POINT: The Assay Commission Has Outlived Its Usefulness

NOTE: Recently, a proposal was made to revive the U.S. Assay Commission, a now-eliminated longstanding committee of American citizens which met each year to examine random samples of United States coinage for conformity to standards.

Collectors Universe presents an article arguing against bringing back the Commission. For the the other side of this issue, click here to read “COUNTERPOINT: Why We Need An Assay Commission" by Ed Reiter.

There has been a lot of hoopla recently, especially among some special interest groups, regarding resurrecting the rather dead US Assay Commission to ensure that the precious metal content of our coins is consistent with the law.

While some people, especially those interested in sitting on such a prestigious committee, are lobbying to bring back the commission -- in a day and age when first, we don’t have precious metal coins in circulation and second, coins are checked by computer before leaving the Mint -- the Royal Canadian Mint is demonstrating why such a commission just isn’t necessary.

Rather than arguing how we can spend more taxpayer money so a few well-placed coin collectors and politicians can enjoy sitting on a non-functional committee at the expense of all the others, perhaps the US Mint should be seeking certification from the International Organization for Standardization. The RCM was recently awarded certification by this organization.

The RCM received its ISO 9001 certification for its Ottawa facility on March 10. This is the facility where the RCM strikes its bullion and commemorative precious metal coins. Circulation coins are struck at Winnipeg. Winnipeg received ISO 9002 certification in June 1999. [Editor’s note: ISO 9001 and ISO 9002 are part of an international set of quality control standards.]

According to an RCM statement, “The Royal Canadian Mint is one of only a few Mints in the world to have ISO certification. ISO 9001 signifies the Royal Canadian Mint meets and is committed to maintaining the external quality standards of the International Organization for Standardization in the design manufacture, minting, and distribution of numismatic coins, medals, jewelry and precious metal coins, and in the refining of gold for Canadian and foreign markets.”

This isn’t something dropped in the lap of the RCM. The Mint employed G.R. Technologies to accompany a Mint team to oversee documentation of Mint practices and procedures consistent with ISO specified performance standards for all areas of the operation. A third party was responsible for verifying the Ottawa facility met all ISO 9001 certification requirements.

To maintain such a certificate, the Mint will be subject to semiannual reviews and a full re-certification process every three years. This is more than what an assay commission can accomplish. This is a full audit of Mint procedures.

RCM President Danielle Wetherup was pleased. She said, “This is a milestone achievement for the Mint. It symbolizes the Mint's commitment to maintaining and improving our position in the global marketplace. Thanks to the dedication and tireless commitment of our staff, both our Winnipeg and Ottawa production facilities are now ISO certified industry leaders.”

Now, here comes the logical question for those Americans lobbying for revival of the US Assay Commission. We have a Bureau of Weights and Measures. We can arrange for the US Mint to apply for an ISO certification. Why would we want to re-invent the wheel through an American version of the antiquated British Trial of the Pyx?

The ISO certification is sort of an internationally recognized Bureau of Weights and Measures diploma. Both of these organizations are capable of checking the specifications of any of our coins if we don’t trust the computers alongside every coining machine to do the job.

So, readers, what do you think? Should the U.S. Assay Commission be revived or not? Click here to read the other side of the story if you haven't already done so. Then send us your thoughts at [email protected] by March 30. We'll publish the results of our poll in a future article.

Richard Giedroyc is a numismatic writer, researcher, auction cataloger and coin dealer. He has been in the hobby and business most of his life, now having more than three decades experience in this fascinating hobby field. During this time Giedroyc has been the owner of Paris Bergman Galleries, owner of Classical Coin Newsletter, international editor of Coin World and owner of Giedroyc-Anderson Interesting World Coins. He is currently a numismatic consultant. He has written more than 2,000 byline numismatic stories and contributed to several coin catalogs.