Q: How About The Mints Producing Separate Coins?

Unfortunately, efficiency is not a major factor in determining how operations are performed at the mint (or most any government agency). It's about keeping the budget a certain size and growing it year after year. I think they do OK considering they're under the government umbrella and have to operate with all of the associated bureaucracy, but there's no doubt that operations would be much more efficient if the US mint was operated like a for profit private company.

They are getting there.

The following is just my opinion from having lived through those eras as a numismatist.

I think the Canadian mint saw our bicentennial designs were hoarded - hence they saw a new avenue to make profit. People liked new designs since they were so different. So the RCM started making a new design every time the HM the Queen sneezed.

After some years our own mint saw the RCM making oodles of profit from "different," and we got out State Quarters program.

We already had the Sac coins, but the mint thought maybe people would collect a series of dollar coins with the presidents as avidly as they had the State Quarters. Hence they made a collectable series of dollar coins as well.

Remember the more coins removed from circulation, the more demand for coins, and the more the mint is paid to produce even more coins.

As reflected by Canadian collectors on our own forum, the RCM makes so many varieties (more profit), that there is no way to collect them all. I think, like in most hobbies, this scenario will end up killing itself and hurting the hobby. There are just too many "special" coins being made so that "special" is becoming the norm.

Look at our own mint over the last few years. They are getting on the band wagon of "special." Eventually it will probably flop numismatically..

I think in the end people will see most of the excess coins as "junk" - it will only be a few that retain their purchase value.

And having said that... I ordered a Bugs Bunny 20 for 20 from the Canadian mint just the other day - hey... its Bugs!

Actually the RCM started the whole thing with the 1992 Canadian Province/Territories quarters

That's breathtaking, when you think about it.

In 2013 the Denver Mint shipped (if my math is right) the equivalent of something north of 300 fully-loaded 18-wheelers of coin.

Just in Cents alone. Another 25-plus truckloads of Quarters. 135 trucks of Nickels. 100 trucks of Dimes. I'd say transportation cost is a consideration.

Sounds like a good reason to kill the cent.

This is why it cost more than a cent to make a cent even if the material were free.

My question is, why do we need billions of coins annually for a nation with 300 million people? We haven't had any significant coin shortage in 50+ yeara, and the average coin lasts 25-50 years these days. We could probably stop making coins entirely for the better part of a decade before most people even noticed.

I don't know on the official number of how many coins are "retired" annually, but some part of me very much doubts that it's even a minor portion of what is put in by new production.

Simply put: Most coins get used once or twice and end up in a can, jar, box, drawer or some other container for months or years before they get turned in. Some just get held for decades.

This is because coins are pretty much worthless except to make change for paper money. Almost no one uses coins to buy anything.

Get rid of the cent and one mint can pick up the slack.

But seriously, both San Francisco and West Point have had to supplement mintage in the recent past. I am sure one or both could certainly help in a crisis.