Weekly World Numismatic News for May 8, 2022
Reverse of the Royal Canadian Mint 2015 Superman $20 for $20 coin featuring “The Man of Steel”
After reading yesterday’s blog post, the comics dealer asked me how to become a coin dealer to sell comics-themed coins.
My reader knows that the comics industry is exploding and that the publishers are dabbling in non-fungible tokens (NFT) to see if they can extend the market. Those skeptical of the NFT market are looking for alternatives. A comics dealer that expanded to other publications, toys, and other collectibles understands that extending his market with coins will be profitable.
Walk into any hobby shop and see how every hobby has evolved. Comics, sports, and antiques have seen a rise in collecting, and all have seen the benefit of cross-collecting. A sports dealer is also selling comics and other collectibles with sports themes. Comics dealers are collectible cards and souvenirs from the ComicCons, the same as the sports dealers are selling game tickets.
Coin dealers extend their business into metals and jewelry, and their stores look the same as they did 10 years ago. The dealers may be making a living, but it is not expanding the hobby. But is it their job to expand the hobby or make a living? Unfortunately, this attitude is typical with the dealers trying to set ANA policy and is not helping the hobby’s growth.
And now the news…
May 4, 2022
→ Read more at croatiaweek.com
May 5, 2022 → Read more at smithsonianmag.com
Weekly World Numismatic News for May 30, 2021
When it comes to identifying the numismatic-related news of the week, you cannot ignore the fiasco caused by the U.S. Mint. It is a repeat of every significant release for the last 15 years: underestimate demand, make purchasing policies that are out of touch with the demand anticipated by the industry, not have the infrastructure in place to meet the demand, apologize and promise to do better later.
Wash, rinse, and repeat.
Collectors are not taking this situation in stride as they previously have. According to congressional staffers who spoke on the promise of anonymity, the calls to their offices bordered on outrage. The stories were amazing.
One staffer said that their district office received a call from an assisted living center in their district. Five people were on the call. Each made a statement and passed around the telephone, so they could all tell their members of congress how upset they were. One of the people told the staffer about buying his first proof set from the U.S. Mint in 1958.
Another staffer said that the House Financial Services Committee redirected calls made to their offices. Someone investigated and decided that something I wrote the day of the sale prompted the calls.
A source with the Treasury Department said that they logged a lot of calls on Wednesday. Although they would not break down the distribution of the calls, sources suggested that calls made to the main Treasury caught Secretary Janet Yellen’s attention.
Although members of the numismatic industry called, everyone I spoke with said it was the public’s outrage that caused the U.S. Mint to take quick action.
Instead of putting up with bad service from the government, the people stood up and asked for answers. The government responding to the people is the best news of the week. Now let’s hope the U.S. Mint does not waste this moment.
And now the news…
May 27, 2021 → Read more at torontosun.com
May 28, 2021 → Read more at thewestonforum.com
May 28, 2021 → Read more at leader-call.com
U.S. Mint Pauses 2021 Morgan and Peace Dollar Sales
The U.S. Mint posted the following on its Facebook page at 11:30 PM on Thursday, May 27, 2021:
For those who do not access Facebook, the following is the complete text of the announcement:
In the interest of properly rectifying the situation, the Mint is postponing the pre-order windows for the remaining 2021 Morgan and Peace silver dollars that were originally scheduled for June 1 (Morgan Dollars struck at Denver (21XG) and San Francisco (21XF)) and June 7 (Morgan Dollar struck at Philadelphia (21XE) and the Peace Dollar (21XH)). While inconvenient to many, this deliberate delay will give the Mint the time necessary to obtain web traffic management tools to enhance the user experience. As the demand for silver remains greater than the supply, the reality is such that not everyone will be able to purchase a coin. However, we are confident that during the postponement, we will be able to greatly improve on our ability to deliver the utmost positive U.S. Mint experience that our customers deserve. We will announce revised pre-order launch dates as soon as possible.
Sources reported that unhappy collectors “besieged” the U.S. Mint with email and telephone calls following their latest ordering fiasco. The sources also said that the offices of several members of congress contacted the U.S. Mint after hearing from their constituents.
One source said that collectors contacted the Treasury Office of Inspector General (OIG) and prompted them to question U.S. Mint management on the problems. I have not been able to confirm this story.
Too bad ANA leadership did not take a leadership role on behalf of the hobby.
POLL: Are you going to attend the World’s Fair of Money?
Earlier this month, the ANA announced that the World’s Fair of Money will be held as scheduled. As part of the announcement, the ANA said that the show would be limited to 300 dealer tables to configured the bourse floor to allow for social distancing. Those attending the show will be asked to maintain social distancing, and masks will be required.
There are no indications as to whether there will be capacity or other limits. Other questions include how are they handling exhibits, room configuration for meetings and talks, and seating for the auctions? How will the banquet be handled?
I am not questioning the ANA’s commitment to health and safety. But I have personal concerns there. There are members with age-related health issues that have to consider their situation before attending. It would be nice if the ANA were more forthcoming about how the World’s Fair of Money will operate.
As we know of the situation today…
Are you attending the World's Fair of Money in August?
Total Voters: 24
Loading ...An Update from the United States Mint
The United States Mint, a federal bureau in the United States Department of the Treasury, issued a statement via social media regarding the failure of their systems to handle the ordering load for their most recent release:
COMMENTARY: Wash, rinse, and repeat.
We have heard this in the past and they have done nothing.
If the U.S. Mint is using a contractor to maintain their ordering system, the contractor must be terminated for cause.
Has the U.S. Mint addressed the failure of the Contracting Officer (CO) or Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR)?
It is time to address these failures to the Treasury Office of the Inspector General and other government oversight organizations.
I am out of answers and patience with the U.S. Mint!
I tried. I really tried!
I had logged in on three browsers on my computer.
I had logged in on the browser on my iPhone.
I had verified that my credit card was entered correctly in my account.
When I tried to purchase the 2021 Morgan Dollar with the CC privy mark, I was logged out, the system kept trying to verify my browser, their Cloudflare front end choked several times, and when I finally was able to order, I had to try the credit card process several times.
In short, business as usual for the United States Mint.
Bad gateway? When a website uses a content delivery network (CDN), such as Cloudflare, you receive the Bad Gateway (503) error when the CDN cannot refresh information from the server. In other words, the U.S. Mint’s servers were not able to keep up with the orders.
This was a hopeful sign!
I could not use my card on file. The system had problems processing. I have a password manager where I have my credit card entered and filled in the details. I entered the correct CVV TWICE! There should be no reason for the U.S. Mint to reject the proper CVV.
What? After eight minutes of trying to check out, at 12:18, I received a message that the system could not process my order. Why?
IT WAS SOLD OUT!
Open message to the U.S. Mint: Your incompetence is wearing on your customer’s nerves. It is time to contact the Treasury’s Office of the Inspector General, the House Financial Services Committee, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Development, and my representatives on the failure of a government agency to work in the public interest.
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Are you going to the World's Fair of Money
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