Todays word is "seigniorage"

What is the cause of Rollo’s dementia, Alex?

This brings up a question I had - does the Mint/Treasury count the bullion coin programs in the overall seignorage calculation? It must cost close to $20 to make a $1 Silver Eagle, for example.

@BillJones said:

@JBK said:
This brings up a question I had - does the Mint/Treasury count the bullion coin programs in the overall seignorage calculation? It must cost close to $20 to make a $1 Silver Eagle, for example.

It would be silly to calculate traditional seigniorage on the bullion gold, silver, platinum and commemative coins. The mint sells all of those coins for more, usually a lot more, then their face value.

Very true, but by your own excellent definition above, what they sell it for is not the issue:

"Seigniorage is the profit a mint makes from producing coins. It's the difference between the face value of the coins and their cost of production."

So, they incur huge negative seignorage upon production, and then may or may not make any money (profit) upon sale depending on what type of coin it is (bullion vs. collector bullion).

I always assumed they would not calculate seignorage on bullion, but I just don't know if or where they draw the line (do they calc. seignorage on ANY collector coins the mint sells, from commems to proof sets?).

@BillJones said:
Seigniorage is the profit a mint makes from producing coins. It's the difference between the face value of the coins and their cost of production.

I suppose you could say that the modern Cents and nickels earn "negative seigniorage" for the modern U.S. mint system.

This.

Wonder if has ever been used in the National Spelling Bee

@Barndog said:
government accounting is so messed up, I am sure there is no real attempt at capturing so-called "full cost" of manufacturing coins (simple stuff like future pensions and other benefits to be paid are likely not built in to the formula). It's government. What they tell us is never all true.

They do issue an annual report every year, with line items such as operational and administrative costs. Here's the link to the 2016 report.

US Mint 2016 Annual Report

@JBK said:
This brings up a question I had - does the Mint/Treasury count the bullion coin programs in the overall seignorage calculation? It must cost close to $20 to make a $1 Silver Eagle, for example.

Seignorage doesn't affect bullion, since it's sold as a product, with a tangible net income on sales. (See page 10 of above report.)

@JBK said:
I always assumed they would not calculate seignorage on bullion, but I just don't know if or where they draw the line (do they calc. seignorage on ANY collector coins the mint sells, from commems to proof sets?).

They do. See page 15/16 of above report.

If you've never read one of the Mint's annual report, they're pretty interesting, from cost of manufacture to the coins produced during that calendar year...