A Modest Proposal For The US Mint
The U.S. Mint conducted its fourth Numismatic Forum Oct. 24-25. The location was the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, the site where the first such event was held in 2016.
Attendance was by invitation only. In years past there have been perhaps 55-65 guests. At one point, one of the speakers mentioned that 44 guests attended this year, with about one-third of them only participating on Thursday.
The impression I gained from the first Numismatic Forum was that it was an event to see and be seen at for those influential in the numismatic community. This year’s attendance was whittled down. For instance, I did not see any attendees representing the American Numismatic Association or Industry Council for Tangible Assets, as happened at prior events. There were fewer representatives this year from the numismatic media. The one category of attendee that seemed to be well-represented was the top-tier U.S. Mint customers in the bulk purchasing program. The Royal Canadian Mint also sent representatives for the first time.
The U.S. Mint is responsible for producing the circulating coinage for America, for coins, sets and medals sold to collectors, and bullion coinage. The products it manufactures are specified by legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by the president. Thus, the U.S. Mint has limited ability to take the initiative on what it produces. For circulating coinage, the Mint produces quantities requested by the Federal
