Coins and Currency Weekly
Return to the Index
Coins and Currency Weekly
Return to the Index
May 23, 1999
Issue #18
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Susan B. Anthony dollar, once the unloved stepsister of American money, is making a comeback.
Eighteen years after the Mint stopped turning out the once-unpopular coin - and just months before a gussied-up younger cousin makes a debut - heavy demand for Susan Bs in snack machines and subways has exhausted the supply.
So the Mint decided Thursday to do a final ``1999'' encore run.
The government struck 857 million coins with the 19th century suffragette on the face from 1979 to 1981, but found itself stuck with 550 million when production ended. Many people complained the Susan B dollar was too easily mistaken for a quarter because of its look and feel.
Now, with many vending machines, Postal Service stamp dispensers and city subway systems accepting the dollar coin, its popularity has surged. Mint officials are vowing to provide enough for the snack eaters, late-night stamp buyers and commuters who use it.
``We're committed to providing an uninterrupted supply of dollar coins through this transition,'' said Mint Director Philip N. Diehl.
A new, congressionally mandated dollar coin, graced with an image of Shoshone Indian guide Sacagawea, will debut early next year and can also be used in vending machines.
The Sacagawea dollar coin will be the same size as the Susan B, but will have a gold-colored surface and a smooth rim. The ridge-edged, silver-colored Susan B was considered too quarter-like.
And while the Susan B depicts the women's rights leader in stern profile, the Sacagawea shows the teen-age guide glancing back amicably over her shoulder, her infant son asleep in a papoose.
The Mint has not yet determined how many new Susan Bs to strike or when the process will begin, and spokesman Michael White said he wasn't sure if officials had yet estimated how much it would cost.
Many coin collectors and some members of Congress have long campaigned for an end to the dollar bill, claiming that while paper money is cheaper to produce than coins, it wears out more quickly and thus costs the government more in the long run.
``As long as there continues to be a dollar bill, they will continue to use it,'' said Ed Rochette, executive director of the American Numismatic Association, a 108-year-old society of coin collectors. He praised the Susan B's return, saying it ``will make it easier for the Sacagawea dollar'' to gain acceptance.
``Our free coins were so popular at the 1998 Show,'' explained Heritage's Bob Korver, ``that we were invited back before that show ended. In fact, the response was so great that Heritage generously tripled our budget for 1999. We gave away Indian cents, Liberty & Buffalo nickels, Barber and Mercury dimes, Barber and Standing Liberty quarters, Barber and Walking Liberty halves, and Morgan & Peace dollars, along with an explanation of different coin designs. Scouts stuck their hands into buckets of coins, and had to select only one without looking.''
Concluded Heritage Co-Chairman Jim Halperin, ``We have only one motivation: to introduce young men and women to rare coins, the hobby of history. Heritage sent one young numismatist to a Florida coin convention last January, and we have an active summer Intern program. We have also encouraged dealers across America to donate such coins for their local Scouts. The Heritage staff is active in charity work. This week, the Heritage family donated more than $10,000 to the Texas Special Olympics, and our employee charity group raised more than $30,000 for local causes last year.''
Rob Hofmann, Circle Ten's Director of Financial Services, noted: ``Circle Ten greatly appreciates such support from our local business leaders, and we look forward to Heritage's continuing support. The lines of Scouts waiting patiently for their free rare coins was ample evidence of the wide range of activities that appeal to Scouts. Circle Ten produced 558 Eagle Scouts last year, and any encouragement to complete merit badges supports this goal. Circle Ten is the fifth largest of 325 Councils, serving 71,641 Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, & Explorers, supported by more than 18,000 adult volunteers. Among our Scouts are 10,000+ with special needs, and 28,000 from the inner city.''
LONDON, May 21 (Reuters) - World silver demand dropped by 2.2 percent last year while official sector sales increased more than 700 percent to their highest levels since the 1970s, the Silver Institute said on Friday.
The fall in demand to 840.6 million ounces was mainly due to a sharp drop in East Asian and Indian silver demand, the Washington-based Institute said in its World Silver Survey 1999.
The survey, conducted by precious metals consultancy Gold Fields Mineral Services, said the structural deficit in the silver market continued last year -- the tenth year in a row of supply deficits.
``Last year, for instance, this deficit amounted to 104.7 million ounces (3,620 tonnes) in spite of higher supply from scrap and mine production and lower fabrication demand,'' the survey said.
Mine production increased five percent to its highest level this decade of 545.5 million ounces while supply from scrap surged 13 percent to 190.4 million ounces.
"Silver mine production continued on the strong expansionary trend which started in 1997 with a number of very large-scale new mines commencing production.
``Primary silver production increased its share of the total to around 26 percent,'' the survey said.
Total supply to the market declined by two percent despite an additional 93 million ounces which entered the market through mine production, scrap and official sector sales.
The survey said in a sharp trend reversal, net government (official sector) sales increased massively.
