US Mint Circulating Coin Production for February 2014

SmokyUpdated circulating coin production figures are now available for the United States Mint through the month of February 2014. Preliminary mintages are also available for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Quarter, Warren G. Harding Dollar, and Calvin Coolidge Dollar.

For the month of February 2014, the US Mint facilities at Philadelphia and Denver struck 939.04 million circulating quality coins. This was down from the prior month which had unusually high production of nearly 1.45 billion, and roughly flat with the year ago period of February 2013 when production was 939.98 million.

The table below includes a breakdown of circulating coin production for each denomination by mint facility for the month of February 2014, along with total production for the year to date.

2014 US Mint Coin Production Figures
Feb 2014 YTD 2014
Lincoln Cent – Denver 283.20 M 722.00 M
Lincoln Cent – Phil. 268.40 M 673.20 M
Jefferson Nickel – Denver 43.68 M 110.64 M
Jefferson Nickel – Phil. 39.36 M 90.24 M
Roosevelt Dime – Denver 76.00 M 206.50 M
Roosevelt Dime – Phil. 79.50 M 193.00 M
Quarters – Denver 85.00 M 222.40 M
Quarters – Phil. 54.80 M 134.20 M
Kennedy Half – Denver 0 2.10 M
Kennedy Half – Phil. 0 2.50 M
Native Am Dollar – Denver 0 5.60 M
Native Am Dollar – Phil. 0 3.08 M
Pres Dollar – Denver 2.80 M 9.10 M
Pres Dollar – Phil. 6.30 M 13.86 M
Total 939.04 M 2,388.42 M

As usual, the cent accounted for the majority of overall production. There were 551.6 million cents were struck across both facilities, representing 58.7% of overall production.

The next highest produced denomination was the dime at 155.5 million pieces, followed by the quarter at 139.8 million, and the nickel at 83.04 million. Lastly, there were 9.1 million Presidential Dollars struck during the month.

On the topic of circulating coinage, the President’s recently submitted Budget for Fiscal 2015 specifically mentioned the penny and the nickel. The cost to produce and distribute these denominations has remained well above their respective face values at 1.83 cents for each cent and 9.41 cents for each nickel. The Budget indicates that studies being undertaken by the Treasury Department will result in the development of alternative options for the two denominations.

While no specifics are mentioned, reports from earlier this year had mentioned a “brown nickel” struck in copper plated zinc and indicated that stopping production of the cent was a “discussion topic.”

We may see recommendations for the two denominations within a biennial report due to Congress at the end of this year. Ultimately, the authority to implement any changes rests with Congress.

2013 US Mint Coin Production by Design
Denver Phil. Total
Great Smoky Mountains 99.40 M 73.20 M 172.60 M
Warren G. Harding 3.78 M 6.16 M 9.94 M
Calvin Coolidge 3.78 M 4.48 M 8.26 M

The US Mint has provided preliminary production totals by design for the first America the Beautiful Quarter and the first two Presidential Dollars for this year. These totals should be considered preliminary until the close of the calendar year.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park Quarter had overall production of 172.6 million pieces. This is down sharply from the prior design featuring Mount Rushmore which had 504.2 million pieces struck. It also ends the streak increasing mintage levels for the past five designs.

The Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge Presidential Dollars had overall production of 9.94 million and 8.26 million pieces respectively. These amounts are roughly in line with the production levels for last year’s designs, which ranged from 7.98 million to 9.23 million.

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Comments

  1. Vachon says

    Wouldn’t it be more sensible to make a cupro-nickel plated zinc five-cent piece? At least that way, visual continuity could be maintained. I imagine such an arrangement would also make it profitable to issue.

    Although maybe it’s time to consider eliminating the cent, nickel, and dime. If the half-cent was eliminated when it had 10¢ of purchasing power today in 1857 (meaning the lowest denomination, the cent, had about 20¢ of purchasing power), what are we keeping 1¢, 5¢, and 10¢ pieces around for? ATMs issue $20 bills only…those are $1 of our time. Replace the $1, $2, $5, and $10 bills with coins and we’ll have a coinage system worthy both of respect and the purchasing power our nation once expected our coins to have.

  2. says

    That Great Smoky Mountain quarter is looking pretty good. Definitely excited for the five ounce version.

    I would love to know what caused the sudden drop in quarter production. I’d hoped we were getting back to something resembling normal as 2013 wore on.

