To all you collectors out there with more experience and wisdom than I:

If you want your collections to hold or grow in value, we’ll need to get the Mint to draw in more young collectors with exotic, new, and exciting coins – even with an old hobby such as this. And I don’t mean all the overabundance of boring that the Mint is issuing since the 50 state quarters program. It was fun until the 50th State when we all realized our collections halved in value at the end and insult was added to the injury when the Mint kept coming up with every reason under the sun to pump similar quantities of coins out.

Quality over Quantity please? Since collecting is driven 100% by desire (not need), there’s a lot the US Mint could learn about quality from the most desirable brands in the world. Perhaps oddly, perhaps not, European fashion brands come to mind – Chanel, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Apple… wait.. Apple? Yes, Apple’s success has come from a European approach, which is why it was so misunderstood by American analysts at the beginning of it’s rocket ride. These brands know that they’ll sell anything they make if they push quality to the forefront, focusing all their public efforts into driving desirability. A desirable brand with THE desirable product sells huge.

The last several years have brought some great examples of quality in International coinage: France, Spain, and the Netherlands are your leaders in design innovation. And they’re not just adding avant-guarde graphic designs of subjects that are actually interesting; they’re physically innovating. Exotic metals, multiple metals, coins within coins, technologically-advanced aesthetics, wavy planchets, etc (please let’s not resort to coloration though – else coins really become kitch trinkets). They’re only downfall is price (too high) and market (too weak, poor Europe). But the design is spot on and somehow the French mint still sells out relentlessly.

So bring on the Palladium coin. Relative to these European mints, it’s even conservative… yet so oh so nice. Perhaps most accurately, it’s the US Mint’s iPod/iPad… questioned by the misunderstanding analysts; yearned for by collections… to be (or sadly not to be) the coin of coins.

I guess we’ll know by March 1, 2014.

PLATINUM
I’ve never been remotely interested in our platinum coins for two reasons:
1) I love the statue of liberty, but on a coin she looks like a cliche – like a tourist trinket. There are already many more sophisticated liberties out there to choose from (if we think of sophistication as being embodied by anything that’s harder to describe – this goes for colors, art, people – this starts to makes sense).
2) Super high prices + an unchanging design = why would I ever collect that? (I don’t collect our gold coins for the same reason, although I’ve considered them, based solely on their beauty)

PALLADIUM
I’ve also never bought a palladium coin from another country – simply because the designs are… well… simple. An interesting metal needs an interesting design, and similarly, an expensive metal needs a sophisticated design – one drawing from the highest works of art. It’s basic marketing really – all the components need to align in order to appeal to your target market.

And that’s why this coin MUST get made. Next to the 2009 Ultra High Reliefs, this is the most desirable idea the mint’s had since I started collecting very young, 19 years ago (I’m 32).

1) It’s exotic, new, and exciting.
2) It’s of a material that is extremely rare
3) Yet the prices are attainable
4) The obverse portrays one of the most elegant “liberties” ever designed, so it’s just the opposite of the cliche on our platinum coins.
5) The reverse is a refreshing take on a very sophisticated version of our eagle – on the level of the UHR’s – and leagues better than the platinum’s flat design and looks as if [UN]inspired from a poor photo.
6) And it will come out in a new finish every year? Are you kidding me? This sounds too good to be true!

I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to collect a coin with such a passion.

Anyone feel similarly?

Palladium beauty…. we anxiously await.