AN INTERVIEW WITH U.S. MINT DIRECTOR EDMUND MOY

Michael Alexander: It's a real pleasure speaking with you today. The United States Mint is one of the most respected Mint institutions in the world. Can you tell readers how it feels to head such a well known and recognized entity?

Edmund Moy: That's a very good question. Three things pop into my head. First, it's an honor to serve. There have been 38 Mint directors including myself since 1792, and I frequently tease the Secretary of the Treasury over this. There have been more than 70 secretaries in his post over the same period and only 38 Mint Directors! Second, what keeps me up at night is it's a great responsibility. You don't want anything bad to happen on your watch while trying to inject new life and design into numismatic products. Third, with the bullion market, we've now become the world's largest bullion producers, and we've also had to manage this growth. But overall, it's an honor and a big responsibility, and also fun!

MA: Now, about the smallest value coin. Will the one cent coin be dropped from circulation in the U.S.? We hear it costs much more to produce than its actual face value. EM: If you asked me about this six months ago, I would have said we were breaking even on the production of the penny. Now, it costs us roughly 1.6 cents to produce, and it might cost us a lot more in the future. When you look back to find legislation to discontinue the half penny or the two or three-cent coin, there were hardly any laws passed which specifically discontinued these coins. They were simply discontinued by the Mint because they were no longer in demand.

There are two ways to “get rid” of coins. One is by low usage and the other is by a law being passed. Since we just celebrated the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of Lincoln with our commemorative one-cent coins, I don't think the penny will be leaving us anytime soon. There is a lot of emotional attachment to this coin.

To read the complete article, see: Interview with Edmund Moy, Director of the United States Mint (news.coinupdate.com/interview-with-edmund-moy-director-of-the-united-states-mint-0318/)

Wayne Homren, Editor

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