Community Voice Responses (03/12/13)

From the Feb. 12th Numismatic e-newsletter: Should Congress end the Presidential dollar before the series is finished? Here are some answers sent from our e-newsletter readers to Editor Dave Harper.
As a collector of the Presidential dollar series I say no.
I have been collecting the series from the start and I’m currently in ninth place on the PCGS Registry having a total of 206 certified coins in MS-66 Positions A and B; SF 68 Positions A and B, PR-69DCAM and three errors. I also collect the raw coins in both Position A and Position B.
Over the past few years the Mint has been letting the collector down. To me it all started in 2009 with the first of the Lincoln cents. The first coin in that anniversary series should have been a 2009-S VDB wheat cent. It was obvious that should have been the right choice to make.
Then in 2010 it was another quarter series. This made it obvious that the Mint saw a cash cow in the state quarter series and wanted another. Then it was the 2011 25th anniversary set of silver Eagles. Then in 2012 it was the “S” silver Eagle. The way the Mint mislead the collectors was criminal.
Now, already in 2013, we have the possibility of ending the Presidential dollar series and the continuation of the MS “S” mint America the Beautiful quarters. Why did they even start minting the MS “S” quarters?
The Mint looks like it took lessons from the private sector big business with its “in your face” greed.
Hey Mint, end the Presidential dollar series and lose a very good customer.
Jayne Shelby, Hollywood, Md.

You must finish what you start. Just make what you think you can sell since we must now buy them. If you don’t, who will ever start another set of coins from the Mint?
Richrd Gaetano, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Since I do not collect the Presidential dollars I probably should not make comments. However, on behalf of those who do collect them, especially the very young and those just getting started, stopping production would be wrong.
There are most likely a lot of young numismatists out there who started collecting with this series. If Congress should stop production it would be a big disappointment to those collectors and they would most likely give up collecting altogether.
What is needed is something to get more young people interested in collecting, not something to discourage them. If they really want to do something that would enhance collecting, lower the prices they are charging for their products and see how many more collectors would be willing to purchase them.
And while they are at it, they should spend much more time on quality and improve the products they are producing.
John T. Tinney, Volcano, Calif.

Just as the state quarter program has rejuvenated coin collecting again, so did the Presidential dollars series. Many have invested in them on their own from circulation and from sets purchased directly from the Mint.
Now that it has been stopped, all these collectors/investors have a white elephant partial collection. It is not as interesting to display or will it promote continued interest in the coins. Please make them in lesser quantities for us. Please bite the bullet and discontinue the paper dollar as many countries have and force the U.S. populace to use the dollar coins and eat into the inventory.
Also, the Mint should have noticed long ago, that the coins had no place to go, use wise, as long as the paper dollars were allowed as the preferred choice. The savings for coins over paper with longer useful life is well documented. It is time to make the change.
The series as it stands now is an embarrassment to the U.S. coin collecting community. It also serves to add to the distrust collectors have of the Mint and its treatment of collectors. Americans will do the right thing only after exhausting all other alternatives. Thank you Mr Churchill.
Ernest J. Grassey, Scituate, Mass.

The U.S. Mint should continue the series as there are only a few more years to go. It should also continue producing them in future years as each president qualifies for a coin. The Presidential series is educational in nature as well as honoring our presidents.
Jesse Tarshis, Montrose, Colo.

Disrupting the American Eagle silver proof series over silver shortage issues was not well received and neither should a random early end to the Presidential Dollar subscription series from the Mint.
With popular presidents like FDR, JFK, Ike, and Reagan still to come, why not have the Mint announce a firm date to end the series with Reagan and not extend it beyond his coin even if later presidents become “eligible” for inclusion during the final years of the series? This allows the Mint to plan for a comfortable end to the series with no surprises for collectors.
I think ending it in this fashion will mean less disappointment than ending it suddenly with Coolidge or Hoover. After all, how would New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii have felt if we killed the state quarter series after 46 states?
Ross MacCallum, Dumfries, Va.

The Presidential Dollar program should run through at least Ford and then it becomes a waiting game. Do we mint a Reagan coin while Carter is still alive? What if other former presidents pass away before Carter? The Ford coin is due in 2016, so it is not that far away.
My personal preference would be to change the program and start producing silver coins rather than the current base metal coins. Perhaps all previous releases could be released in silver. Perhaps do away with current American Eagle silver dollar. I bought the gold spouse coins the first year, but they have become too expensive of late.
Bob Kane, Johnstown, Pa.

I believe they should end this program It is not for the everyday person. Where can you get the new dollars? Why should collectors have to pay a premium for U.S. coins they want in circulation!
Cheryl Massaro, Philadelphia Pa.

I would hate to see the Presidential dollar series ended because I think it is a good educational tool for young and old. We have honored the first 23 and I think it would be wrong not to honor the rest of them. Of course I am one who believes the dollar bill should be dropped and mint coins instead.
Terrill Williams, Paola, Kan.

Congress should not end the series before the last eligible President is honored. The series was legislated, the albums created, the collectors got involved, and I for one do not want the rug totally pulled from beneath us.
That the Mint has transitioned from distributing those dollars at face value to adding a whopping 10+ percent vigorish for a box of 250 or 500 is reprehensible. Those dollars, along with the Native American dollars, should still be available at face, as it was before the Fed decided they had enough. Of course, Congress could solve the whole overstock debacle by discontinuing the dollar bill, but politics would never allow that to happen.
Bob Fritsch, Nashua, N.H.

No, they should finish up 2016, then end the coins.
Donny Willison, Erie, Pa.

Why would we discontinue the Presidential dollar coin series before it is finished? That makes no sense.
Eventually we will get rid of the dollar bill and will need additional dollar coin production. But the biggest reason is that the coins are a big money maker for the government, being sold at above face to collectors.
Paul Anderson, West Boylston, Mass.

I think that the Mint is wasting money and time with the Presidential dollars. They’re not recognized by the public. Most collectors don’t want them and they are a cheap looking coin in my eyes. The Mint should come out with a new dollar coin that the public will embrace and use because quite frankly, the last dollar coin that the public liked was the Peace dollar and that was way back when! Try a clad design the size of a Morgan or Ike and go from there.
Al Montana, East Longmeadow, Mass.

Congress should not end the Presidential dollars issue before the series is finished.
Subhash Chattopadhyay, Shakopee, Minn.

Clearly the program did not live up to expectations that it would replace the dollar bill. However, even this past year, when coins were only issued for collectors, mintages averaged about 10 million per president.
That’s a hefty profit for the Mint, and it makes for interesting and inexpensive coins for people to collect. Silver dollar commemoratives may be more attractive, but their mintages are generally less than a million. Other countries have commemorative programs with mintages of less than a thousand or in the low thousands; they would love to have a program that earns millions each year.
Simcha Kuritzky, Maryland

Why discontinue a series, just to discontinue a series – money, overproduction? Those should have been part of the initial approval process.
Readily available access to the series has already been altered, so the next step in the plan that was poorly thought out is discontinue?
What about the numismatists? What about the new youth involved in the hobby due to this present era collectible series?
Mark Nuetzi, Address withheld

The answer is “NO” in my opinion. Congress made a commitment to the American people when they approved the Presidential Dollar Series and that all the deceased U.S. Presidents would be honored. How many Presidential Dollar albums and folders have been purchased by people whom have been filling them with each coin release? What would be the value of a partial series to people? Not completing the coin program would set a bad precedent and limit the collecting public’s confidence in any future U.S. Mint coin series program.
Richard Jozefiak, Madison, Ala.