Every so often....... (Mild rant)

longtimecollector

Every so often, beginning in 1955, the mint has made some "errors" that have received a lot of "press" even amongst the non-collecting public........ The "No S" proofs of the 70"s-80"s come to mind........ The late date Lincoln doubled dies........... Well the latest round of high leaf / low leaf quarters has started me thinking that IMHO, the timing of the Wisconsin errors (Almost simultaneous with the bufallo nickel release) was purposely done to keep significant focus on the "State Quarter" program, while still hype-ing the new nickels........... BTW, I read in CW or NN that someone has re-introduced the bill to get the "Dead President" series on dollar coins again while still producing the Sac's........ There's even a provision for having the "First Ladies" commemorated on bullion issues........ Unlike the Commem boom of the 30's (which were mainly for fundraising), the proposed issues benefit only Uncle Sam......... Between the "State Quarters (And their silver counterparts), modern commems, new nickels, gold, silver, and platinum bullion issues (in proof and unc), that there are now 40-50-60 DIFFERENT coins put out by our mint each year, not to mention the packaging options............ Where's it gonna end???????

F117ASR

I agree. It is expensive to keep up. However, it does bring new people to the hobby and that drives up prices and you can make a quick buck

kranky

I do not believe the Mint would intentionally make such an error. What would be the point? Creating a short-lived blip in the news that maybe 5% of the population would hear about wouldn't even matter to them in the big picture. And even so, all the focus would be limited to one particular SQ from one mint.

They have their sights set on the bigger picture, like you mentioned. Crank out as many items as you can, knowing that the public will eat them up. I think their next move will be to keep mintages low but raise the prices. Everything they make with a 50,000 limit sells out instantly, and look at what they are charging for that stuff! That way they can take in the same amount of money with a lot less work.

EJB

How about mint issue slab MS and PROOF 70 coins. This would cut out the middle man and make a large profit for Uncle Sam, Plus if you questioned the grade they could call you a subversive.

F117ASR

They should at least make more matt coins. We pay killer prices already. Why not make the quality worth it?

wam98

An article on the MSN news page this morning talked about how the mint was being so profitable and why. Can't quote the numbers but it was interesting. I for one am not going to even try to collect everything the mint produces mainly because my interests are on older coinage. The mint sets and proof sets are enough for me.

Interesting you should mention the mint purposely doing things. The 2004 clad proof set comes to mind.

coppercoins

If they really wanted to up collector demand, they could simply decide to mint all circulation strike Minnesota quarters with the D mintmark, and the only examples available of the "P" mint would be in mint sets. That would create a stir, a key date, and a legitimate reason for giving moon money for a high grade statehood quarter. They wouldn't need to go playing around with the design to create a stir. I highly doubt the whole Wisconsin quarter thing was an on-purpose error.

xbob

The does seem to be more and more mint products coming out; rolls, bags, etc... but it's only because they sell. Lately, it seems a lot of it sells out to eBay sellers wanting to make a quick profit. I think the "errors" probably are legit and not on purpose but it sure helps the Mint's publicity!

I can't collect it all either, nor do I want to. I like the proof sets and I open a mint set each year to put in albums. The Commems only interest me if the coin has a great artistic design. I suppose it all comes down to collecting what you like. There's too much to try and have it all (unless you have lots of $$$ to spend).

cladking

<< <i>If they really wanted to up collector demand, they could simply decide to mint all circulation strike Minnesota quarters with the D mintmark, and the only examples available of the "P" mint would be in mint sets. That would create a stir, a key date, and a legitimate reason for giving moon money for a high grade statehood quarter. >>




Making a coin only for mint sets might not have any effect on the number of
gems produced for some modern coins because all gems are found only in the
mint set. Some of the mint sets contain very few gems of specific coins such as
most of the '99 states quarters.

I do agreee that the mint does not intentionally make errors and varieties even
if some of their employees do on rare occasion.

pharmer

On the mention of some new products with only 50,000 made and immediate sellout, does the mint announce while stuff is still available what the mintage is or will be? I have never paid attention, and think I should if the info is there.