A weeks ago, an article appeared on the numismaster.com site, and subsequently in the October 6, 2008 edition of Numismatic News. The article, Get Government Out of Coin Manufacture said:
Coin dealers and collectors are still reeling from the U.S. Mint’s announcement that it had run out of American Eagle gold coins. But what ought to surprise every American isn’t that a government agency came up short. It’s that the U.S. government should be making little metal discs at all.
Today, a counterpoint was posted. In Hamilton was Right in Creating U.S. Mint, the author concludes:
The U.S. Mint is the world’s largest manufacturer of coinage. They are subject to market conditions that have to be managed, as would any manufacturer. Maybe the manufacturer’s board of directors (Congress) and it shareholders (the taxpayers) should question how the managers are doing their jobs. Making them accountable will fix more issues than ignoring 216 years of history.
I may be biased, but the author of the second article has it right. We should hold the management of the US Mint responsible for the problems they have experienced. If you have a difference of opinion from either of the authors, feel free to leave a comment here.