The Latest "Direction" Of The U S Mint.

I used to be a gamer before kids, but can no longer count myself as one.
I have watched some ebay live auctions with some special edition video game insignia struck silver bars.
They were very popular with that community, prices soaring to several hundred per numbered 1 oz bars.
I myself am not interested in such things, but I am 46 years old and can't consider myself of the new age coin collector.
In fact I would consider myself old school. So much in fact, I do not collect any zinc era cents.

kurdlezuit,

You/We are Not Alone, Thank You for Your Insights, I Too Really Enjoy Morgan and Peace Original Silver Dollars, ( modern Reverse Proofs Too.).... ... ........

Helder, Your 100 % Correct, " I'm going back to Morgans and raw Morgans at that. "

My Man, Love The Original 1878-1921 ( . 77344/Silver/Coin ).

I Too believe the Modern Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars ( Anniversary Series ) Will and Is taking a " hit " financially Along with Notice of Our Collective Thoughts, As seen by Many Remarks On This CCF Forum. .....

Thanks All.....

@Morgans_Dad: While I won't be supporting many of the Mint's new initiatives, I can't necessarily fault them for pursuing new markets with new "products."

The collectors of their "traditional" offerings are not numerous enough to keep the Mint profitable. It is a business, after all, and it needs to generate top-line revenue and bottom-line profits! So, exploring what might appeal to the next wave of collectors seems a prudent path to take.

It's possible that in 20 or 30 years, these "new direction" pieces will be eagerly pursued by collectors, much as many collectors today pursue Copper-Nickel (CuNi) Clad coins where 20 or 30 years ago they were largely ignored.

Thanks for starting the discussion! It should prove to be an interesting one to follow.

Mike you know my feelings on the mints pricing lately. It's cheaper to buy a classic coin, and that's what I'm doing and skipping the mints offerings.

I'm somewhat of a gamer, and have been since Atari 2600 days. Still play frequently (PS5 and VR) but not into multiplayer or mobile platforms. I have many of the game-related silver rounds from APMEX. None of them slabbed (I don't think any TPG would slab these anyway) and collect them just because I like them. Like most bullion pieces, I don't see them as an investment so much as a collection that will retain their value for metal content. They might be treated as true collectibles later, I dunno. That said, I don't see the star-privy thing the same way. True, they're chiefly tied to gaming because that's how they're being promoted, but ultimately they're "just" silver eagles with an otherwise-meaningless mark and a mintage too high to be any kind of rarity. Not my thing, but I can only see the approach spreading to other markets (and marks).

The comic book thing, I'm in for that. I really like the Superman designs and will likely get at least the silver one(s), slabbed when I can get one. Maybe the gold, depending on how things are going when it's released. Won't get Batman (not my thing), but want to see the designs. Same for Wonder Woman, though I have more interest there. When they get to Green Lantern, I'm taking the same approach as with Superman, but as an insta-buy (of course). The remaining characters in the line, whoever they are, I'm curious about but probably won't get having blown my budget/interest already by then.

The thing about the comic-themed coins is that other countries have already done them (I have all of the Green Lantern designs, most of them slabbed). What gets me though is that many of them are still available from places like APMEX so it's not like they're selling out, yet here we come with our own line. Some of the characters will be new-to-coins but I don't see them becoming high-demand or great investments in the short term. Comic characters can have waves of sudden demand (or lack thereof) so there might be price bumps later, but in the meantime they're still mainly bullion with a clear and generally loyal fan base. This program might have legs and its success (or lack thereof) would dictate what else the Mint might do. With all else going on, it's going to be hard to do something truly original though.

Indeed.

Correct they had no interest and when the set is worth face there is no redemption. Coin collecting is a worthless hobby to them.

BUT when someone comes in with a valuable collection, many have kept a few coins to remind them of who they got them from. (I've been there and seen it, I've also seen the look on their face when told to go deposit them at a coin star.)

Face Value makes coins appear that its not worth saving.

When the kids go deposit the coins at the coinstar tell them to let me know so I can get the rejects

Although you and I are same age, so I might not be able to be there when they make the deposit.