Q. David Bowers
1991 Commemorative Programs
Mrs. Pope went on to discuss programs for the year 1991: "We were asked to testify in Congress concerning new commemorative proposals. They had several ideas, the anniversary of the death of Benjamin Franklin being one of them. Everybody has his or her own idea to use coins for fund raising. We make suggestions to Congress on what will or won't sell, but they don't always listen. We learned early on that the 1991 legislation would feature Mount Rushmore, the Korean War, Ben Franklin, and the USO. There was discussion of 1992 Olympic coins as well. We told them that the Mount Rushmore would be the best seller. Several years ago when Congress wanted to mint 1988 Olympic coins for the games to be held in Korea, I told them there would be a problem be-cause we weren't hosting the games. Congress went ahead with the authorization. The situation was frowned upon by many. We didn't market the 1988 Olympic coins outside of the United States because the U.S. Olympic Committee could not get the approval needed from the International Committee because it was frowned upon if a major non-host country made a coin.
"We told Congress we thought Columbus would be a better topic than the Olympics in 1992 because of the activities that are planned and sanctioned in connection with the 500th anniversary of Columbus' landing in America. Even though we told them that the Mount Rushmore was the most marketable, they passed the 1991 Korean War and USO coins as well. In addition to acting against our advice, Congress suggested unrealistically high mintage quotas. After our subsequent testimony they were willing to lower them. One key congressman was especially cooperative and even changed the starting date to later in the year, as this gave us time to finish the Mount Rushmore coins first.
"Congress is beginning to listen. They realize that we do have quite a bit of experience concerning what the public wants and will buy. They are lowering the mint-ages as you can see in the Korean coin. Of course, I remember painfully the first Olympic program where there were some 52,000,000 coins authorized. Then there was the situation of so many 1776-1976 Bicentennial [regular issue] coins being minted. Sales of these went on and on for years until I put a stop to that. Otherwise, sales of Bicentennial coins would have gone on forever .... "
Mrs. Pope then replied to a question asking whether the assistance of outside advertising agencies with Mint programs was beneficial: "Definitely yes, and also no. Definitely yes when it comes to outside agencies putting together good-looking, quality brochures. When I first came to the Mint in 1981 I was appalled at some of the literature that was going out. I was always very careful to associate myself with quality. I did not see that in some of the things the Mint was sending out to their customers. These brochures were designed in house, and as we did not have the facilities, there was only so much that could be done. I finally insisted that we get some outside graphic artists to help us, and we got out some nicer looking brochures.
When we went into the Olympic Program with 52,000,000 coins, we had to go beyond the Mint mailing list. We had to go to outside agencies, as we could not get the expertise in-house to sell such a staggering quantity. We were not in a position to enlarge our staff to develop a large graphics and marketing staff, for we did not know whether there would be other commemorative programs after the Olympic coins were finished."
In reply to this question, "Do you think it is a good idea to have some sort of an 'automatic' commemorative program with four to five issues each year-similar to the stamp program of the Post Office?" Mrs. Pope commented: "That would be too many coins. You cannot compare coins to stamps because coins are a lot more expensive. It is difficult to gear up and buy all of the necessary packaging, even with a procurement exemption [whereby, because of fast deadlines, certain competitive bidding procedures can be eliminated]. It would be hard to get the advertising, brochures, and printing out for so many coins. The timing needed to launch and implement a commemorative program successfully is incredible. We are having a difficult time now to make sure we can get three commemorative coins introduced as well as do a Proof and Uncirculated mailing by the end of the 1991 year and also produce the eagle bullion coins.
"I have heard in my contacts with collectors that the collecting community wants only one to two commemoratives per year. We do not want to produce more commemoratives than collectors-who represent our main market-are happy with. We suggested and the Treasury has recommended that there be only one commemorative coin a year. We also suggested that the secretary of the Treasury put forth a five-year plan for what commemorative to do each year. In that way we would be able to do some market research as to which design is most appealing. Also this would give us more time to solicit competitive designs for the coins and to do all of the work needed. I recall that a few years ago we had our hands full with the American eagle gold and silver bullion program, the Statue of Liberty coin program, and then we had to be geared up for the 1987 Constitution Bicentennial coins." (In April 1991 it was announced that Mrs. Pope would leave her post as director of the Mint in August 1991.)
Production and Distribution
The program, limited only to silver dollars, was fulfilled with coins struck at the Philadelphia (proof finish coins) and Denver (Uncirculated finish) mints. The first-strike ceremony for the issue was held at the Philadelphia Mint on May 6, 1991, with numerous Mint and numismatic personalities on hand. Representing the Treasury were Donna Pope and Treasurer Catalina Vasquez Villalpando. Retired U.S. Army General Richard G. Stilwell represented veterans of the Korean War.
Two purchase options were offered: (1) Proof 1991-P silver dollar: $28 if ordered by May 31, 1991, and $31 if ordered later. Packaged in a velvet-lined hinged presentation case.
(2) Uncirculated 1991-D silver dollar: $23 if ordered by May 31, 1991, and $26 if ordered later. Packaged in a gift box.
A separate leaflet was sent with other literature to the Mint mailing list and was titled "In the Event of a Sellout." The text noted: "With the lowest [authorized] mintage of any commemorative silver dollar since the resumption of commemorative coins in 1982, the U.S. Mint is concerned about the possibility of a sellout of the Korean War Memorial coin. (It was at the Mint's request that Congress reduced the authorization to just one million coins.) The Mint reserves the right to limit quantities and may stop accepting orders at any time. Orders received after a sellout will be returned, and charges will not be assessed against credit cards .... "
Another piece of Mint sales literature contained this inducement: "Not since the Lafayette dollar of 1900 has a commemorative silver dollar had an authorized mintage this limited. With congressional authorization for a total minting of only one million coins, just how extraordinary will the Korean War Memoral coin be? Six of seven commemorative silver dollars since 1983 have sold more than 1,000,000 coins .... Limited mintage increases the likelihood of a sellout .... " (The 1989 Congress Bicentennial dollar was the one of seven recent dollars whose mintage fell short of the million mark.)