With the year drawing to a close, I wanted to provide some previews, thoughts, and possibilities for the United States Mint’s 2012 coins and programs.
Dollar Coin Production
Earlier this month, the Treasury Department announced that the production of Presidential Dollars for circulation would be suspended. Only the limited number of coins necessary to meet demand from collectors may be produced. This will take effect with the 21st release of the series featuring Chester A. Arthur.
The suspension will result in a significant reduction in the mintages for coins issued for the duration of the series. However, the extent of the decline may depend on how the US Mint distributes the circulation strikes produced to meet demand for collectors.
If the US Mint only makes the circulation strikes available through the numismatic rolls, which are priced at double face value, then production is likely to be very low. However, it may be possible that the US Mint will provide other methods for distributing the coins.
Recently, the US Mint began charging a $12.50 fulfillment fee for the Direct Ship Program. Given the original stated purpose of the program, the fee didn’t seem to make much sense. The fee potentially makes sense if the US Mint plans to begin using the program to distribute the new releases of the Presidential Dollar Program. This may technically meet the requirement to make each new release of the series available during an introductory period. From a collector standpoint, instead of having to pay double face value, the premium would be a modest 5%. If this turns out to be the intention of the Mint, much larger numbers of Presidential Dollars would be ordered by collectors compared to the scenario of the coins only being available in the pricey numismatic rolls.
America the Beautiful Quarters Production
For the first nine designs of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program, the US Mint produced quantities for circulation ranging from 61 million to 76.02 million. Compared the previous State Quarters Program and the clad Washington Quarters before, these are incredibly small quantities for the denomination that is supposed to be the workhorse in commerce.
The tenth design in the program saw production more than double from previous levels to 143.20 million. I speculated that this may signal that the previous stockpile of quarters held at Federal Reserve Banks may have finally been cleared, leading to higher orders for newly minted quarters and corresponding higher production.
If production for quarters continues to climb in 2012, this would solidify the status of the first nine designs of the series as the low mintage keys. So far, most collectors haven’t seemed to pay much attention to the historically low mintages.
Commemorative Coin Programs
For 2012, there will be two separate commemorative coin programs honoring the U.S. Army Infantry and celebrating the Bicentennial of the Star Spangled Banner.
The Infantry Soldier program will include only a silver dollar, with a maximum mintage of 350,000 pieces. The designs have already been announced and a prototype version of the coin was actually used for a coin toss at a football game. The release date is scheduled for February 16, 2012.
The Star Spangled Banner program will include a $5 gold coin and silver dollar. These designs have also already been announced. The silver dollar features an image of Lady Liberty waving a flag, which may resonate with many collectors. A release date for the coins has not yet been announced, but it would likely be during the first quarter of the year.
The two programs for the coming year will include in total one $5 gold coin and two silver dollars. This compares to the two programs from 2011 which included two $5 gold coins, two silver dollars, and one half dollar. The large number of different coins and the high cost may have been one of the factors weighing on sales of the 2011 coins. With fewer coins in 2012, sales may fare better, resulting in higher mintages. If this is the case, it would solidify the status of the 2011 commemoratives as low mintage coins.
Changes to Numismatic Product Portfolio?
Back in 2008, the US Mint announced the discontinuation of a broad array of products following a comprehensive review of their numismatic product portfolio. The total number of products was cut by 60%. It was subsequently revealed that the criteria for retaining products was if they comprised at least one percent of total unit sales.
There are several current product types which have shown a gradual decline in interest, leading to extremely low sales levels. For the most part, these products simply combine coins available in other products into a different packaging option. If the US Mint chooses to perform another product portfolio review, some of these may not make the cut.
If the US Mint does take steps to reorganize their portfolio, they may want to reconsider reinstating some of the fractional weight gold and platinum coins that were previously discontinued.
Future of America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Coins?
After a controversial start to the program, interest in the US Mint’s America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Coins has seen a sharp decline. The bullion versions of the coin have seen sales fall from more than 200,000 in one month at the beginning of the year to just a few thousand coins per month. The numismatic versions, which initially experienced quick sell outs, have also fallen.
I recently provided a comprehensive summary of the program here.
What will be the future of the America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Coins? So far the US Mint has scheduled the release of the two final 2011-dated numismatic coins for January 12, 2012 and February 9, 2012. There has been no information provided on the release of the bullion or numismatic 2012-dated coins.
The US Mint is not required to produce the numismatic versions of the coins. These were not specifically required by law and produced under authority 31 U.S.C. §5111(a) (3), which provides the Secretary of the Treasury with broad authority to design, produce and sell numismatic items.
Production of the bullion versions may also not be required under law, which states, “The Secretary shall strike and make available for sale such number of bullion coins as the Secretary determines to be appropriate…” Can the Secretary determine that zero coins are appropriate?
There is some precedent for the US Mint not issuing bullion coins that have been authorized by Congress. For the past two years, the bullion version of the Platinum Eagle has not been minted or issued. The relevant wording from the authorizing Platinum Eagles is as follows, “The Secretary may mint and issue bullion and proof platinum coins in accordance with such specifications, designs, varieties, quantities, denominations, and inscriptions as the Secretary, in the Secretary’s discretion, may prescribe from time to time.”
American Palladium Eagles
The coming year may see the introduction of the American Palladium Eagle bullion and collector coins. The status of the program is still dependent on the results of a marketing study to demonstrate that adequate demand for US Mint produced palladium bullion coins exists to ensure that the coins can be minted and issued at no net cost to taxpayers.
If issued, the obverse design would be a high relief likeness of Adolph A. Weinman’s design for the Mercury Dime. The reverse would be a high relief version of the Weinman’s design for the 1907 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal reverse.
The bullion versions would be minted in one ounce size only, struck in .9995 fine palladium, with a legal tender face value of $25. The Treasury Secretary also may issue collectible proof and uncirculated versions of the coin. If issued, the surface treatment of each year’s collector coins must differ in some material way from the preceding year.
Thanks for reading Mint News Blog! Have a Happy New Year!
The US Mint has scheduled to conclude sales for various 2010 annual sets on Friday, December 30, 2011 at 5:00 PM ET. Although the sets have been available for more than a year, some are poised to have historically low mintages.
Effective earlier today, the United States Mint has reduced the prices for the four available America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins and the 2011-W Uncirculated Silver Eagle. This follows a previous reduction, which took place 
Commemorative coin programs and most changes to circulating coinage are authorized by Congress. As such, watching coin related bills introduced in the House of Representatives or the Senate can provide an indication of potential things to come.