Comments on: No Silver at the U.S. Mint http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/silver-at-the-us-mint/2008/09/16/ An independent perspective on the Australian and global investment markets Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:27:32 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: jack carter http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/silver-at-the-us-mint/2008/09/16/comment-page-1/#comment-43736 jack carter Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:52:57 +0000 http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/?p=3717#comment-43736 Your little mystery of the price v. available of silver and gold too, is not so surprising as it may seem. Blanks for coins are really critical, and expensive to make for the Mint, which is not so good at planning. Their orders are periodic and random so they never know what a run will look like in terms of numbers or dates for shipment. No way to run a business, right? Will, yes, but it is not a business it is a monopoly which fails to capture monopoly rents, so the incentive to maximize its demand and revenues is not managed. It is what happens to fiat currency men, who really don't believe coins have a role in the economy. They may be right, but they are in the end sort of tiresome and debilitating. Worse things are coming soon. Your little mystery of the price v. available of silver and gold too, is not so surprising as it may seem. Blanks for coins are really critical, and expensive to make for the Mint, which is not so good at planning. Their orders are periodic and random so they never know what a run will look like in terms of numbers or dates for shipment.

No way to run a business, right? Will, yes, but it is not a business it is a monopoly which fails to capture monopoly rents, so the incentive to maximize its demand and revenues is not managed.

It is what happens to fiat currency men, who really don't believe coins have a role in the economy. They may be right, but they are in the end sort of tiresome and debilitating. Worse things are coming soon.

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