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V4 2001 INDEX       E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 4, Number 48, November 25, 2001, Article 3 U.S. MINT LAYOFFS The economy is taking its toll on the U.S. Mint, too. From an article in the November 21st Philadelphia Inquirer: "Officials at the U.S. Mint, which produces all the coins in circulation, said that, with the economic downturn, the nation will consume vastly fewer new coins. It therefore has begun laying off 357 workers in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Denver and other places to curtail coin production and protect its profits for the U.S. Treasury. Mint officials believed as recently as the summer that the nation would need 23 billion new pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters in 2002. But the Mint bean counters reduced that number to 15 billion when it became apparent that the economy would not rebound quickly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "This all happened fairly rapidly," a Mint spokeswoman, Susan Valaskovic, said yesterday. "Now you understand why we're reducing employees in Philadelphia." The decline in demand for coins from the U.S. Mint is "staggering," and reflects the slumping national economy and other factors, said James Benfield, executive director of the Coin Coalition, a lobbying group in Washington that supports the dollar coin. The U.S. Mint has produced too many coins in the last year, and now is coping with tens of millions of dollars in unexpected coins flowing into the economy as people scrounge through drawers, old suits, jars and cans for coins. "As the economy slows down, this stuff comes out of the closet," Benfield said. "When you're out of a job, you cash in all your coins." http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/2001/11/21/front_page/COIN21.htm [Anthough coin output typically grows from year to year, that isn't always the case. At several points in history, coin production has declined due to economic, political, and other factors. Is anyone aware of contemporary references to earlier cutbacks in mint employment? -Editor]

Wayne Homren, Editor

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