Give Thanks To Who? New US Coins Hide "In God We Trust"

Raiders News Network ^ | Nov 22nd, 2006 | Jet in Columbus

[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.

[Kirkwood]

"Parking meters are long gone in many cities."

"Really? Tell that to Chicago."

I didn't say all cities have the kiosks. I said many cities. Yeesh!

[Churchillspirit]

Our notes in England are different widths for different values.

I have often wondered how blind people in the US distinguish one bill from another.

[sittnick]

Our notes in England are different widths for different values.

I have often wondered how blind people in the US distinguish one bill from another.

I suspect that they cannot. Unfortunately, blind people are going to be largely at the mercy of merchants decency when ringing up totals anywhere. That would include credit/debit card purchases.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Carter is pretty skinny and has access to superb medical care. I wouldn't be at all shocked to see him hit 100, getting him to 2025.

[Atlas Sneezed]

>>They don't round to the nearest dime. Gee you want to get rid of nickles, too? I think you are going to have to found your own country.

I have yet to hear any rational reason to denominate commercial transactions to anything smaller than a tenth of a dollar. And without the nickel, you can then drop the quarter, and the whole digit.

>>The difference between the 1/2 penny and the penny and nickle is that these are useful measurements to have in any decimal system.

Like what? What do you buy that needs top be denominated in nickels?

>>You might think that people are happy to move over the decimal point. They are not. I love to stump my Canadian friends by asking them what a decimeter is.

The metric system has nothing to do with eliminating puny coins. You should look at the British conversion to decimalization.

>>Anyway, this ultimately comes down to a matter of opinion, and for now, the over-whelming opinion is for dollar bills, nickles and even pennies.

When people leave pennies behind in a dish as not worth the bother, they are NOT expressing support for retaining those absurd little tokens.

>>By all means, try to change minds. But please, do not support a measure that would "force acceptance" in this democratic Republic.

The simple solution is to permit merchants to denominate all transactions in tenth dollars. (Heck, if it is over $100, round to the nearest dollar!) Let the cash registers round, and the problem is solved. If you want to spend 10 pennies at a time, have at it. I'm proposing more freedom, in fact, not coercion.

[Atlas Sneezed]

You have too much free time.

---

You seem to have little to say.

[dead]

political pressure will force them to continue minting the Sacajawea coins

Huh?

Indian activist chicks with fax machines.

[Aeronaut]

The religious right wing of the Republican Party is sure to be outraged...

Hmmmm...

[zeugma]

 For the first time the coin will say “$1” instead of “One Dollar.”

I looked into this some time ago, and to the best of my knowledge, the "$" has no legal meaning as far as Fedgov is concerned. A "dollar" is actually a unit of weight. (416 grains of silver) This is a historical oddity that comes from the fact that the Constitution specifies that gold and silver be used as a unit of currency. I'd be interested in knowing if they made relevant changes to legislation in recent years to make "$" = "dollar".

[zeugma]

Better still, if I am using a dollar coin (now three types in my pocket, unlike your 4 types) I can sometimes avoid pulling out my wallet. If I add a $5 coin, I rarely need to pull out the wallet, making me faster still.

I'd fully support a system exactly like what you described. I've long supported the elimination of the penny. The nickel is getting to be as useless.  $1 and $5 coins would be useful, unlike the situation today, where half the coins in your pocket can't actually purchase anything on their lonesome.

[sittnick]

The simple solution is to permit merchants to denominate all transactions in tenth dollars. (Heck, if it is over $100, round to the nearest dollar!) Let the cash registers round, and the problem is solved. If you want to spend 10 pennies at a time, have at it. I'm proposing more freedom, in fact, not coercion.

I know of nothing in the law that would prohibit merchants from setting such terms with a simple sign at the front door. Of course, you have been advocating eliminating pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and one and five dollar bills (to be replaced with coins). There's no grounswell for that. And I take less time paying my $237 dentist bill in cash than the lady in front of me who insists on cutting a check.

[Paleo Conservative]

Carter is pretty skinny and has access to superb medical care. I wouldn't be at all shocked to see him hit 100, getting him to 2025.

He was born on October 1, 1924.

[killjoy]

I looked into this some time ago, and to the best of my knowledge, the "$" has no legal meaning as far as Fedgov is concerned.

Very interesting. My gut feeling is the reason for spelling out the value has to do with artistic concerns. Some US coins from the 1700s & 1800s did have numerical numbers on them. Without doing some research, I think the last time this happened was in the mid-1800s.