been made at all but then the mint decided there'd be too much hoarding if they put a mint mark on them so when the "P" went on other denominations in 1980 they were left off the cent.
Now I understand that the coin will be ended and a campaign to round up the little toxic slugs in 2022. I guess they are waiting a couple years to stop wasting taxpayer money and time.
Not eliminating the cent and selling way too many coins to the general public as "collector items" extending the 50 states program into a "black hole" of eternity.
Pulling from what others have already said:
Producing Dollar Coins without the coordinated stopping of the production of dollar bills
Continued production of the cent
First Spouse Series
Jumping on the colorized bandwagon
Edit to include:
Hockey Pucks
Baseball and Basketball Coins
Not giving the Mercury Dime 1/10oz Gold Coin Full Bands
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
Zinc cents. Should have dropped cent coin in 82.
Surprised no one has said the actual dumbest thing. They minted $1 coins (which people don't want), sold them, allowed you to pay with a credit card, and shipped them to you for a $1 each. I wonder how much money they lost on that deal due to credit card fees and shipping.
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My feelings as well. I think there was a DCarr 2009 coin you could have used for your set. I've been successful purchasing some of his older overstrikes just be patient.
I never saw that one, but I can imagine a lot of savvy credit card holders racked up the charges so they could earn points or airline miles and then once they get their coins, deposit them back in the bank account. They would break even on the money side, but would earn the the credit card perks.
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What did they do in 1980 that was so bad?
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"Numismatic categorizations, if left unconstrained, will increase spontaneously over time." -me
I believe the OP may have just arbitrarily selected that date but they were producing the SBA $1 coin that a lot of people are not fans of while also not coordinating the end of the $1 bill. So, there is that.
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
The US Mint should not be running a get rich quick lottery.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
The 1995-W Proof Silver Eagle
Edited to add: It set a low upper limit on the number of complete sets of silver eagles that could ever be completed, and you had to spend about $1000 at the time to get one.
Speaking personally, the dumbest thing the Denver Mint has done since 1980 was when they kicked little 4 year old Hydrantette Nicole out of their gift shop because she dropped a snowcone on the floor......It wasn't her snowcone.
Should have ended the federal reserve in 1982. The value of the dollar is the problem not the cent or nickel.
Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value. Zero. Voltaire. Ebay coinbowlllc
Giant silver quarters the size of Jupiter.
Kind regards,
George
the 2009 series pennies
Also those god forsaken large silver quarters, I just use them as bullion.
How about the new Innovative Dollars? Not being produced to replace the dollar bill and not in favor due to "clip-art graphics" and not a popular size for a buck.
"P" is the denomination (Penny), not the mint mark!
Oh wait. that's pretty dumb
The SBA is definitely up there. I also hate the date and mintmarks on the edge. I especially don’t get it on the Native American dollars because there is space for the mintmark and date.
Not much of anything. Most of the above are the fault of congress.
I agree. It totally throw the whole balance of the design of the Sacajawea off.
My nomination— S Unc ATB quarters that started 2 years into the series
Most US coins are not minted to satisfy collectors. They are minted, by law, to satisfy politicians.
The government is incapable of ever managing the economy. That is why communism collapsed. It is now socialism’s turn - Martin Armstrong
The best First Spouse coins were the ones that didn’t have spouses
Lafayette Grading Set
The best First Spouse coins were the ones that didn’t have spouses
Lafayette Grading Set
I just picked 1980 to denote recently. Did not want the thread to go down Cross of Gold, reduced weight, branch mint, gold confiscation, etc. black hole.
Just so I understand: the American public has roundly rejected dollar coins of all sizes, shapes, and colors since forever, but the US Mint is "dumb" for not forcing them down the throat of the public and discontinuing the $1 bill. Of, for, and by the people, indeed.