When it comes to design, USMint.gov takes a highly commercial approach to reaching web users and is—in a word—tasteful. The web interface is relatively easy to navigate and employs a corporate-friendly peacock blue as its primary color, complemented by a sunny gold secondary color—both of which are pulled from the Department of Treasury's shield colors. (Conspicuously absent from the pages not dedicated to e-commerce are the nation's red, white, and [darker] blue patriotic color scheme.) The splash page features a moderate amount of Flash to highlight new products and latest news—just enough to catch the eye and (thankfully) not enough to boggle the senses.

There are also pages featuring this year's array of uncirculated coins; coin proofs; silver, gold, and platinum bullions; commemorative coins and medals; and various other collectibles. Featuring a soft-focused American flag background, the online catalog is, again, relatively easy to navigate and frankly a much more pleasant experience than searching for coin bargains on eBay.

To appeal to children, there is the Mint's "h.i.p. pocket change" site, which takes the reverse approach to the main site's design—sunny gold as primary color, blue as secondary—and in general uses more Flash-animated cartoons to engage kids visually. (FYI, h.i.p. stands for "history in your pocket"—an homage to what the Mint feels coins symbolize.) Games, cartoons, and various activities bring to life American history and the connection to the prominent people who appear on US coins.

While the content is lively and interesting, there is a distinct dichotomy between the educational level of information (more upper-elementary grades and above) and the very juvenile cartoon artwork featured throughout the site, which skews for the lower elementary grades and younger. Unfortunately, the design/content oversight may confuse the younger child and alienate the older one.

As far as competition goes, there is a bevy of coin dealers—from established precious-metal dealers such as Goldline International to larger online dealers to eBay and Yahoo. The Mint distinguishes itself from the plethora of Internet dealers by offering coins for the current year only—and, naturally, only coins that are official and government sanctioned.

In an attempt to curb consumer confusion (and, in extreme cases, fraud), the Mint takes care to warn new collectors about look-alike coins produced by some private mints and dealers in its "Consumer Awareness" section. The Department of the Treasury is currently implementing regulations to curb the use of the Treasury's and Mint's names and emblems within "confusing, misleading, and deceptive advertising" by private companies.

In short, while the site does a reasonable job communicating the Mint's coin-related endeavors, a little "change" in the online experience would truly allow users to cash in.