``This appears to have been the highest level of sales out of government stocks since the 1970s and disposals came primarily from China, Russia and the United States,'' the survey said.
The three countries had different motives for disposing of silver stocks.
``In the United States, the Defense Logistics Agency continued its programme of reducing stockpiles for coin fabrication. In China, large-scale disposals were probably motivated by high prices and in Russia, silver sales may have been an emergency measure implemented by a cash-strapped government,'' the survey said.
In India, the largest industrial silver fabricator, demand dropped 16 percent while in East Asia, demand fell 13 percent mainly due to Japan's financial problems and the Asian economic crisis last year.
Turning to prices, the survey said the average 1998 silver price of $5.5442 a troy ounce rose 13.2 percent year-on-year to an 11-year high in nominal terms while the trading range and volatility were the highest in more than 10 years.
The survey said silver stocks were probably now in tighter hands.
``There was a huge transfer of bulliion from 'stale' longs to new investors, notably Berkshire Hathaway ((NYSE:BRKa - news), between August 1997 and February 1998 and our impression is that these new investors still own a substantial proportion of their original purchases,'' it added.
First quarter demand in the countries monitored by the World Gold Council was 788 tonnes, just a fraction lower than the record for the first quarter set in 1997, and just 2% below the all-time record for any three-month period set during the fourth quarter of last year.
The strong performance in the first quarter was a result of a gain of 75% in worldwide jewelery demand, and a 20% increase in investment over the same period of last year. Good growth in gold demand in the USA, China, Japan, South Korea and South-east Asia more than compensated for lower demand in India, the Middle East and Europe.
These are the main findings of the latest issue of the World Gold Council's quarterly survey Gold Demand Trends, published today. Commenting on the findings, George Milling-Stanley, Manager of Gold Market Analysis, said:
``These first quarter numbers are very strong, and they look even better when they are compared with those for the beginning of last year. That was when the economic and currency crisis in Asia triggered widespread dishoarding and blew a hole in the demand statistics. The growth of 62% in worldwide gold demand in the first quarter of 1999 to within a fraction of all-time record highs is a clear demonstration that the recovery continues.
``The story of the first quarter of 1999 was of continued growth in jewelery demand, coupled with a broader appreciation worldwide for the role of gold as a monetary asset. There were further strong gains in the demand for gold as an investment. In the USA, Y2K fears, together with concern about a possible correction in the stock market, drove coin purchases to fresh all-time highs; in Japan, the ''Big Bang`` financial reforms triggered a renewed interest in gold's value in portfolio diversification; while in the countries worst hit by the Asian crisis, investment demand exceeded pre-crisis levels. All over the world, investors are looking for ways to preserve their wealth, and increasingly those investors are turning to gold to help them achieve that goal. ''
Highlights of the first quarter of 1999 include:
Over all demand in the USA gained 28% to a record for the period, helped by continued strength in both jewelery and investment. The start of the Year of the Rabbit helped demand in China to grow 5%. In India, demand was 24% below the exceptionally high level of a year ago. A recovery in the Gulf States lifted demand to a first-quarter record, while elsewhere in the Middle East, lower oil prices brought a decline of 10% in Saudi Arabia. A sharp increase in investment brought a gain of 50% in overall demand in Japan.
The World Gold Council is an international organisation formed and funded by leading gold mining companies from around the world to increase the demand for gold. The 27 countries monitored in Gold Demand Trends account for approximately 80% of global gold demand.
For further information, please contact George Milling-Stanley in New York at Tel. 212 317 3848, Fax 212 688 0410, E-mail george.milling_stanley@wgcny.gold.org. r Gold Demand Trends No. 27 is also available from the day of publication on the Council's website (www.gold.org).
Until Next Time, Alan Cohen Distribution Coins and Currency Weekly(c) (CCW) is published by Alan Cohen. It is a weekly newsletter devoted to coins and currency - Current news, viewpoints, and other collecting information. This newsletter is distributed free of charge, and available two ways. 1) On-Line on the World Wide Web. The address is: http://www.coinmall.com/ccw - All back issues are archived at the web site. 2) Direct e-mail. Send a message to: ccw@coinmall.com If you wish to unsubscribe from CCW, you need to send a message to the following address: ccw-request@ListService.net In the Body of the Message: address, just type UNSUBSCRIBE Until Next Time,
Alan Cohen
Distribution Coins and Currency Weekly(c) (CCW) is published by Alan Cohen. It is a weekly newsletter devoted to coins and currency - Current news, viewpoints, and other collecting information. This newsletter is distributed free of charge, and available two ways. 1) On-Line on the World Wide Web. The address is: http://www.coinmall.com/ccw - All back issues are archived at the web site. 2) Direct e-mail. Send a message to: ccw@coinmall.com If you wish to unsubscribe from CCW, you need to send a message to the following address: ccw-request@ListService.net In the Body of the Message: address, just type UNSUBSCRIBE