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US Mint Is Not Very "Green"

 
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United States
102 Posts
 Posted 02/07/2023  08:23 am Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add DanFielding to your friends list Get a Link to this Message
First off, let me start by saying I am NOT a Greta Thunberg type environmentalist. I do my small part by separating my recyclables and little things like that and I am conscious of waste materials.

With that out of the way, I ordered P & D rolls of the Ohio Innovation Dollars. I only ordered the rolls because I live in Ohio. For all the other uncirc P&D I buy them on EBay from whomever is selling them the cheapest. Well my order arrived yesterday. It came in a box slightly smaller than a shoebox. I open that to find FOUR sheets of the bubblewrap that looks like ice cubes, and two smaller boxes. I open the smaller boxes to find a plastic tray that can hold five rolls of coins. Each tray had one roll in it!

Why couldn't both rolls have been placed in the same tray and saved the packaging material? I have never ordered rolls of coins from the Mint before so is this SoP?

I should have taken pictures of all the packing material but I didn't think of it in time.
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United States
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 Posted 02/07/2023  08:59 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add ijn1944 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I've noticed over the last 2-3 years that some (not all) shipments made by a variety of 'commercial' enterprises to be over packaged. I suspect it's a matter of managing shipping costs over the entire enterprise, but not entirely sure. I've received small items from top retailers packaged in rather large (standardized......) containers. Would like to hear from anyone here who consistently ships a large volume of product.
Edited by ijn1944
02/07/2023 08:59 am
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Australia
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 Posted 02/07/2023  09:14 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add sel_69l to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
The coins themselves are not green; they are made from heavy metals.
It is not the coins that are in collections that present much of a threat,
- the vast bulk of them are intended for circulation, and perhaps 10% of those made are not recycled, but find their way into the environment.

The heavy metals of those 10% of coins probably present a greater threat to the environment, than does the abovementioned packaging.
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 Posted 02/07/2023  10:41 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Coinfrog to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Orders are probably assembled from pre-packaged components and not custom packed. For example, rather than having 5 different small boxes that hold from 1 to 5 rolls, they use just 1 box that can hold up to 5 rolls. Same with the larger shipping boxes. This way, the only variable is the amount of bubble wrap (the cheapest component) required.
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United States
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 Posted 02/07/2023  12:54 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Earle42 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I think I am missing something here?

Quote:
The coins themselves are not green; they are made from heavy metals.


Sac dollar coins are "...pure copper sandwiched between outer layers of manganese brass. (usmint.gov)

Copper and manganese are both naturally occurring. That makes them as green as you can get - not synthetics and man made, if I am understanding what "green" means. And both of these mined from the environment.

The alloy (yes, this is manmade) of manganese brass also has no special attributes made by this combination that make it any more "dangerous" than the two metals it is made of.

Of course, like anything else, an overexposure to huge amounts of these metals is not going to be healthy. Which explains why the toxicity of these metals has been verified in studies concerning people who are always exposed to them such as in "mining, welding, and ferroalloy industries, and in other occupational settings with a high level of manganese exposure."
(https://www.researchgate.net/public...lth_Effects)

But the coins themselves are not somehow endowed with any more toxicity than if the metal they were made of had been left inside the mines and other rocks it was taken from.]

Just about anything can be found to be toxic to something.

In fact copper and brass are used by some people to kill bacteria...a good thing when it comes to staying healthy.
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 Posted 02/07/2023  2:06 pm  Show Profile   Check Dearborn's eBay Listings Bookmark this reply Add Dearborn to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
The roll packages have been pre-filled with the product as it is listed on each product page.
Looking at the quarters, you can buy the rolls as (P, D) or (P, D, S) in which case they will come in one box with P/D or P/D/S.

For Native Dollars They only come as P or D - each in its own box.

Then your Ohio Innovation Dollars just like the Native Dollars P or D in its own box - if you buy both, you get 2 boxes.
If the mint would combine and customize every order, it would take a month of Sundays to get our coins.

And if the mint took longer than they already do, where would be heck to pay from their customers (aka - Us.)
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 Posted 02/07/2023  3:09 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jbuck to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
It seems like every "big seller" shipment I receive now is shipped in a way that seems wasteful. Amazon, Lowe's, Walmart... they all behave like they get huge kickbacks from packing suppliers. The mint used to be an exception, but the last few shipments could have held many times the quantify I ordered.

Do not even get me started on me seeing Amazon making deliveries on my street several times a day. Whoever handles their logistics... shaking my head...

It is worth mentioning that everything I have bought on eBay has been packed very efficiently while still providing adequate protection. I suppose that is explained by the (individual, small business) seller's desire to save as much money as possible.
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 Posted 02/07/2023  5:05 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add datadragon to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
The U.S. Mint is seeking participants through Feb. 20, 2023, for a new research study so the mint can understand how it can improve the products and services it provides. Perhaps you can discuss the coin packaging they use, and others like dearborn and jbuck who buy regularly might have some suggestions on product. Link is at the bottom of this article
https://www.coinnews.net/2023/02/03...earch-study/
Edited by datadragon
02/07/2023 6:25 pm
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 Posted 02/07/2023  7:45 pm  Show Profile   Check captainrich's eBay Listings Bookmark this reply Add captainrich to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply

Quote:
The heavy metals of those 10% of coins probably present a greater threat to the environment, than does the abovementioned packaging.


I think all coins should be no larger than a dime, just in case a sea turtle swallows one.
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 Posted 02/07/2023  7:55 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Earle42 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
What about mice?
How much squash could a Sasquatch squash if a Sasquatch would squash squash?
Download and read: Grading the graders
Costly TPG ineptitude and No FG Kennedy halves
https://ln5.sync.com/dl/7ca91bdd0/w...i3b-rbj9fir2
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 Posted 02/08/2023  10:22 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jbuck to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply

Quote:
I think all coins should be no larger than a dime, just in case a sea turtle swallows one.

Quote:
What about mice?
Time to go cashless.
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