Posted on 11/26/2006 9:44:48 PM PST by Atlas Sneezed
Remember the Eisenhower Dollar? Now that was a dollar’s dollar. It was twice as big as a quarter and felt heavier than it really was and when you had one in your pocket, you knew it was there. One of the reasons that later dollar-coin attempts failed was that their size shrank to smaller than a 50-cent piece. This caused the Susan B. Anthony coin to be nicknamed the “Carter Quarter” because so many people were spending them as 25-cent pieces by mistake.
Despite past failures, the U.S. Mint announced at a ceremony at The Smithsonian Institution on Monday that they would try again. They will begin circulating a new dollar coin on February 15, 2007. It will still be the same size as the 1979 Susan B. Anthony and the 2000-2002 Sacajawea. The coin will also be made of the same gold colored material as the Sacajawea with an additonal compound added to the metal to keep it from tarnishing as fast as its predecessor did.
The new dollars are set to feature the past Presidents of the United States in order from George Washington to Richard M. Nixon. Instead of a textured or ridged edge, the smooth rim will now hold such features as the mintmark, the date of striking, and the mottos “In God We Trust” and "E Pluribus Unum.” The design change is intended to allow space for larger portraits of the Presidents on the obverse side, and the Statue of Liberty on the reverse.
For the first time the coin will say “$1” instead of “One Dollar.”
The criteria for the presidents is that they must have been dead two years to be featured, so the current list will end at Richard M. Nixon. Grover Cleveland will actually be featured on two different coins because he held office in two non-consecutive terms.
The coins will be distributed every three months starting next year with Washington. Despite the fact that the mint has a three-and-a-half year stockpile of over $200 million worth of the Sacajawea coins, political pressure will force them to continue minting the Sacajawea coins at the same time.
The current distribution schedule is for each coin to be circulated for three months, and then the next will appear in sequence as follows:
2007
George Washington John Adams Thomas Jefferson James Madison
2008
James Monroe John Quincy Adams Andrew Jackson Martin Van Buren
2009
William Henry Harrison John Tyler James K. Polk Zachary Taylor
2010
Millard Fillmore Franklin Pierce James Buchanon Abraham Lincoln
2011
Andrew Johnson Ulysses S. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes James A. Garfield
2012
Chester A. Arthur Grover Cleveland Benjamin Harrison Grover Cleveland
2013
William McKinley Theodore Roosevelt William H. Taft Woodrow Wilson
2014
Warren Harding Calvin Coolidge Herbert Hoover Franklin D. Roosevelt
2015
Harry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson
2016
Richard M. Nixon
The paper U.S. dollar bill has always been a problem for the mint. A coin is more durable and lasts longer, making it more cost effective. However since the demise of the Eisenhower Dollar coin, the public has mostly rejected all of its smaller replacements. It is speculated that replacing the dollar bill with a coin could save the U.S. $500 million annually in printing costs, not counting the periodic security redesigns. Canada and various European countries have successfully eliminated their basic currency paper notes, but resistance is strong against such a move by the United States. An additional factor in the opposition of a dollar coin replacing the paper bill is that a stack of $100 in “singles” is relatively light, compared to a pocket weighed down by the same amount of coins.
Some have speculated that the new coins were intentionally designed to go directly into collections, instead of everyday commerce, making the U.S. dollar more scarce and thus more valuable. Other studies have shown that the only way the American public would accept dollar coins is if the paper currency were completely taken out of circulation.
The timing would seem to indicate that the announcement was held up until after the November 2006 elections. The religious right wing of the Republican Party is sure to be outraged when they notice that “In God We Trust,” while still on the coin, is no longer featured prominently.
In a side announcement, there will also be a release of 24-karat $10 pieces featuring the First Ladies at the end of 2007, and also the penny will be redesigned four times in 2009 to honor Abraham Lincoln.
In my opinion, we don't need more coins, we need fewer, and an acknowldgement of the reality of inflation. There is no need for a coin or to deminiate transactions in amounts less than the value of a minute of a minum wage worker's time (a dime).
Simply changing the coinage to values of a tenth dollar, a half dollar, and a dollar would be quite adequate, and even leave room for a useful $5 coin.
Of course we could drop the $1 and $2 bills, and let there be overlap with both $5 bill and coin.
political pressure will force them to continue minting the Sacajawea coins
Huh?
also the penny will be redesigned four times in 2009 to honor Abraham Lincoln.
About time. Writing out the value of the currency in English has to be one of the dumbest things done by the US Mint. It makes it very difficult for tourists to try to figure out our currency. I think the US is the only country in the world does it.
The folks at the Taco Bell who can barely give change when the register tells them the amount will have a devil of a time rounding (in either direction) with the elimination of pennies. Convenience stores and some ofther places use penny cups, that work out well.
I'll believe that a penny is insignificant when gas stations no longer charge to the tenth of a penny.
Coins can be difficult for some uses.
They will be collected. Few will be spent.
Reagan can't appear until Ford and Carter pass?
When was the last time you saw a digit in the tenth of cent space that was not "9"? If it were really significant, it would any of the digits from 0-9.
When was the last time you saw a digit in the tenth of cent space that was not "9"? If it were really significant, it would have any of the digits from 0-9.
They are going to reintroduce GOLD COINS!!!??
Look at a dollar bill. Yes it says "one dollar" but the number one appears in all four corners of both sides in large text! There is nothing confusing about it.
The Nixon coin would be minted in 2016. By that time if President Ford is still alive, he would be 102 years and 5.5 months old. Jimmy Carter would be 91 years and 3 months old at the beginning of 2016.
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