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| The Basics | Uncle Sam makes a mint off your spare change
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A new buffalo nickel has gone into circulation, the latest in a long line of special-interest coins that contribute to $1.7 billion in U.S. Mint revenues.
By Rick VanderKnyff
If you suddenly find a shiny new buffalo nickel in your pocket, don't fret -- you haven't hit a time warp.
It's just the U.S. Mint rolling out another special-interest coin. The new nickel that rolled into circulation in February is the third of four designs that celebrate the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition (you can see the latest design below on the left side of the page).
Consider also the 50 state quarters that are still in the middle of their 10-year roll-out, and that adds up to a lot of activity for a mint that can go decades without a coin redesign.
A rich market among collectors
Creating product for a hungry market of existing coin collectors -- while building up a new generation of numismatists -- is one of the chief goals for the mint. To that end, the state quarters comprise "the most popular coin program in U.S. history," said Henrietta Holsman Fore, director of the U.S. Mint. More than 140 million people collect them. (Each state quarter is minted for 10 weeks only. The final state quarter is due to be issued in 2008.)
To help pump up interest among youngsters, the mint even offers educators a wide array of lesson plans and other educational materials on its Web site.
Every new coin design means a whole list of new collector items the mint can market, including proof sets and rolls or bags of uncirculated coins. Add that to items that are produced only for the collector market, such as commemorative issues and gold coins, and it all makes for a lucrative business.
In 2004, for instance, the U.S. Mint brought in $1.67 billion in revenues, producing a profit of $665 million. Sales of "non-bullion numismatics" -- all collector products, excluding gold and silver issues -- increased 45% in 2004 to $341.2 million.
"All of this money that we earn goes to the Treasury," Fore said, helping to fund its operations.
A coin-design renaissance
While the Lewis and Clark nickels are just one-time issues, a permanent redesign for the nickel is planned in 2006. (Jefferson and Monticello will remain the subjects, but the images are likely to change).
Also due: a revamp of the Lincoln penny in 2009 marking the coin's 100th birthday and Abe's 200th. And legislation now in Congress would mandate an ambitious series of new dollar coins that will eventually feature every U.S. president -- from the great to the obscure to the infamous.
"We are in a renaissance of coin design in the United States, and also of coin collecting," Fore said. "It's a bit of art and history that you can carry in your pocket, and also put in your collection."
"You're going to see a lot of this kind of change over the next 10 to 15 years," said Ute Wartenberg Kagan, executive director of the American Numismatic Society, in a separate interview. "There has been a total revolution in looking at every denomination."
Another design this year
Popular interest in the buffalo nickel release is running particularly high, Fore said. The American bison on the reverse of the new design is not an exact copy of the one on the beloved buffalo nickel, minted from 1913 to 1938, but it's close enough to spark fond memories for those of a certain age.
And unlike the first two nickels in the series, this one also features an entirely new image of Thomas Jefferson on the "heads" side -- a close view of his right profile, with the word "Liberty" in his own hand.
The new buffalo nickel will be minted for six months, with as many as 650 million coins eventually entering circulation. The fourth and final Lewis and Clark nickel, with a view of the Pacific, will be minted soon.
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