Love the coin! But the Mint doesn't know how to use it's own packaging...2026 WI Cray-1 Superdollar
Kurisu
Posts: 2,189 ✭✭✭✭✭
I've absolutely been in love with the American Innovation Dollars since released. I've posted a variety of them too.
Thought I'd share some fun background on why I have a special place in my heart for the Cray Supercomputer...
Weirdly, the Cray Supercomputer is a hugely sentimental thing in my life. No, I didn't get to work on it or even see it in real life. But it was a huge influence in my younger years thanks to my Papa speaking about its epicness since the day it was created. As a child I was typing in games from the pages of Atari Magazine with my little brother on our Atari. My brother became a high level coder working in global banking securities software. I started my adult career as a Photoshop expert the same year it was released to the public in 1990, as I also moved to Denver for college. Papa referenced the Cray countless times as if it were a superhero when we were younger. My father is still around, he spent most of his career as a PhD in physical chemistry and is now in his later 80's and still remembers every bit of everything, I swear he's nearly eidetic. He and my Mama (high school English teacher for many years) not only constantly surrounded us with learning materials and encouraged us endlessly and lived with massive acceptance of seemingly just about everyone and every culture (we got to grow up around the planet but my parents both grew up in Queens NY). We also moved (back) to America in 1977, the year after the Cray was originally created.
2026 Wisconsin American Innovation Dollar honors the Cray-1 Supercomputer.
I of course had to have this one too!
Now that I've told you some of my wholesome story of Americana...I'm going to vent a tiny bit...
I've ordered fewer and fewer Mint rolls ever since the Mint switched from those plastic trays to the cardboard boxes. Because when they changed to cardboard I kept receiving Mint rolls loose and damaged in those boxes (sometimes very damaged and I posted about it too). Until finally I received an order of rolls and saw that the tab in the cardboard box was supposed to have been folded in and down and low and behold, the rolls in that order where all properly locked in place during their shipping to me!
But it's been so frustrating to repeatedly receive rolls from the Mint loose in their individual boxes and free to bounce around in there on their journey to my home...
Honestly, am I totally out of place for fully expecting my U.S. Mint rolls to arrive in "Mint" condition?!
They did a great job packing my boxes of rolls in the larger box for shipping, but not so much when it comes to the roll in each individual box.
I did call customer service to let them know how frustrating it is to receive $250 order with their own packaging not being used properly. Last time I called I did get a very nice follow up call from U.S. Mint customer service leadership.
In the last image you can clearly see the damage around the cardboard where the roll was supposed to be locked in and the roll itself is a bit frayed but luckily not damaged much. But my heart sank a bit when I picked up the box this evening in front of my door and immediately could feel all movement in the boxes due to those rolls not being locked down inside that brilliant simple packaging (when it's used properly!!). I've only opened one so far. I can't return them for a exchange because that's it for now, they're no longer available. Not that I would've been surprised if replacement rolls showed up equally improperly individually packaged.
C'mon U.S. Mint...You can do better!!! Pretty please.
But the coin is truly lovely, just like so many of the other Innovation Dollars...
Coins are Neato!
"If it's a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone...somewhere...is making a penny." - Steven Wright
Comments
that packaging is cray
Thats awful sloppy. I wonder if they'd like to know about it as well?
Very cool.
I remember hearing that the Cray-1 was state of the art at the time.
I never used one, either, but it was cool knowing things were getting much faster.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cray-1
I called the U.S. Mint customer service last night right after I opened it. They are always helpful and as usual answered almost immediately. They told me I'd likely hear back from a supervisor.
Coins are Neato!
"If it's a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone...somewhere...is making a penny." - Steven Wright
I miss the plastic trays in smaller boxes.
I bought the Steve Jobs coin today.
It is all gone now.
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Mine isn’t a coin story, but one I think you would have absolutely loved! In 1980/81 as I was attending Officer Traning School at Medina Annex in San Antonio, we had a special guest lecturer…..named Admiral Grace Hopper! She was one of the foremost computer coding and computer authorities and her lecture to us about super computers was just wonderful! During her lecture she handed out a piece of telephone wire approximately nine inches long to each officer trainee, and proudly stated that what we were each holding in our hands was the equivalent of a ‘nano-second’……and I still have that piece of wire today. Admiral Hopper was truly a force to be reckoned with in computing, and was also one of the founders of the phrase ‘computer bug’ when she discovered a moth had shorted out a computing system on one of the very first super computers!
Cheers, karl