U.S. MINT DIRECTOR DAVID J. RYDER INTERVIEWED

In less than a year, Mr. Ryder has already had a substantial impact on the U.S. Mint's operations and products. For example, he has initiated partnerships with several foreign mints to develop products jointly with them and recently appointed Joseph Menna as the 13th Chief Engraver after that position remained unfilled for almost a decade after the retirement of John Mercanti in 2010.

To explore his current initiatives and his ideas for revitalizing the Mint, I conducted a wide-ranging interview with him on March 15 on everything from different forms of Liberty to how to better market numismatic products, work with the Congress to help craft legislation that impacts the Mint and encourage more young people to enter the hobby and many others. During our discussion, he shared some important news that has not been previously reported.

DR: One of the first things I did when I got here was to get the Chief Engraver position back into the Mint and engraving organization because I think it is important. I like Joseph's style and his enthusiasm for the job, and think he will bring that to the Philadelphia Mint and engraver shop. I encourage them to do a much better job. I encouraged him to be creative and along those lines encouraged the CCAC [Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee] to be more creative in their selection of designs.

I have been very vocal with our design staff to be more creative. I like the Artist Infusion Program to get more artists involved. I am a big proponent of changing the status quo as far as designs. And Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is very involved in the process. I think with Joe on board and a different philosophy going forward with designs, I think it will go a long way. There are still things out of my control in the context of how designs are selected. But going forward I plan on being a proponent to help legislators better interpret the legislation and be more creative as far as designs. And to have language that gives designers more freedom, so I am a big proponent of changing the status quo.

To read the complete article, see:
Challenging the Status Quo: An Interview With U.S. Mint Director David J. Ryder (https://coinweek.com/us-mint-news/challenging-the-status-quo-an-interview-with-u-s-mint-director-david-j-ryder/)

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