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Viewpoint: Date, Mintmark Don't Belong on Edge
 | By Tom Jillson, Numismatic News
August 06, 2008 |
I am still really frustrated with the edge date and mintmark location for the Presidential dollar coins. It is really not so much the date, because that can be discerned quite easily from the face of the coin; each President is minted for only a short time.
The "In God We Trust" got all the notoriety, press and acclaim to get those words moved. But why was the collecting community so silent on their need to see the year of issue and the place of manufacture (the mintmark)?
Again, maybe because the faces were all different each quarter of the year made the date obvious, but the mintmark is impossible to see without magnification and holding the coin just right into the light. OK, I admit it, I'm old and wear glasses, but I can see the P and D on a penny, not so easy on the edge of coin.
The Sacagawea coins to date are all identical except for the date and mintmarks. I can see the scenario now. The Mint can manufacture and stockpile all the Sacs necessary for the next several years and simply incuse the edge with the next year's date whenever they need to release some for the coin sales orders. This would be a tremendous windfall for the Mint.
Think it through - and the Mint will have fulfilled its government mandated mission of manufacturing the quantity required by the mintage law(s); now they only need to incuse and actually distribute a few coins to go into the Mint "sales" offices, since no other Sacagawea golden dollars go out to the banks or other distribution channel at all. All the rest of the pre-minted golden dollars can sit in the warehouse until next year - incuse them then; no loss of inventory, no re-melting. Wow, what an idea. Now, did I just give them that idea? I don't think so.
For us old timers who remember 1965 - coins then were manufactured in both mints, but had no mintmarks. That had to be easier for the Mint, but for us, just one single coin for the denominations, and we were done. Wouldn't it be great for the Mint if it didn't even have to put the year on the coin. Collectors would be done with one representative coin for the whole duration of the series. How many of us would even be collectors.?
How about the 1975/1976 Proof sets? All of the Proof sets manufactured through that two-year period had the 1976 date on them. It's easier to meet a quantity expectation for a product if the manufacturer has enough time to do it. It was the 1976 year that people would want in such high quantities, so they took two years to meet the demand.
Unlike the Presidential series of dollars, the Sacagawea coins, up to now, have had the same face on the coin. From 2000 up through 2008, except for the date and mintmark and of course the difference between the mint grade and the proof coins, they are identical. If the date were not on the face of the coin, the collector display (albums) books would be really boring. You see one, you've seen 'em all. Every coin would look the same from year to year to year. We would have to take on trust that the collector had determined the mint facility was Philadelphia, Denver or San Francisco before placing the coins in the spaces for the coin, unless the edge of the coin were made easy to see. This will be a tough design concept. The cost for a decent display album will be extremely high. The best solution will be something like the 1976 silver set with the nice plastic holders sealing in the quarter, the half and the 1976 Eisenhower dollar. An extreme solution for the collector. Maybe someone will come up with a hinged space for each coin in a holder.
Sure, I have seen the holders that supposedly allows you to view the edge incused lettering, but I defy anyone to find the date and mintmark easily and clearly. For one thing, there is no rhyme or reason to the exact positioning of the date in relationship to the face or reverse of the non-proof coins. The proof coins do have a position planned in the manufacture of these special mintings. I am quite certain that the plan for the Sacagawea coins is to make it easier for the Mint, without as much concern to the collecting community for producing a face that is different, collectible and an attractive piece of art that we can proudly display and look forward to for the next issue.
Tell me, what makes us look forward to finding a new penny? Its only difference is that it has this year's date on it. Otherwise, it's the same as last years. Now, next year, four new Lincoln cents.
No, please keep the date and the mintmark on the obverse or the reverse of the coin for all the collectibility reasons.
Tom Jillson is a hobbiest from Hudsonville, Mich.
Viewpoint is a forum for the expression of opinion on a variety of numismatic subjects. The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of Numismatic News.
To have your opinion considered for Viewpoint, write to David C. Harper, Editor, Numismatic News, 700 E. State St., Iola, WI 54990. Send e-mail to david.harper@fwpubs.com.
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