Blanks made by Westaim were provided by the Canadian mint to the USMint during the production ramp up in 1998 and 1999 in anticipation of monetary shortages due to the Y2K event and the introduction of the new one dollar coin.
"It's going to take years to get us back to where we were, " said Vourderis, standing over hundreds of mint-green quarters that were oxidized so severely that banks won't accept them without first having them cleaned in bleach.