The United States Mint is set to honor the invaluable contributions of working dogs to American society with gold, silver, and clad commemorative coins slated for release in 2027.
President Biden signed the Working Dog Commemorative Coin Act (Public Law No: 118-109) into law on Nov. 25, paving the way for the U.S. Mint to produce three types of coins in 2027 under the direction of the Department of the Treasury:
- $5 Gold Coins: Capped at 50,000 pieces, each weighing 8.359 grams with 90% gold content.
- $1 Silver Coins: Limited to 500,000 pieces, each weighing 26.73 grams with at least 90% silver.
- Half-Dollar Clad Coins: Restricted to 750,000 pieces, each weighing 11.34 grams.
These coins will be offered in both proof and uncirculated finishes during a one-year release period starting Jan. 1, 2027.
Their designs will symbolize the diverse contributions of working dogs, including their roles in detection, military service, therapy, and assistance. Each coin would bear inscriptions such as "Liberty," "In God We Trust," "United States of America," and "E Pluribus Unum."
The Secretary of the Treasury will select the designs after consulting with America’s VetDogs and the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA). The designs would also be reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC).
Introduced on Feb. 2, 2023, by Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (R-NC), H.R. 807, the Working Dog Commemorative Coin Act, cleared the House on May 21 and received Senate approval on Nov. 19. Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC), introduced a companion bill, S.711, on March 8, 2023.
"Working dogs are deeply embedded in our daily lives here on Capitol Hill and in those of countless veterans, active-duty military personnel, and law enforcement officers across the nation," Congressman Patrick McHenry said in a statement. "I thank the America’s VetDogs team for their work to get this bill passed. Without the leadership of Senator Budd and the bipartisan collaboration from our colleagues across the aisle, this would not have been possible. The Working Dog Commemorative Coin Act is more than just a coin bill, it’s about improving the quality of life of our wounded veterans and first responders and honoring the service dogs who make that possible – something we all can get behind."
"Working dogs help our nation’s active-duty service members, veterans, and first responders recover from injury, enhance their independence, and improve their lives," said Sen Budd. "I commend the Senate and House for passing our bipartisan bill. This commemorative coin will honor the service of working dogs and provide funding to raise more service dogs for America’s heroes. I’m proud to lead this effort to give back to those who serve our country."
Each coin would be sold at a price equal to the sum of its face value, the cost of designing and issuing, plus a surcharge: $35 for each $5 gold coin, $10 per silver dollar, and $5 per half dollar. Provided the coins turn a profit, the surcharges collected would be distributed to America’s VetDogs to support the organization’s mission and cover expenses related to:
- Personnel involved in training, dog care, and meeting consumer needs.
- Consultants assisting in the training of Certified Service Dog Instructors.
- Travel, lodging, and accommodations for clients served by America’s VetDogs.
Papa Pqtten in the previous thread said: “ How did you get the circulating production numbers since the website is totally hosed? Scroll to the bottom of the main US Mint web page and under “About” you’ll see the heading for “Production and Sales Figures”. Click on “Circulating Coins Production”, then “Learn More”. Link below for convenience.
https://www.usmint.gov/about/production-sales-figures/circulating-coins-production
Reports always used to be found by entering in the Sunday date. Now, for anything after Aug 18, 2024 it is the Monday date (except for a week after a holiday it’s the Tuesday date). And no report since Nov 18 (ending Nov 17). Let’s see if there’s one issued later today.
Also, it used to be easy to print a report. Not anymore. Now you have to do it in increments.
CaliSkier, in answer to a previous thread, Cyber Monday came and went.
Major D,
I’m guessing this has to do with a hoped for Mint surprise that didn’t materialize.
750clad. Really, does anyone anywhere have a,clue? 50k gold and FHG17.5k became 7 available. Perhaps this will be the jumping of the shark
John Q. Coinage,
750K clad is the standard mintage with commemorative coins. Always a pipedream.
