December 31, 2014
The United States Mint recently released its 2014 Biennial Report to Congress on the research and development (R&D) of alternative metals for the nation’s circulating coins. This report is the second released under the Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act of 2010, Public Law 111–302, which authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct R&D on alternative metallic materials for all circulating coins, with the goal of reducing production costs. The Act also requires the Secretary to provide a biennial report to Congress on the status of coin production costs and analysis of alternative content.
“First and foremost, this Biennial Report to Congress reflects the continuing deep commitment of the Mint to reduce the cost of producing our nation’s circulating coins,” said Richard Peterson, Deputy Director of the Mint. “This year’s report also reflects the tremendous effort we made to reach out to our stakeholders — the many industries, associations and entities — that rely on circulating coins for their business operations. Obtaining their input was critical,” continued Peterson. “This report additionally highlights the many actions we’ve taken in our manufacturing operations to drive coin production costs down,” added Peterson. “We’ve achieved significant savings by delivering robust cost reduction initiatives across the full spectrum of operations.”
Each biennial R&D report must address production cost analysis, recommendations for changes to coin composition, and recommendations for changes to coin production. The United States Mint submitted its first biennial report in December 2012 and since then has continued its R&D on potential change to coin compositions as well as alternative manufacturing methods that would further reduce the costs to produce circulating coins. This report is the second biennial report as required by the Act.
For more information, see the full report that was submitted to Congress.
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