Mailboxes are filling with Christmas-themed mail. Many collectors are getting an extra piece from the United States Mint. The agency’s traditional holiday catalog started mailing last week.
Entitled "2014 Gift Ideas," it includes 24 pages filled with a few dozen of the U.S. Mint’s most popular products. Sometimes catalogs offer tidbits of information not yet or only recently reviewed. In that aspect, this latest piece offers no new revelations.
It does prominently feature the 2014 Coin and Chronicles Set scheduled to launch on Dec. 22. Interestingly, it doesn’t talk about the 2014 Coin and Discovery Set which goes on sale Dec. 16 and could be an ideal gift. That seems to suggest that the Mint wasn’t sure when the set would be listed for sale until very recently.
Early on, the catalog features a spread on the 2014 commemorative coins to include the curve-shaped National Baseball Hall of Fame Half-Dollars. As a reminder and call-to-action, the page is titled: "Last Chance! These Commemorative Coins are Available Only in 2014!"
Towards the end is a section showing some of the Mint’s newer bronze medals. It’s nice to these highlighted.
One thing that’s a minor annoyance about the catalog is its political correctness. While obviously themed as gift ideas for Christmas — it includes images of ribbons, tree bulbs, golden presents, etc., there’s nowhere in it where you’ll find the word Christmas. This is not unique to Mint marketing of course. For years now, marketing in the United States has tended to replace "Christmas" with "holiday." It’s refreshing that other word mints, like in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, haven’t gone down the politically correct path.
All U.S. Mint collector products are available at catalog.usmint.gov.
The pc comment bothered me and I wish you had just stuck to numismatics. I get enough of politics from the media and come to this site to stay informed on numismatics.
I could go into a long dialog about the lack of “Christmas” in CHRISTMAS… But I wont except to say, Merry Christmas Mike! And anyone else who celebrates Christmas.