  3. Sith says

    @ Vachon – Two reasons it would openly demonstrate the loss of our purchasing power. Second the companies who supply the blanks\metal have a powerful lobby.

    CO,
    I think in the reverse, I wonder what caused the spike in quarter production

  4. high low silver says

    I’m glad I passed on the 2013 unc dollar sets…..can’t believe they didn’t sell out yet.

  5. Jeff says

    @ high low silver have you checked PCGS price guide you will be shocked 2012 W Annual Unc. dollar set silver eagle is now priced @ $175 in just MS69 grade, 2013 W Unc silver eagle $135 graded MS69 to the moon Alice.. Buy the 2013 you won’t regret it. However you have to be patient …GL

  6. says

    Jeff….the PCGS (and NGC) price guides are always way over retail value. One major online seller on ebay just concluded sells of 2013-W PCGS MS69 burnished eagles for $59.95 and MS70’s for $84.95.

    A recently completed auction for the 2013 Annual Uncirculated Dollar Set just sold for $41.50…including shipping.
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-UNITED-STATES-MINT-ANNUAL-UNCIRCULATED-DOLLAR-COIN-SET-/321335402391?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item4ad1151f97#ht_720wt_1269

    Sold items on ebay will give a much better perspective than these “price guides” give.

  7. high low silver says

    Jeff: I don’t check PCGS or NGC at all. The mintage is low for both years (235K and 210K as I speak) but I’m just wondering where this series is going ?……I love the 2011 coin..

  8. Jeff says

    Well all I have to say is those buyers got a hell of a deal I just sold 2013 W Unc Set Silver Eagle $375 on the bay yesterday. With a mintage of 27,000 sets revised (less than the 1995 W) for the 2012 and I believe less than 35,000 for the 2013 these are hits and your right these are retail prices guide for PCGS & NGC

  9. Jeff says

    @ Steve I believe we are talking about different coins with the same year. I’m talking about the US Mint Uncirculated Dollar Set Eagles.

  10. high low silver says

    What’s your ebay seller account Jeff ? Ill tell you if your right or wrong…

  11. high low silver says

    I don’t check e bay, Ill just save my cash for Baltimore coin show later this month….

  12. Jeff says

    Well enjoy the show, I was just at the F.U.N Show in Orlando and every dealer I talked to was asking retail and barely would budge off their prices Your really missing a good thing on the bay take care enjoy your prospective …

  13. says

    Jeff, click on the link I showed. We may be talking about different “packaging”, but not different coins. A 2013-W burnished silver eagle is a 2013-W burnished silver eagle…whether it was purchesed as an individual coin or in the Annual Unc. Dollar Set.
    If people pay more for these because it has a label that says “unc dollar set” or “limited edition set”, I feel sorry for tem, as they are paying a premium for a label and not a coin. But, yes, I’ve seen several purchaes of individual coins from the “2012 Limited Edition Silver Proof Set LABEL” sell for amounts that blow my mind….these people are fools imo. If they ever took one of these coins to a coins dealer, they will tell them ” Yes, the labels don’t mean a thing…a 2012 or 2013 burnished silver eagle is what it is…and they would pay no more than $100 no matter the LABEL.

    Well…that’s just my thoughts…others may agree or disagree….but I would like to hear why anyone thinks the same coins, but from a different offering would/should a huge premium over the SAME coin.
    So, if you want to play that “label game”, that’s ok with me…I just feel sorry for the buyers as they will NEVER recoup their money.

  14. Samuel says

    i have to say Jeff is very smart.

    by the way, you just submit the whole package to PCGS, then they will return the other 4 clad coind?

  15. Jeff says

    Like many have said before it’s all in the labeling that’s where the bucks are this is what gives me the opportunity to buy coins I like and collect if it wasn’t for graded coins I don’t think I could buy some coins. It’s the way the hobby is going either play along or get out of the way sort of like $BITCOIN$ lol

  16. Howard says

    Jeff, you are dead on on many points, however the way coins are package means more to me sometimes. Like the LESPS, I really enjoys the presentation of the coins. But labels from grading incs don’t mean anything, except when I am looking for coin and want to hopefully know the condition before I buy.

  17. Jeff says

    Samuel, yes you just request what coin (s) you want graded the Unc. $1 coins are still in there original protective plastic coverings and are sent back along with the graded coins. These sets are limited and will command premiums if graded high

  18. says

    If the money is “all in the labeling”, then I’ll pass on that. It ought to be about the COIN…but do whatever floats you boat..I just don’t understand it.

