A synopsis has been issued by the United States Mint seeking to determine potential business sources for a new coin encapsulation system at the U.S. Mint facility in West Point.
The synopsis was published last week on the Federal Business Opportunities website (fbo.gov) and seeks capabilities statements from interested businesses with an eventual plan to issue a draft Request For Proposal (RFP) within 120 days.
Approximately 1.8 million coins are encapsulated annually at the West Point Mint according to the synopsis. After striking, numismatic coins are manually inserted into plastic capsules which are then placed into display cases.
It is this process for which the U.S. Mint is seeking an automated option. The new system would be used exclusively for gold, silver, and platinum numismatic products. U.S. Mint quality standards require that there be no visible dust, marks, abrasions, or scratches on coins or capsules.
Requirements for the new system demand that it be turn-key and self-contained. The automated coin encapsulation equipment would serve as a secondary unit to add capacity to one already in use at West Point. As space is considered a premium, especially at the West Point facility, the unit is required to meet specified United States Mint constraints.
In addition, it must require no more than two employees to run. Finally, the equipment must not interfere with current U.S. Mint operations and meet a minimum run rate.
Businesses with potential interest in creating the new encapsulation unit for the U.S. Mint should submit a brief capabilities statement package. The statement should be no more than 10 pages in length.
In the statement, the U.S. Mint is looking for relevant experience with no more than two recent comparable projects. The details of those projects should be included such as contract value and contractor or sub-contractor status.
Requested information should be submitted no later than 2:00 PM (EST) on Friday, December 7, 2012 in a Microsoft Word format to Cecily.Dennis@usmint.treas.gov.
I wish the Mint would start minting more 24K coins along the lines of the Buffalo 1oz. Buffalo coin. I think a 1oz. 24K Mercury Dime or gold Morgan Dollar repronduction would be fantastic! Other countries like Canada, Australia and others have a host of 22k and 24K line up of various coins. I think it would be fantastic for the US Mint too follow suit. Give it some serious thought Please!
There may be a palladium eagle in 2013 though the results of the study commissioned to determine it’s practicality were never published (that I saw) or maybe it was cancelled by Dep Dir I-can’t-handle-change-and-I’m-not-going-to-communicate Peterson.
Danny, I agree that a variety of coins would add interest. As gold keeps increasing, will the average Joe be buying one oz coins? Or would fractional coins be an option?
Price-wise, I wonder if I’ll be able to keep collecting all the five oz ATB silver coins through the end of the series….but that’s why they’re called ” precious” metals, I guess!