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Seigniorage today

The "50 State" series of quarters (25-cent coins) was launched in the U.S. in 1999. The U.S. government planned on a large number of people collecting each new quarter as it rolled out of the U.S. Mint, thus taking the pieces out of circulation[citation needed]. Each set of quarters is worth $14.00 (a complete set includes quarters for all fifty states, the five U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia). Since it costs the Mint about five cents for each 25-cent piece it produces, the government made a profit whenever someone "bought" a coin.[5] The U.S. Treasury estimates that it has earned about US$6.3 billion in seigniorage from the quarters over the course of the entire program.[6]

In some cases, national mints report the amount of seigniorage provided to their respective governments; for example, the Royal Canadian Mint reported that in 2006 it generated $C93 million in seigniorage for the Government of Canada.[7] The U.S. government, the largest beneficiary of seignorage, earned approximately $25 billion annually as of 2000.[8] For coinage only, seigniorage accruing to the U.S. Treasury per dollar issued for the fiscal year 2011 was 45 cents.[9]

Occasionally, central banks have introduced limited quantities of higher-valued banknotes in unusual denominations, with the intention of these notes being collected. The denomination chosen will usually coincide with an anniversary of national significance. However, the potential seigniorage that can be earned from such printings has proven to be limited, since the unusual denomination makes the notes more difficult to circulate and only a relatively small number of people are willing to collect higher-valued notes.

According to some reports, over half of Zimbabwe governmental revenue in 2008 was seigniorage.[10] Zimbabwe has experienced hyperinflation (see Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe), with the annualized rate at about 24,000% in July 2008 (prices doubling every 46 days).[11]

highroller4321 wrote:I highly doubt it. Millions and millions of people put together the state quarters sets. The real money was made by the people who sold the folders!