My wife and I love, love our dogs. We have two females and we call them our Dogters, lol! We have no kids so our Dogters are our kids. All of our friends tell us that when they die, if they get reincarnated, they want to come back as a dog and they want my wife and I to have them. We totally spoil our Dogters. We have a “doggie door”, and the neighborhood dogs come to our house, thru the doggie door and get treats and if they want to, eat our Dogters food. One neighbor calls our house… Read more »
Agree Bob on the coins, etc.
Thanks for the story about your “family”!
I would have no problem being neighbors with y’all !
Rick and AKBob,
I see the Mint has firmly grabbed the leash of the expression “going to the dogs”.
I was waiting for someone to say that.
Bada bing, bada boom.
E 1,
As the Bounty Hunter said upon having just shot the Plantation Owner in the movie Django Unchained, “I just couldn’t help myself.”
It’s too bad, Kaiser. Dogs are much better than people IMO. Kinder, fairer, more loyal. And when there’s a bad one, it’s the owner’s fault for making it that way.
Major D,
To be fair, there are good people and bad people just like there are good dogs and bad dogs.
What strikes me as both strange and amazing is that all breeds of dogs are exactly that, bred by mankind from one single animal to be what they are now. Humans playing at being gods.
Reminds me of the old joke. Who loves me more, my wife or my dog? Lock both in the trunk of my car for 3 hours. When I open it up, who’s more happy to see me?
Major D,
I would wager anybody locked in a trunk for three hours wouldn’t have very warm feelings toward the person who did that to them. Just sayin’.
Leave it to me to get the punchline wrong. It should be “Guess who’s more happy to see me?” Suffice to say, not a very good joke. But I’d bet my dog would still wag its tail regardless.
Major D,
Not to worry. I couldn’t tell a joke correctly if my life depended on it. By the way, in my salad days I ran into more than one lady who wagged her tail at me and all it got me was trouble.
The likelihood of any contribution reaching the intended parties is very low. I’d rather make a direct contribution to the organization (which is very deserving.)
DAVESWFL,
Excellent comment AND excellent idea to give a Direct Contribution!!
DAVESWFL,
With the low sales numbers attached to commemorative coins these days I wonder if any organization gets much of if any contribution at all from the US Mint.
It’s about time,
and nothing noteworthy(to me)
https://www.usmint.gov/about/production-sales-figures/cumulative-sales
The Mint just published its Cumulative Sales Figures for both the Data Through Week Ending December 2, 2024 and Data Through Week Ending
November 25, 2024. Interestingly, the 2024 FLOWING HAIR 24K GOLD PROOF 1 OZ sales through 12/1/2024 = 9,978.
Thanks Rich, I just saw this as well.
Looks like one of the biggest sales leader is the 2024 proof set. Going from sales of 324,297 on 11-17 to 330,490 on 11-24 and 338,092 on 12-1. Based on the available count on Oct 16 (when it was accessible) plus sales as of Oct 13, I calculated a mintage of 417,128 +/- so there should still be about 79K left in inventory.
Major D and Rich,
Now that I’ve scaled back about 90% on my Mint purchases, I find that the annual Proof Set is my favorite remaining product with the Uncirculated Mint Set coming in second. I’ve lowered my expectations and raised my satisfaction.
Kaiser, I agree with you. Compared to the premiums on silver and gold numi coins and medals, the clad annual sets seem worthwhile even when 12x (for proof set) or 5x (for unc set) over face value.
from the article: “Provided the coins turn a profit, the surcharges collected would be distributed to America’s VetDogs to support the organization’s mission”
so just exactly how many do they have to sell to ‘turn a profit’?
Don’t get me started on the Mint’s accounting procedures….
c_q, I’ve never seen an accounting for how much the organizations receive, if anything. But, based on the Mint’s expenses (direct and indirect) to design, produce, package, warehouse and ship the coins and the sales revenue collected I’d guess that the sales have to be considerable– this based on the Mint’s annual reports showing commemoratives usually at a negative net income in which case the org would get zero.