  19. Dustyroads says

    If what jeff is saying is true, then I too feel sorry for the people who are paying far too much for common coins, which by the way are at the point of market saturation.
    Jeff, I looked up your ID in the advanced search and didn’t find you, I would really like to see your add for the sell.
    This brings back to mind an auction fm mentioned last year about a set of 5 quarters from the 2012 LESPS bringing several hundred dollars.
    Just the fact that the LESPS is a popular set in itself is troubling to me. I’m not sure if these people who are buying these sets are uninformed, or if they are ignoring the fact that the coins in the sets are not unique to the sets altogether.
    jeff, I’m curious about your comparison of the 2012 UNC Annual Dollar Set to the 1995 ASE, and it coming at a lowing sells. You said the buyer got a good deal, why do you believe the buyer got a good deal?

  20. Dustyroads says

    I do understand the significance of the half and dime in the 2012 LESPS, but I already have them in the Silver Proof Set. I decided to hold off on the 2013 for the same reason, regardless of what the Ebay shoppers are paying for the LESPS.

  21. Dustyroads says

    BTW, All we need is a copper coated zinc nickle corroding because it’s so poorly made.

  22. Jerry Diekmann says

    Why not skip the idea of copper plating zinc (a disaster for cents and it would be worse for nickels) and just go to some alloy like “Nordic gold” used by Euro countries, aluminum bronze that has been used by other countries, or even aluminum itself, which is inexpensive compared to the other metals and never tarnishes. I would second Vachon’s argument for coinage reform, except that I think we will need to have a dime coin for the forseeable future, and we should eliminated the cent and nickel, and go to rounding. If done right, it’s a zero sum game and no one profits at the expense of another – buyer or seller.

  23. Hidalgo says

    @high low silver – I also passed on the 2013 Uncirculated Dollar Sets with the 2013 American Silver Eagle (whey they were on backorder). I feel bad for those who bought multiples of the set, thinking that its value would increase dramatically like the 2012 sets.

    It’s exciting to gamble and speculate. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. But that’s the chance we all have to take. If folks are concerned about losses, then they should buy what they like. That way, even if values should go down, the sentimental value of the item will be worth its weight in gold 🙂 .

  24. Blair J Tobler says

    Me, I buy the LESPS and the AUDS because I like the presentation – if they go up in the secondary market, great, but I’m not planning on selling any of my collection any time soon, so I’m not too concerned about it. In any event, they’ll stay OGP as long as they’re in my possession.

  25. says

    Jerry,

    The government did try for an aluminum penny a few decades ago, but it was ultimately not approved.

    I agree the option that makes the most sense is to just eliminate the penny and nickel, though, except maybe from collector proof sets. Really, no denomination under 25¢ is used much anymore.

  26. Samuel says

    i agree with Dusty on the comparison of LESPS PF70 (which was sold for thousands of dollars) with this unc set dollar, which sold for several hundreds. it is a game of label, but seems people bite it.

  27. Nick says

    I have some of the coins in my collection graded. To be honest I can only tell you the tpg. Beyond that I have no idea what the label says only the grade. Colors or tpg distinctions do not concern me.

  28. fmtransmitter says

    Cancel box still there…Says 3/12 expected ship date..shows bag was shipped..lol Anybody for a bag? One bag, any takers?

  29. Hidalgo says

    @fmtransmitter – my 2013 Limited Edition Silver Proof Set that I ordered on December 12, 2013 is “In stock and reserved.” My credit card has a pending charge for the amount of the set.

    I ordered another set on February 22, 2014. The order states, “1 unit backordered. Expected to ship on 03/12/2014.” My credit card has not been charged yet.

    The US Mint probably has not yet gotten to your order yet. If the Mint ships on time, you can expect to see your credit card charged in about a week. 🙂

  30. GMS says

    Usually have a couple hours to cancel before they remove the block but I see now that all of mine issued today.

  31. Vachon says

    @Jerry Diekmann : My rationale (aside from the historical example) for also dropping the 1¢, 5¢, and 10¢ coins is supermarket gumball machines. I’ve never seen one that ever accepted cents (also I’ve never seen a vending machine or payphone accept cents in my entire life); I remember 5¢ gumball machines up until 1982 or 1983 and the last ones I remember accepting dimes I saw in 1993 or 1994.

    The loss of those machines were like the canary in the coal mine for me.

