Do You Think The Modern Comm. Train Is As Bad As The One From 1892 To 1939.

Sacagawea dollars (2000-2008) are not commemorative coins. The Native American dollar series that began in 2009 however, feature "designs celebrating the important contributions made by Indian tribes and individual Native Americans to the history and development of the United States."

This is a somewhat flawed poll but I understand the intent.




These are not generally seen as commemorative coins.

The modern commemorative series is limited by law to just 2 coin series per year so I cant imagine the 1936 classic silver commemorative abuse occurring again.

A couple of thoughts:

1. Of the coins you've included, except for the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial cents and the 2004-05 Jefferson Westward Journey nickels, none are commemorative coins. I understand that they are commonly lumped in with the coins of the modern US commemorative program, but they are topical or thematic series, not commemorative coins. This somewhat invalidates the poll's responses (at least for me) because you are not comparing similar scenarios - the ol' apples to apples story.

2. Until 1996, and the passing of the Commemorative Coin Reform Act (CCRA), the modern US commemorative coin series was definitely heading in the same direction as the classic era series during its peak year of 1936. For example, there were 12 1995-dated coins released and 11 1996-dated coins - 23 coins in just two years (not counting proof and uncirculated versions). Compare that to 60 years earlier; in 1935, 16 commemorative coins were released (if P/D/S coins are counted individually) and in 1936, 31 coins were released (same caveat) - 47 coins in total in two years! Fortunately, the (CCRA) of 1996 limited the number of commemorative coin programs to two per year, but it's possible to have those two programs generate six (or more) individual coins. So, not perfect, but better than if left unchecked!

In the end, I don't believe the current program is worse than what was going on back in the 1930s. With safeguards in place, collectors won't be abused to the same degree - unless they also try to keep up with all of the Mint's topical releases and future coins like the 2020 gold Mayflower.

Just my thoughts, your mileage may vary.

Excellent commentary!

From my online sleuthing, I feel a lot of European countries have it much much worse when it comes to their commemorative coin programs than the US. Maybe it's just me, but sometimes I feel I'm looking at over 10-20 different commemorative designs being produced per year for a lot of the countries.

Take The Royal Mint for example: https://www.royalmint.com/ and go explore their shop tab. It's suffocating the number of series and coins their mint produces each year.

There are quite a few variables that could be discussed about the classic and modern commemorative eras. The poll largely focuses on one of the variables - multiple dates and mints for the same design - and it is a legitimate issue for discussion.

Some of the other / overlapping variables include:
Worthiness of the events being commemorated
Aesthetics of the design
Quality of strike and appearance of the coins
Overabundance or inadequacy of mintage
Percentage of mintage effectively controlled by insiders or favored buyers or dealers
What was done with unsold coins
Number of different finishes (proof, satin, reverse, etc.)
Number of intentional design varieties (stars, privy marks etc.)
Long-term reaction to the coins (and it's probably still too early to assess this for the modern commemoratives)

If we're looking at the overabundance of dates and mints for the same design, the 1930s was its heyday. If we combine variables, and include, for example, both the overabundance of dates and mints for the same design and the overabundance of finishes for the same date, the answer may well be different.

Just a couple thoughts from the geezer's corner.