Although this is our last issue to be dated 2022, I am writing this on Dec. 7, which leaves us nearly a full month before the year’s actual end. Still, it is time to start thinking about the last 12 months.

To help us do that, I am asking all of you reading this to look back at the past year to reflect on the events of 2022, and then share your thoughts with the rest of our readers through our “Letters to the Editor” and “Guest Commentary” columns. Reader input is always welcomed.

On that point, I have noticed a disturbing drop-off in submissions to those two columns, especially during the past few months.

Part of this I think is due to a general lack of drama regarding United States Mint offerings in 2022. With a few exceptions, Mint sales were largely uneventful. Sure, some products sold out in pre-sale, and that led to some anger from customers who chose not to use that option. However, I saw little of the anger witnessed in past years when Mint products sold out in minutes amid Mint website problems. Those events invariably led to many letters from readers unhappy with Mint operations and decisions. Humans tend to write Letters to the Editor when they are mad; sales offering no drama generate a lot fewer comments from readers.

A suitable “Guest Commentary” should total from 500 to 550 words and be accompanied by an image related to the submission’s theme. If you are writing about some topic that has been in the news, we can generally provide the image from our archives.

Letters should be shorter.

When we consider whether to publish a submission, we look at its suitability: Is it on a numismatic-related topic, are the comments accurate, are they fair, do they single out a single person or business/government entity in an inappropriate manner.

We continue to require using your full name in your submission; that has been how we have done it since our founding in April 1960. Online handles are fine when commenting via Disqus for online content and posts at our Facebook page, but not for print.

The Letters to the Editor and Guest Commentary columns are your forums. Please use them.

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