  32. Tom P says

    I’ve also noticed more nickels and dimes in the take or leave a penny bins. Cashiers rounding to the nearest nickel without saying anything is also much more common.

    I will say that a copper plated zinc nickel is a very bad idea. At least leave the color the same. Canada has nickel plated something, not sure what it is. They look the same, but they weigh less. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was nickel plated plastic.

  33. fmtransmitter says

    That’s sad where people choose money/finance as their career and lose sight of what is important. God, Country, and guns…lol j/k sorta.. I take a Ted Nugent approach to life, spirit of life instead of wild. Never stop dreaming or you’ll wake up with dirt in your mouth according to AkBob’s Mother.. RIP..

  34. Dan in Fla says

    I placed an order last week and the Mint shipped my black bag alone and charged me the 4.95 shipping charge.The bag is made in Vietnam and would surely crack and tear if used. Since I will not take it out on the street to broadcast the fact that I buy gold and silver.

  35. Hidalgo says

    @high low silver – the US Mint opened sales for the 2013 Limited Edition Silver Proof set on December 12, 2013 at 12 noon. My order for a single set was placed on December 12th at 12:17 PM. (I plan to collect the series).

    According to the US Mint’s website, the set shipped today. I have a tracking number. And as I stated earlier, my credit card has been charged. I presume my set will arrive sometime next week.

  36. Hidalgo says

    @high low silver – by the way, the US Mint offered shipping when I placed my order. But rats! I won’t get one of those highly – sought US Mint carrying bags. That’s almost worth the cost of shipping! 😉

  37. high low silver says

    If you sell your gold, you can play games with crooks !!! I do it all the time with lowlife neighbors Lol

  38. high low silver says

    Free…… same here Hidalgo….I’m still amazed at the slow shipping of the US Mint.

  39. VA Rich says

    Sam – plat bullion coin? – “why?” – that’s not a ‘why’ back to you.

    Would have much preferred to see fractional buffaloes. Or the buffalo design ended last year and a new 24kt gold coin with fractional rolled out.

  40. Dustyroads says

    Samuel, I’ve been wondering some about that myself. If you take a look at a Platinum chart dating back a decade or so, you can see how Platinum fell hard during the crash of 2009. It quickly came back up, but looks as though it will always have a lot of volatility, it just requires an economy to support it.
    The US Mint must have a reason to offer then now, but I doubt it will be much more of a success than it was the last time they tried selling them.

  41. VA Rich says

    If anyone wants a bag, seriously, I’ll mail you mine.., the one that I cancelled and still got charged for. It’s not even cloth, more like plastic – therefore I recant saying I could find one for .99 cents at Safeway.., it’s .25 cents a Dollar General.

    Speaking of cancelling.., anyone cancelled their TR C&C sets after seeing the updated product photos? I had three ordered with free shipping and canx’ed them all, can’t justify it. Did pick up a sealed Ben Franklin Coin set after seeing Michael’s link a thread back for $20 less with free shipping than original price, that was nice.

  42. Hidalgo says

    @VA Rich – I ordered one Teddy Roosevelt set and I intend to keep it. It will be a really great addition to my coin and chronicles collection!

  43. Scott says

    Looks like the 2013 Platinum Eagle is nearing sold out status. The mint website has shown these as backordered for a couple days now.

  44. Eddie says

    I wouldn’t be surprised if the Mint doesn’t go to the LESP’s for the silver proof sets. If they do the Mint needs to come down in the price of this set to a more reasonable price. What would be a fair price for the LESP $90.00 or 99.95?

  45. says

    I wanted to just chime in and add my voice to those who have gotten their bags. Mine came Friday evening with something else I ordered. Fortunately, the mint didn’t ship it separately for me like it seems to have with other people.

    I was a bit disappointed to find that it is both small and seemed to be made of some sort of cheap-looking plastic material. Honestly, I would be worried about it ripping or breaking if I tried to carry anything in it, so I will probably not use it. It’s not really a good size to carry anything with, either. I was expecting something more like a cloth tote bag.

    This has not been one of the mint’s better promotions.

  46. Jon in CT says

    This is off topic. The company that recently won the Mint contract to replace its online catalog and order fulfillment systems, PFSweb, just announced earnings last Thursday. This is what PFSweb’s CEO said about the Mint contract during the related analysts’ conference call:

    Clearly, we’re also very excited to be working on the project to re-platform the current United States Mint program to our End2End solution.

