Community Voice Responses (Sept. 22, 2015)

From the Aug. 28 Numismatic News E-Newsletter:

Should the Mint continue to annually release a coin and currency set?

Here are some answers sent from our e-newsletter readers to Editor Dave Harper.

I would think they should continue as not to have the series broken.

I think the limit of two is great also.

I tried to get the Ike set but failed. I logged on the website and got two in my basket and on the way to check out my basket showed four so I had to change the quantity. I proceeded to checkout and the system froze at step 3 and wouldn’t proceed to step 4.

I went to another computer and logged on and 13 minutes after sales started my basket said it was sold out and to empty my basket. Like several others who had this same experience, how can they raid my basket?

I’ve been so mad I had to wait to contact you. I did see a blurb that they experienced website problems but haven’t seen anything else on it.

Brent Carpenter
Kelso, Wash.

I believe the Mint needs to continue offering mint and proof sets for each new year.

Robert Taylor
Hibbing, Minn.

Of course they should. Every other country in the world does it. Look at all of the coins that the Royal Canadian Mint produces.

Charles Ginetto
Address withheld

Absolutely yes! These sets have been a real hit, especially with the younger collecting crowd.

The Mint has hit a home run on these and should continue to produce them. I don’t think that the older collecting crowd cares much for them, but that’s OK, there are plenty of other numismatic items that can appease them.

Meanwhile, I think that the Mint has done a nice job of producing a product that has high demand and keeps the numismatic market exciting. I am a bit disappointed though that these sets have been quite limited in release.

Meaning, if a set sells out in 15 minutes, wouldn’t the Mint think that they are going to have some seriously disgruntled customers?

What I don’t get is that the Mint plans these products several months to perhaps years in advance. Why then does the Mint absolutely not conduct any type of product surveys to gauge what the interest and demand might be for a particular product?

I receive all types of emails and hard mailings from the U.S. Mint, but have never received a questionnaire or survey regarding products and interest. Further, the Mint could provide some incentive to respond to the survey, say with a “Free Shipping” code to be used on your order within the next six months.

Anyhow, since many of the folks who order from the U.S. Mint, are not familiar with computers, then the Mint should provide for the survey to be taken either online or by paper, with an extra incentive to be awarded if taken online, as this method would be more economical and efficient in terms of gathering survey data.

Just my 2 1/2 cents.

Robert Matitia
Address Withheld

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