Comments on: Commemorative Coins Reform Act Returns

By: mca

mca — Sat, 08 Aug 2015 17:11:55 +0000

I have bought commems that I don’t even like the design on because I wanted to support where the money was being used. I then buy the commems that I like just because I like them. I will continue to buy the ones I like, but if the money is going to reduce the deficit, they can keep those ones, I wouldn’t support a lost cause like that. Don’t these politicians have anything better to do??

Cheers

By: Whistler

Whistler — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 21:04:38 +0000

Perhaps the Admin will float a coin for the undocumented kids, they get the $$ we get the shaft

By: Whistler

Whistler — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 21:01:40 +0000

Yes indeed, reduce the Nat’l deficit, think about it $500m in 35yearsm, nat’l dept. like 20 trillion, so in like 3,500 years we would give 3 trillion against the deficit, which by then will be like a quadrillion zillion…..

By: Lewis

Lewis — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 18:22:02 +0000

The problem as I see it is that there are now too many poorly designed — ugly — coins being produced for poorly selected reasons. Remember the original commemorative program was killed off because of Congressional abuse. Commemorative coins should be coins of beauty for important events, persons or places.

By: jim

jim — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 13:41:31 +0000

RBG –
The bill doesn’t eliminate surcharges, it only states that surcharges (i.e. they will still exist) collected won’t be paid to an outside organization. As I said before they are just being re-purposed. If the bill was meant to eliminate surcharges it would say something like “no (more) surcharges” not what will be done with surcharges instead of what is happening today. This is a bad bill and should not be approved by Congress.

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 08:45:12 +0000

Hopefully it will pass in the House and get signed by the President.

By: RonnieBGood

RonnieBGood — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 01:58:36 +0000

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could keep the politics to a minimum with regards to our hobby?

If you reread the three major paragraphs above from bill HR3097 the surcharges are to be Eliminated, “…no surcharges collected with respect to the sale of any numismatic item may be paid to any organization outside of the Federal Government, other than with respect to the costs of producing and selling such item.”

Production costs of all Collectable coins have always been rolled into the cost of the purchase price of our coins. And the addition of weekly evaluation of Gold prices gives the mint opportunity to make price adjustments. The last provision of the bill is a boiler plate statement that is used for all potential excess gov funds, “… excess … shall be transferred by the Fund to the general fund of the Treasury for the purpose of deficit reduction.

Surcharges from coin sales would not generate sufficient income to be seriously considered as a way to reduce the deficit and any bill written with this as the intent would be dead on arrival (DOA).

There are many worthy causes that commemorative coin mintings have supported but there have also been major league sporting associations (that generate multi-millions of dollars every year) that have also been included in recent commemorative coin mintings. The issue was raised as to why these organizations that are already flush with funds need to go outside for funding?

This bill needs further clarification.

By: Joe

Joe — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 06:35:37 +0000

Think it would be a different story if the majority was Democrat?

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 25 Jul 2015 14:00:39 +0000

Boy can the political pundant’s have fun with this one. Good points both, Will and Ronnie. Republicans just can’t help shooting themselves in the foot. The rhetoric insinuates that Commemoratives are often suggested then the realized benefits go the states of the suggester, a sort of self pandering accolade. So the offered substitution is to make it less subjective by placing it in the General Fund to be used in Deficit reduction. Oh yea that’s going to work. If you have a Deficit that means you’re already in the hole (The Red), there is no money to pay down a deficit created by spending what you had including the money you’re going to put in there from C.C.P. That’s called Fuzzy Political Math. Ooo Maaaan, My Bad, I forgot, its right next to the Social Security Money.

By: jim

jim — Sat, 25 Jul 2015 13:58:31 +0000

From this article alone (I haven’t read the whole bill myself) surcharges are not being eliminated, only re-purposed; and that to cover costs already included in the cost of the coin in the first place. In other words the bill is using the surcharge to pay for costs already paid for in price of the coin. The language of the bill assumes that surcharges will continue to be added to the cost of commemorative coins. Well, that’s not necessary.

I prefer to support charities of my own choosing and in $ amounts of my own choosing.