2010 5-Oz Park Qtrs Update

Reading the comments after the article is disillusioning as usual though. The one guy doesn't seem to realize that the oversize 4 oz, 8 oz and 16 oz Silver Eagles aren't US Mint products, but private mint knock-offs, and the other guy does not realize that it is not the Mint's decision to mint the 5 oz ATB coins/medals/whatevers, but that they are required by Congress / law to mint them, even if it interferes with everything else they do.

Ok. I'll put periods in it. U. S. Mint! Happy now, machine?

Yes, there is (among many others) a filter rule to prevent "U" from being displayed alone. Not everyone knows the leetspeak, LOLspeak, or text message lingo and there is really no reason to use such shortcuts on this forum.

By they way, I fixed the original post to say US.

Frankly so far this looks like a non-starter. Submitted with NO co-sponsers. and I think as written it is a disaster waiting to happen. I commented on this in another thread/forum somewhere and it has so real problems. The section on the Proof eagles I have no problems with.

The part allowing the mint to test and experiment with new alloys isn't a problem because they already have the power to do that. They can experiment all they want, but they can't change the compositions of the coinage with out legislation from Congress. This bill doesn't change any of that They can still experiment but they still need legislation to actually make a change.

The 5 oz program though is poorly written. They now don't have a set size for the coin. They can make it any size they want as long as it is three oz and somewhere between 2.5 and 3 inches in diameter. This opens the possibility of changing sizes sizes each year or multiple sizes for a single year. They could make them in 2.5, 2.75, and 3 inch! It lets them make them with or without edge lettering. It lets them make them with the exact design or just a similar design. A lot of folks like to complain about too many things from the mint. This legislation opens the possibility of five parks in three sizes, with two edges, and two or more design variations each year. Or a total of 60 or more different 5 oz coins each year. Collect the whole 3360 coin set.

Then you have the fact that they have worked all year to get the bugs worked out of the 3 inch coin, the planchet supplier has tooled up and is ready to make the three inch planchets, the first batch of planchets have been ordered, and now they are trying to take things back to square one and start over. But have them done by the end of the year.

Keep the Proof eagle part, scrap the rest of the legislation.

And parkquarters, reducing the diameter from 3 inch to 2.5 inch makes them thicker not thinner and it doesn't change the weight so it doesn't increase the amount of silver available for ASE's.

The problem has never been a lack of silver, it has been a lack of production capacity at the planchet manufacturer. Well guess what the planchet manufacturer has been doing whale everyone has been wailing, moaning, and gnashing their teeth. They have been adding capacity and that is something you just can't do overnight. You need rolling mills, annealing furnaces, punch presses, upsetting mills, and most likely new buildings to house them in. That all takes time and that is what they have been doing for the last year and a half. Now they have enough capacity that for the first time in over a year the mint no longer has to ration the silver eagles they have been selling to the distributors. (Yes in two years of record production the distributor have only been able to get a portion of the silver eagles they wanted.) This means there is a chance they can get ahead of the demand and start making the proofs again even without this legislation.

I see nothing in the article that implies changing the diameter would make any more silver available. Just that it would make the hockey pucks easier to strike. I still have problems though understanding why they can easily put lettering on the edges of the President and NA dollar coins, but they can't on the hockey pucks that are almost twice as thick.

Latest news on the bill, Rep Watts put it on the "no objection" calendar and it was passed last night with no discussion, no debate, and no co-sponsers. Everyone was rushing to pass the continuing resolution to fund the government without having to do their job of passing a budget so they could all get out of town and go campaign for re-election. So they just passed everything on the "no objection" calendar. Of course since both houses left town there is no chance that the Senate can take this up until late November or passed and signed before December.

Your theory might be dead on ! Read summary on the top of this page in says versions

http://www.numismaticnews.net//arti...icleId=12338