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ALTERNATIVE METAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
MsMorrisine
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2012 Mint Annual report document page 13, .pdf page 15
ALTERNATIVE METAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Metal expenses are the largest portion of circulating production cost. On December 14, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-302) to provide the Secretary of the Treasury research and development authority for alternative metallic materials for circulating coins. To ensure an independent assessment, the Mint contracted with an external firm in FY 2012 to perform research and development on various options, ultimately testing more than 30 different types of alloys. Congress will receive a report in December 2012 on the Mint’s findings from this first round of research.
CIRCULATING PRODUCTION INITIATIVES
In FY 2012, the Mint reduced costs of circulating coinage production as Denver and Philadelphia went from three shifts to two shifts. This change is projected to save an estimated $2 million a year on labor and utilities costs.
In 2011, the Philadelphia and Denver facilities changed die and blank processing to improve the quality of coins and make dies last longer. As a result, die usage decreased, saving the Mint approximately $312,000. In FY 2012, the Denver facility implemented a program to recycle the carbide inserts of die collars. Die inserts form the edge of the coin as it is stamped in the collars. Instead of discarding worn ones, they can be reused on any coin that is a larger size. This recycling program was expanded to the San Francisco facility.
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from page 3, .pdf page 5
YOUR UNITED STATES MINT
We are proud of the program accomplishments detailed above, but they are just part of the story of our dynamic and vibrant team of nearly 1,800 employees. In FY 2012, we made significant progress on our research and development initiative to examine the many possible metallic alternatives for our nation’s coinage. We established and staffed a separate and secure research and development laboratory within the Philadelphia Mint and equipped it with circulating coin production equipment. We have conducted two sets of trial strikes on a variety of metallic compositions and evaluated them for attributes such as hardness, ductility, corrosion and wear resistance, electromagnetic signature, availability of raw materials and cost. As this annual report goes to print, we are making final preparations for our first report to Congress under the “Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act of 2010” on the results of our research and development efforts over the last 18 months.
ALTERNATIVE METAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Metal expenses are the largest portion of circulating production cost. On December 14, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-302) to provide the Secretary of the Treasury research and development authority for alternative metallic materials for circulating coins. To ensure an independent assessment, the Mint contracted with an external firm in FY 2012 to perform research and development on various options, ultimately testing more than 30 different types of alloys. Congress will receive a report in December 2012 on the Mint’s findings from this first round of research.
CIRCULATING PRODUCTION INITIATIVES
In FY 2012, the Mint reduced costs of circulating coinage production as Denver and Philadelphia went from three shifts to two shifts. This change is projected to save an estimated $2 million a year on labor and utilities costs.
In 2011, the Philadelphia and Denver facilities changed die and blank processing to improve the quality of coins and make dies last longer. As a result, die usage decreased, saving the Mint approximately $312,000. In FY 2012, the Denver facility implemented a program to recycle the carbide inserts of die collars. Die inserts form the edge of the coin as it is stamped in the collars. Instead of discarding worn ones, they can be reused on any coin that is a larger size. This recycling program was expanded to the San Francisco facility.
===========================
from page 3, .pdf page 5
YOUR UNITED STATES MINT
We are proud of the program accomplishments detailed above, but they are just part of the story of our dynamic and vibrant team of nearly 1,800 employees. In FY 2012, we made significant progress on our research and development initiative to examine the many possible metallic alternatives for our nation’s coinage. We established and staffed a separate and secure research and development laboratory within the Philadelphia Mint and equipped it with circulating coin production equipment. We have conducted two sets of trial strikes on a variety of metallic compositions and evaluated them for attributes such as hardness, ductility, corrosion and wear resistance, electromagnetic signature, availability of raw materials and cost. As this annual report goes to print, we are making final preparations for our first report to Congress under the “Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act of 2010” on the results of our research and development efforts over the last 18 months.
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