Sales of three annually issued proof sets have been delayed because of a packaging error, the United States Mint said today.
One of the sets was released earlier this month and had to be pulled from Mint store shelves. The other two had not yet been placed on sale. The three collector sets affected include:
- 2016 America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set
- 2016 Proof Set
- 2016 Silver Proof Set
The quarters proof set had launched on Jan. 11. It was available for a short time until the error was discovered and its sales suspended. Customers that received the set may return it for replacement.
The Error
All three sets have proof coins that are placed in protective lenses that ship inside of illustrated boxes. The printing error was found on the box for the quarters. Specifically, an incorrect image of the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park was used. The park is one of the five national sites commemorated on 2016 quarters with a unique reverse design. The same error also affected the other two sets.
Expected Release Timeframe
The 2016 Proof Set was originally scheduled to launch on Feb. 29. The release date for the 2016 Silver Proof Set had yet to be announced. April is now the target month for all three sets.
"We expect all three products to be available for sale in the April timeframe," Tom Jurkowsky, director of the U.S. Mint’s Office of Corporate Communications, said in an e-mail statement. "The Mint deeply regrets the error and any inconvenience it has caused to its customers," he added.
Look to the Mint’s online schedule for updated release dates as they become available.
Gosh, thought for a moment we had a real error in a piece of enclosed currency. Oh well, one can dream.
I guess the Mint folks responsible for this were too busy doing something else.
It still doesn’t explain why the Silver ATB proof set was error free, since isn’t it supposed to come out before the full fledged regular proof sets? And wouldn’t it use the same cover box as the clad ATB proof set?
Or is it that I may be off here since I don’t collect ATB proof sets and stopped buying the regular silver proof sets after 2014 …
I think the silver quarter set is also affected they just missed it in their press release.
I can understand errors can happen but I cannot understand the delay on the regular proof set – our company could easily have them new boxes in two weeks or so – they are pushing back a Feb 29 release date into April.
Very collectable error for a box.
@David
“I think the silver quarter set is also affected they just missed it in their press release.”
Par for the course with the MInt …. last year 2015, they released the clad ATB proof set on Feb 3rd, followed by the Silver ATB proof set on Feb 20th …..
the full clad proof set was released March 24th, followed by the silver on May 14th …
Mike Unser – Thanks for the update on these sets. But the article doesn’t say exactly what the specific image error is. I have been to Kentucky a number of times, but not to the Cumberland Gap national park. What site does the error photo on the packaging depict? The U.S. Mint has produced error coins since it’s beginnings over 200 years ago as we all know, but with all the modern computer technology available today at the Mint & at its outside contracted vendors, it is still producing errors – mainly in packaging, booklets & COAs in recent years.… Read more »
And this error would not have occurred if only the Mint had kept using its plain vanilla packaging. I checked my silver proof sets from 1999 (when I got hooked on the statehood quarters) and it wasn’t until 2013 that the Mint started using full color boxes along with full color photos including each state’s parks. All at an increase in printing cost of course and guess who they pass it along to?
Ooops I just made an error myself, Seth already posted the costing stuff before I did …
An incorrect image? Does that mean it’s not the image of Cumberland Gap they wanted to use or not an image of Cumberland Gap at all? For myself I don’t even look at the pictures on the box – it’s the coins I’m collecting. Still, just more evidence in my mind that a bureaucrat in the position of “Principal Deputy Director” serves no other purpose than to draw his paycheck. We need an actual Director of the Mint whose job it is to run the mint and take responsibility for the mint and the quality of it’s coins and associated… Read more »
The photo of the falls is located in the State Park, not the Cumberland Gap National Historic Park which is to the east a ways from the falls.
If that really matters, it’s in the neighborhood
Keep Calm & Stack On! –
Thanks for answering my question about the exact location of the color photo the Mint used in error on this new product. Does the Mint not have access to Google maps & images!? Simply amazing & a sad situation really.
-NumisDudeTX
Even more bizarre–the pictures on the box don’t always reflect the actual coin images anyway.
I sent a nasty note to the Secretary of the Treasury about Jeppson and his incompetencies regarding the poor quality of the American Liberty High Relief Gold Coin and the delaying of the silver Twains and these three coin sets. I expect he’ll never see it but maybe, just maybe, whoever does read it may mention something to Secretary Lew. Since the ATB quarters proof set is the only one that got out I’m wondering if there might be a premium for the error package. Kinda like a premium for a special piece of paper (e.g. first strike) with a… Read more »
jim –
Good for you for writing Jeppson’s boss with your complaints! U.S. Mint Principal Deputy Director Matthew Rhett Jeppson is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, so you don’t want to piss him off in person! Lol. But his boss Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Jack Lew is an intelligent, reasonable man & all U.S. Mint executives answer to him. Let us know if you get a response from the boss! Thanks Jim.
