Also from USA Today --
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2010-10-07-quarter07_ST_N.htmNational park quarters hard to find; blame the slow economyBy Sandra Block, USA TODAY
When the Arizona state quarter was issued two years ago, Carolina Butler of Scottsdale, Ariz., gave rolls of the quarters to her children, grandchildren — even her plumber.
So Butler was delighted to learn that Congress had authorized the U.S. Mint to issue coins honoring 56 national parks, including the Grand Canyon. "A roll of quarters costs $10," she says. "They make the best gifts."
Since April, the Mint has introduced quarters commemorating Hot Springs, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Grand Canyon national parks. But while the Grand Canyon quarter was released last month, Butler has been unable to find a single Grand Canyon coin. Her bank, Wells Fargo, told her it hasn't received any of the quarters. It seems the economic downturn is to blame.
GET MORE INFO: Buy quarters, see upcoming coins and release dates
During recessions, cash-strapped consumers raid their piggy banks and other sources of loose change, says Beth Deisher, editor of Coin World magazine. That puts more old quarters into the system, reducing demand for new ones.
That certainly appears to be what's happening now. As of August, the Federal Reserve had 3.2 billion quarters in inventory, which is sufficient to meet estimated demand for the next four years. "The Fed is holding a whole lot of inventory, and banks aren't demanding it," says Mint spokesman Michael White.
By contrast, the 50 State Quarters Program, which lasted from 1999 through 2008, was a huge numismatic success. By the end of the program, an estimated 147 million people had collected state quarters, says Mint spokesman Gordon Hume.
The dearth of national park quarters is "very frustrating, especially for collectors, because they can't get the coins at their local bank," Deisher says. "It's really a shame because the whole idea is a circulating commemorative that you could get at face value."
Collectors who don't want to wait until the Fed reduces its inventory can buy national park quarters from the Mint, but they'll have to pay more than face value. A two-roll set of 80 Grand Canyon National Park quarters costs $32.95, according to the Mint's website.
That's more than Butler is willing to pay. "I'm not a collector," she says. "I'm just a grandma."
And here is are album--
Franklin has them
P&D that is!
Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 2:29 am
I was admiring the album pages that he showed and even went on line to see if I could find the album. I figured that I'd get the album for my son. Couldn't find an album whose pages looked like those.