    We have recently completed the discovery and design portion of the deployment phase of the project, and we’re now moving into the build phase with an expected launch in the third quarter of 2014. As a reminder, our 10-year contract with the United States Mint consists of a 1-year development project that we are currently in the middle of, plus a 5-year initial support period, followed by a series of 4 1-year optional extensions. Many of you may remember this was a very large client of ours from the past that generated approximately $17 million to $20 million of service fee revenue per year. Program activity levels will start out somewhat lower than they were 5 years ago. However, since we’re providing a much broader range of services under this contract, we expect the United States Mint to initially contribute service fee revenue in a similar range as before of approximately $17 million to $20 million annually once the program is implemented later this year.

  47. Dustyroads says

    Congratulations Jon, I recall you writing last year that you were pleased with their performance. I look forward to fewer hick-ups in their system later this year and the coming years.

  48. ClevelandRocks says

    @Pool Shark: That’s why you pay with a credit card and skip the wire discount.

  49. Sith says

    Its also why you buy from reliable sources.Tulving always sucked, I’m leery of any dealer that takes weeks to send a in stock product.

  50. Sith says

    Went to coin show yesterday, they had nothing, no ATBs, junk silver at $20 per $1 face value. The only good thing they had was maple Leafs, and boy are they nice, why can’t our mint produce a bullion coin like that, I know they produce a lot more coins than then the Canadians and if they were actually not allocating their coins I might actually excuse them as it stands they are not efficient enough to meet demand using the same tired designs, hell they can’t even mint the FS coins without issues or get the ATBs out on schedule.

    As far as Tulving they played the market with their clients money. IE they hold your money on the expectation that the price will go down, if it goes up like it did they are left short,and at that point it works like a ponzi scheme. They are not the only bullion dealer that does this so stick with the reputable dealers

  51. Sith says

    Highlowsilver – I love some of those “dirty coins from the 1800s.” I figured everyone would understand bullion prices but if you want a blow by blow I will be more than happy to give the prices for the Morgans, and Peace dollars.

  52. Sith says

    Thank you FMT I showed your article to the wife who believe it or not was just asking me why I was only looking at graded “dirty coins from the 1800s” and mint bullion, and not ungraded coins and rounds/bars

  53. high low silver says

    I’m just kidding around Sith! I got a bullion dealer I go to. Coin shows for me are looking for a certain date or mm. I usually never see anything under 5 years old (except annal sets) unless they bought it off someone else.

  54. Sith says

    My bad high low….I had a pocket full of cash, I had nothing in mind to buy but I keep an eye on good deals for silver dollars, and wanted to get some bullion, and all I got was a couple of Maple Leafs. It was a total waste of my time, but the wife enjoyed it, with the money I did not spend I took her out to dinner

  55. high low silver says

    Did you get some of those 25th ann Maples from last year? The new 2014s are sharp looking as well.

  56. Anil says

    Off the topic this must have come up before…, where is the best place to buy morgan silver dollars… Appreciate any input….

  57. merryxmasmrscrooge says

    On 2nd thought the 2015 ATB quarter designs are pretty good. I’d like to see the highway and the Louisiana bird on a 5 oz’er. The Mint has come up with some excellent designs. Esp. I like the 2014 Sacagawea.

  58. merryxmasmrscrooge says

    Japan has had an aluminum one Yen coin equivalent to 1c US since 1955.
    The 10Yen coin is copper about 25 mm in diam. Just some thoughts.

  59. Sith says

    High low – I could not buy what they did not have, but did not think of that until you mentioned it.

    Anil – APMEX is not a bad place, they will be on the high side but they tend to be honest ie you tend to get what you pay for, now saying that I have not really bought from them since they switch from being a coin dealer that sold bullion to a bullion dealer that has some coins. Another online store is nfccoins I bought a few coins from them years ago, no complaints. If your new to Morgans try to find a local dealer who is honest, their is a lot to be said about actually seeing your coin before you buy it. I also got some great deals on eBay, but stick with dealers/people with good feedback and with graded coins, unless you think the price is worth the risk. IE I got some Peace dollars very close to spot, they we’re suppose to be AU, but were XF but at the price it did not matter.

  60. David says

    I think its time to retire the cent. Not only does it cost more to produce but it just doesn’t have any buying power. Other countries have successfully retired it and they are still here. As for the nickel, the US Mint could use the same composition the Royal Canadian Mint uses.

  61. Dustyroads says

    America is unique in that we will continue to spend more to produce coinage if that is what the public needs to best round out its currency. If cost was all that mattered to our government then we would be using a dollar coin right now. As long as the USD is the premier currency of the world removing a denomination will be a tough decision.