-NumisDudeTX
I just used the Send a Message to the Secretary web page which has no sender information and I didn’t include my email in the message, so no response expected. I did write on paper a note to Geithner complaining about Peterson, Jeppson’s predecessor. If nobody else wrote then my letter was the impetus to reinstate the product schedule which Peterson stopped doing once he took over. Little good it does these days with so many TBDs but still a general idea is better than none at all. The Send a Message to the Secretary web page is an easy… Read more »
@Seth Riesling
Too bad that ex-Marine is not seen to be running a tight ship, or running any ship at all, even though he is the captain. IMO he could give the Marines a bad name if he keeps “managing” the Mint this way.
Tinto – I agree with your comments that the U.S. Mint’s ship basically has a hole in it & is taking on water fast! Principal Deputy Director Matthew Rhett Jeppson is part of the government’s executive service division coming from the U.S. Small Business Administration, which is ironic since the Mint is NOT a small business of course & is the largest Mint in the world. From the number of things that have gone wrong since he came to the Mint, his “leadership” is certainly in question. And he is not a numismatist to add insult to injury. His spokesman… Read more »
Both Peterson and Jeppson have failed in their job as Deputy Director of the Mint. But it’s not all their fault. You can blame our do-nothing Senate for stalling and failing to do their job to advise and consent on Presidential appointments including among other positions Director of the US Mint.
The mint needs to PULL ALL 2015 proof and silver AtB products immediately.
The 2015 product packaging for Bombay Hook shows a heron walking on a picturesque sandy beach adjacent to beautiful blue water.
Wrong State! And misrepresentative photo of Bombay Hook…, Ain’t no beautiful sandy beach and certainly no blue water in the vicinity of that locale.., not where that water is flowing from…
Pull It!
Hey, we all get new packaging now! Hehe… ;7
Mike Unser & all CoinNews readers – I learned yesterday that 12,000 of these brand new 1st day issue 2016 ATB quarters error packaging with wrong photo sets were sold & shipped to customers before ANYONE at the U.S. Mint from top to bottom noticed the major photo error! Does that give anyone confidence that the U.S. Mint in on the right track!? They are also still reprinting (at their outside vendor) all Mark Twain silver $ Proof & Uncirculated COAs which were all printed with a major historical factual error also! All of these major errors happened in just… Read more »
Seth Riesling-
Nice work on finding out that 12000 were sold.
Is it possible that it really isn’t the picture, but to cast a shadow to a mint error? Has anyone looked closely at thier coins? Does anyone see something strange with the “A” in Shawnee on the Illinois coin? What do you think?
Joe – Thanks for your nice comment on my last post on this U.S. Mint coin set article on January 23. I just happened to be speaking with an editor of the largest coin publication in the world on another coin topic & just asked him if he knew how many error printing sets were sold & shipped to U.S. Mint customers & he had just gotten off the phone with the Mint spokesman before I called him, so I lucked out with the new info on this error set sales numbers. With 40 years as a numismatist (collector &… Read more »
So here’s where I’m at. With technology today, you will very rarely get major errors. Sure if I loop any coin long enough I can find something and call it a “Vam”. Case in point. The 2008 silver eagle reverse of 2007. In 30 years of silver eagle minting, that’s it. hundreds of millions minted and only something like 30K made it to market. So what’s my point? Simple, the best one can hope is the occasional human error like the packaging on these 2016 proof quarters. PS- I guess I was one of the lucky 12,000 because I am… Read more »
And so now the packaging (something which nobody cared about before) begins to add value to the coin set. I wonder how the graders will acknowledge the mistake in packaging.
I’m a novice numismatist (collecting only US Mint commemoratives and subscriptions that I like). I received one of these misprinted 2016 ATB Quarters Proof Set. I called the mint today about returning it and the agent actually brought to my attention about the possible increase in value. So, I’m online researching this and came across this discussion. Just to indicate my lack of experience and knowledge, I hadn’t even realized they were referencing the packaging, and not the coin itself. Since I’ve apparently not received a misprinted coin or packaging before (at least that I’m aware of), is it better… Read more »
Just received the 2016 Nixon Dollar cover set, one minted first day of mintage in Denver and one in Philadelphia. I’m not a Coin expert but I can tell the difference between these coins. The one from Denver looks like it’s almost proof like compared to the one from Philadelphia Mint.