NEW BOOK: U.S. MINT 2016 ANNUAL REPORT

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V20 2017 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 20, Number 8, February 19, 2017, Article 2

Numismatic bibliophiles have long used and collected the annual reports of the Director of the U.S. Mint. In recent years these have not been printed, but made available online. The 2016 report has just been released. Here's a short excerpt. Following a letter from Principal Deputy Director Matthew Rhett Jeppson, the leadership team posed for a portrait. -Editor

Front row, left to right: Annie Brown, Associate Director, Workforce Solutions Directorate; Elisa Basnight, Chief of Staff; Jean Gentry, Chief Counsel; Margaret (Peggy) Yauss, Acting Associate Director for Finance; Ellen McCullom, Superintendent, West Point Mint.

Back row, left to right: Dave Motl, Acting Deputy Director for Management; David Jacobs, Superintendent, San Francisco Mint; Lauren Buschor, Associate Director, Information Technology Directorate; Randall Johnson, Superintendent, Denver Mint; Betty Birdsong, Acting Director, Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs; Eric Anderson, Executive Secretary; Marc Landry, Superintendent, Philadelphia Mint; Matthew (Rhett) Jeppson, Principal Deputy Director; Richard (Dick) Peterson, Deputy Director for Manufacturing and Quality; B. B. Craig, Associate Director for Environment, Safety, Health and Energy; Thomas Jurkowsky, Chief, Corporate Communications; Jon Cameron, Acting Associate Director, Numismatic and Bullion Directorate; Dennis O’Connor, Chief, Mint Police; David Croft, Associate Director, Manufacturing Directorate; April Stafford, Chief, Design Management.

CIRCULATING RESULTS FY 2016 circulating coin shipments to the FRB increased by 1.0 percent to a total 16.3 billion coins compared to last year. The year saw increases in all denominations except the penny and quarter-dollar, which resulted in a modest decrease in revenue compared to last year.

The overall shipment mix stayed relatively flat for all denominations in FY 2016. As a percentage of total shipments, penny and quarter shipments decreased by 2.0 percent, while nickels and dimes increased by 2.0 percent.

BULLION RESULTS In FY 2016, the Mint sold 45,163 thousand ounces of bullion, a decrease of 4,585 thousand ounces or 9.2 percent compared to FY 2015, which was a record-breaking year for bullion. Because of lower bullion demand, FY 2016 bullion coin program revenue and net income decreased compared to FY 2015. Revenue totaled $2,085.3 million, down 1.9 percent from $2,126.1 million last year. Net income decreased 9.3 percent to $55.3 million from $61.0 million, driven by American Eagle Silver Bullion earnings, which decreased $4.1 million (11.9 percent).

Bullion demand surged from January through May of FY 2016, driven by increases in American Eagle Silver Bullion Coin ounces. However, starting in June, silver demand experienced a dramatic slowdown. The decrease in total bullion revenue was more modest than the volume declines because there was a $46.1 million (3.7 percent) increase in gold bullion revenue.

NUMISMATIC RESULTS Numismatic product sales decreased to 4.2 million units in FY 2016 compared to 5.4 million units in FY 2015. Silver coin product sales were 54.3 percent lower than last year, due to the late release of the American Eagle Silver products as a result of new legislative requirements for 30th anniversary edge lettering. American Eagle Silver contributed 6.0 percent of overall numismatic revenue in FY 2016, compared to 8.0 percent last year.

Numismatic revenue was also lower than last year. FY 2016 numismatic revenue was $413.0 million, a $40.2 million (8.9 percent) decrease from FY 2015 because of a $45.3 million decrease in revenue from silver coin products. The American Eagle Silver One Ounce Proof Coin contributed $25.8 million to revenue this year, which was $10.7 million (29.3 percent) lower than FY 2015.

The 2016 United States Mint Proof Set and the 2016 American Eagle Silver One Ounce Proof Coin were the most popular sellers (in terms of units) this year, selling a combined 736 thousand units. Sales for these products were 25.4 percent lower than they were last year.

In technology developments, the Mint fielded a new web site called the Artist Portal for managing artist competitions. -Editor

MINT LAUNCHES ARTIST PORTAL
A cross-functional Mint team led by the DSS Program Management Office successfully launched the Artist Portal, a solution to host current and future Mint coin design competitions online. The Artist Portal provides public information about the competitions, facilitates artist interactions, and enables judges from the Citizens Coin Advisory Committee and the Committee of Fine Arts to receive and score submissions in a secure online environment.

The Portal made its debut in February 2016, with the Mint’s 2018 World War I American Veterans Centennial Silver Dollar Commemorative Coin design competition, and subsequently supported the 2018 Breast Cancer Awareness Commemorative Coin design competition. The Portal will also be used to support future Mint design competitions and Calls for Artists, such as the Artistic Infusion Program.

It's all pretty dry reading; after all, its primary purpose is to report to Congress on operations and finance. But much numismatic information is to be found within, such as the twelve-page Appendix I on FY 2016 coin and medal products. Like the rest of the government, the Mint runs on a Fiscal Year ending September 30, so the first item listed is the Monuments Men Congressional Gold Medal awarded October 22, 2015. -Editor