Some strange things are going on in the financial sector these days. The US Mint, who used to run a buyback program for its scrap coins, has announced their efforts will remain suspended indefinitely. This means the US government has no intention to buy back its own currency, which is now mostly in the hands of coin recyclers. Not a big vote of confidence for the US Dollar by any means.
To put this into perspective, there are close to US$1m in USD coins being held by the US Bureau of Customs and Border Protection. A total of US$700,000 in shipments belonging to three different importers is being detained for no official reason. The CBP will also need to pay a US$300,000 fine for detained melted coins without due process.
US Mint Has Little Confidence In Their Own Coins
Coin recyclers are not too amused by this decision, as they are missing out on a lot of money. This decision by the US Mint is creating a lot of bad blood, and recyclers cannot melt the coins down themselves since it is illegal to do so. A response by the US Government is expected to be released soon, although these decisions will take up a lot of valuable time.
Having a currency in hand and not being able to capitalize on its value is quite frustrating. In fact, the value of these US Mint coins is simply being thrown away for no apparent reason. Even though coin recyclers are more than willing to work with the US government, they are being stonewalled beyond frustration.
One possible solution would be to clean up and sort the coins and return them to the US banking system. This would be a very time-consuming process which will result in financial losses, though. Then again, a small loss is better than seeing value wasted away with no chance of recuperating anything.
As was to be expected, the coin importers took to the legal system to get their value returned to them. Three importers are now using the US government for failing to return their inventory without due process. It is doubtful this will lead to any major shakeups, though, as the government can delay this court case as long as they want.
Whether this is a sign of no confidence in the US mint coins itself or a disinterest by the government, remains anybody’s guess/ One thing is for sure: there is no such thing as controlling one’s own assets unless you are involved in Bitcoin. That is the only global currency that puts users and owners in full control at all times.
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