How Much Would You Pay For A Half Dollar?

By: Mark Knoller
Topics: Field Notes

(CBS)

Mark Knoller is a White House Correspondent for CBS News.

Bob & Ray, the legendary comedy team, would always crack me up when they'd announce that their radio show was brought to you by "the United States Mint – makers of money. Get some soon!"

The idea of "buying" money from the Mint is pretty amusing.

But you should know that the Mint does, in fact, sell money.

I got an e-mail from the Mint early this morning that amounted to an ad for money.

It's selling rolls and bags of John F. Kennedy half-dollars – at a considerable mark-up.

If you're willing to pay $32.95 for $20-dollars worth of uncirculated fifty-cent pieces, you're their kind of customer.

Want more? The mint will happily sell you a $100 bag of Kennedy halves for $130.95. That means you'll be paying 65-cents for each half-dollar. But you do get your choice of mint mark – either "P" for Philadelphia or "D" for Denver.

If you're a coin collector, it may be worth it to get a mint-sewn bag of shiny, uncirculated coins, or a couple of rolls of coins in a U.S. Mint wrapper.

But if you know someone at your local bank, you can probably get some new coins at face value.

If you go to the U.S. Mint website, you'll see they'll sell you all of their coins – if you're willing to pay the premium.

A $25-roll of Sacagawea "Golden Dollars" goes for $35.95. That's $1.44 for each dollar coin. If you're willing to buy a 250-coin bag of the dollars, you can get 'em for $1.28 each. It's still a pretty hefty mark-up.

But that's nothing compared to the price the Mint charges for its bullion coins. Its American Eagle one-ounce platium proof coin has a face value of $100, but sells for $1500 – due to the value of the platinum.

For hard-core numismatists, the Mint even sells the dies used to stamp the image onto blank coins. A die used to make the 2003 Alabama quarters can be purchased for $34.95.

But don't think that will let you stamp out all the coins you want. The Mint makes it very clear that "the striking surface image has been completely removed" from the die. Pity.

I should in fairness mention that I'm a numismatist and still buy "proof sets" from the Mint most years. A "proof set" is composed of specially-minted, extra-lustrous examples of each coin produced by the Mint in a given year. If you're a coin collector, they're something to behold. And sometimes the value of proof sets will soar over the years.

Selling money at a premium is a pretty good business for the government. In 2004, U.S. Mint Director Henrietta Fore told a Congressional Committe that half-way through the 50 State Quarter program, special sales of the coins had generated more than $4-billion for the U.S. treasury.

The Mint estimates that more than 130 million Americans are coin collectors.

Perhaps more. After all, we all collect money in one way or another.

Mark Knoller
Mark Knoller is a CBS News White House correspondent.
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by christian314 April 14, 2007 3:26 AM EDT: Why would anyone bother reading anything from a sub-par anchor who is a media ***, a plaigarist and lacks enough conviction in her own words to A) leave them posted (Barack Obama) or B) allow appropriate criticism to remain online?; Reply to this comment


by skamieniecki April 12, 2007 8:44 PM EDT: Your comment left out one important fact. The US Mint has not released any Kennedy Half dollars for general circulation since 2001. For that matter no Sacajawea dollars have been released in this time period either. No 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and now 2007 Kennedy Halves or Sacajawea Dollars have been or will be released for general circulation. In fact the Mint is trying not to be forced into releasing any Sacajawea coins in 2007 as part of the 1 Sacajawea for every for 4 Presidential Dollars legislation. Checking back on other years that the Kennedy coins were not released, and what those indicvidual coins are worth today, makes 65 cents per coin a pretty good investment. Hey Mark, next time do a little more homework!; Reply to this comment


by timtcm April 12, 2007 5:47 PM EDT: The interesting thing about the Mint selling money is that it also sells money at face value to the Federal Reserve.

When it sells coins valued at $0.10 or higher, the cost of the metals, coin production and distribution is less than the face value paid for them, and the Mint turns a profit. This is called seigniorage.

When the U.S. Mint produces coins valued at $0.05 or $0.01, it actually loses money. This is because the cost of the metals needed to make pennies and nickels actually cost more than what a penny or a nickel are worth.

That is why Rep. Jim Kolbe introduced the COIN Act (H.R. 5818) in the last Congress which would, among other things, eliminate production of pennies and nickels:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-5818
http://www.usatoday.com/money/2006-07-06-penny-usat_x.htm

Tim
10,903 days; Reply to this comment