Mint will stop sales to upgrade system

For regular purchasers of coins from the U.S. Mint, scheduling a vacation Sept. 23 to Oct. 1 might be the thing to do.

You won’t miss a thing.

The Mint is suspending all deliveries during that period to aid its changeover to a new retail sales and delivery system.

The last date you will be able to place an order on the old system will be Sept. 19.

One of the benefits of the new system will be a much improved website.

It is intended that the traffic jams of the past experienced during sales of particularly popular items will no longer occur.

That is why the special four-coin Kennedy silver 50th anniversary set will not be offered until Oct. 28 when the new system is up and running.

According to the Mint’s press release, the new system includes this modernized retail website, which it calls an eCommerce platform. It also has “a new Order Management System, enhanced Customer Contact Center and fulfillment operations, related information technology solutions, and support for robust interactive marketing strategies.”

Who says the Mint can’t speak jargon like the best businesses in the country?

The goal is an “end-to-end solution (that) will better serve United States Mint customers by gaining cost and processing efficiencies, and enhancing the customer experience through a fully integrated solution. “The end-to-end solution will allow the United States Mint to capitalize on industry best practices leveraged by other brand-name retail organizations, enabling the United States Mint to keep pace with market developments.”

Got that?

Most collectors will just be pleased to have less waiting and faster delivery.

Old frustrations with the website will become stories, almost like urban legends, that collectors will tell each other about the bad old days.

This Mint’s changeover schedule is as follows:

Sept. 12 – all packing slips for returns will include a new label for PFSweb, the Mint’s prime contractor for the project.

Sept. 19 – last day to place expedited orders; all orders placed after this date will ship Oct. 1.

Sept. 23 – last day orders will ship until Oct. 1.

If you do go on vacation, don’t spend all of your money. Save $99.95 plus $4.95 for shipping and handling for the Kennedy silver set.

Buzz blogger Dave Harper is winner of the 2014 Numismatic Literary Guild Award for Best Blog and is editor of the weekly newspaper "Numismatic News."