Is it possible we're doing what the Mint ultimately wants?
They want to get these coins into circulation, i.e., out of their warehouses.
We buy them, in some cases unwrap them, and turn them into banks.
The banks probably keep and reuse some, and send most up to the Federal Reserve Bank branch in their area.
The Fed can use them in a host of situations, once it has them.
So the Fed gets most without asking for them. The Mint is basically pushing them to the Fed. Maybe that's the point?