  62. Sith says

    Dustyroads – America is unique in that we will continue to spend more to produce coinage if that is what the the mining lobby needs to make a profit. Traditionally the miners have lobbied congress to support them. This is nothing new nobody wanted Morgan\Peace dollars and most were later melted down, and the rest sat in vaults for decades, but someone had t buy all the excess silver from the Comstock Lode

    USD is the premier currency of the world because…we had the military and industrial strength after WW2, to develop\enforce the Bretton Woods, and currently to use a positive analogy the dollar is the sexist women at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show or or our dog currently has less fleas than the other dogs. The Euro sucks, the Swiss, Japanese and Chinese are actively devaluing the currency. India has such a great currency that they had to basically try to outlaw gold ownership..you get the picture.

  63. Scott says

    ….and the historical fact that governments holding paper dollars could convert them to gold until Nixon closed the gold window on Aug 15, 1971. Since that time, U.S. debt has exploded and eventually trillions of chickens will come home to roost.

  64. high low silver says

    Anil: I started collecting Morgans in the early 90s (before ebay, TPG, ect) I started with a honest coin dealer by word of mouth , and always went to him. Read up on what’s what in Whitman red book, there is a lot of info there on prices, grading among other things, and above all, aquire and use your best judgement……IMO there is no best place to buy Morgans.

  65. VARich says

    Think that bag is scaring people away, not incentizing purchases…, from the weekly sales numbers.., probably some of the lowest weekly increases I’ve seen since hawking the reports over last year or so… no takers on my free one either!

  66. Samuel says

    Rich, i think two factors: there is no interesting stuff for the past month or two, and, people are saving for the upcoming either baseball coin or gold JFK.

  67. VA Rich says

    Hey Sam – Provident has your 2014 1 oz American Platinum Eagle $69 0ver spot. Would like to have seen the gold HOF or JFK out of West Point by now…, or a P puck before we enter the 3rd FY Qtr.

  68. VA Rich says

    Michael – three articles back under Weekend Reading – THANKS for posting the link to the ’06 Franklin C&C article! (for which I had no clue about). Just opened a new one up & that’s a sweet little combination from all all 4 entities and a great educational tool (for kids (& most Americans)), probably one of the best C&C set I’ve seen.

  69. Sith says

    Just found this interesting…

    Tulving Coin Investments Files Chapter 7 : Liquidation: The dealership faces millions of dollars in claims from disgruntled customers and a lawsuit by the FTC….Tulving’s firm had been one of the nation’s most prominent and respected rare coin dealers for more than a decade when it rocked investors and others in the industry with the announcement Aug. 1 that it was under investigation by the FTC and the California Department of Corporations….January 16, 1991

  70. VARich says

    Hey thanks Steve, I was able to snag one of those and agree, its tops on the list too! Still love the TJ and ’01 Buffalo set as well!

  71. Sith says

    Even more interesting when Tulving went down, apparently they had help in selling inflated coins…

    In a separate case filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, the FTC charged Irvine-based Professional Coin Grading Service with failing to live up to advertising claims that it graded coins on an objective basis. The company–whose grading service has become an industry standard–has certified $2.5 billion worth of coins since it was founded four years ago.

  72. Scott says

    I think the FTC has a good case, grading standards have deteriorated in the last 10-15 years. I have photos of a coin in an old holder graded XF-40 and the same coin recently was graded AU-50, with a CAC sticker. IMHO, there’s no way in hell the coin is AU-50.

  73. Sith says

    As a FYI this FCC complaint\case was from 1991, apparently when Tulving went down back then it was accused among other things of overpricing the coins it sold, and at the same time PCGS was accused of “grading coins from certain companies at a higher grade than the exact same coins from companies not affiliated with them.”

    They may not be related but its one hell of a coincidence that PCGS was accused of this during the same time they opened the books on Tulving. PCGS said in an letter to dealers that it has agreed to sign a consent decree but called the FTC allegations “obviously untrue” and “bizarre.” But did not fight the FTC because it “didn’t want to spend the time or money that would be necessary for a two or three year battle.”

    In a typical consent decree, the defendant has already ceased or agrees to cease the conduct alleged by the plaintiff to be illegal and consents to a court injunction barring the conduct in the future,in return for withdrawal of a criminal charge or an end to a civil litigation. IE they pleaded guilty.

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