Maybe so but it IS also the official White House portrait of President Kennedy and it was painted that way specifically at the request of Mrs Kennedy.
That president will not make it on the $ series, though, because he is still alive, good, bad, or indifferent. I will leave that decision up to you. Ha, ha!
Interesting information! Thanks! Say, do you think "Jackie" would have approved of the image on the coin?
In the case of the coin, I think that MANY other possibilities were possible but were rejected only to have the CCAC and CFA approve this one? I shudder at imagining what these bozo's will come up with next...........
I'll be in for two but that's it. Given the mintage and the fact that I simply do not care for the Reverse Proof finish on the Presidential Dollar tells me that this one will NOT have any premiums associated with it. Of course, that .999 Fine Silver Medal looks sweet and will look even sweeter for the Kennedy Presidential Medal. That's really the only reason I haven't sold my Truman and Eisenhower Sets.
At this point in time, I really don't think it makes much difference WHO is on the coins anymore. And it's not like a living person hasn't been on a commemorative coin in the past since that's what these are any more. They don't circulate, the Federal Reserve can't order them and as such banks can't order them from the Feds. Classic Commemorative Coin for all intents and purposes.
Kinda like a medal that you can spend! Of course we could spend our ASEs for a buck, I guess. "Hey Pop, lend me $30?" "Sure son, here's an AGE for you, bring back my change."
The September COINage contains an article on the new Kennedy dollar and even references past discussions from CoinTalk. It discusses the mixed reviews the design has received, quotes some posts from this forum by alias and then shifts over, probably not intending to sound condescending, to "better known figures in the numismatic community" who support and defend the design. The article also argues in some detail that Kennedy himself would have approved of the design. Whether that could ever be proven conclusively probably remains forever unsolvable, but some suggestive evidence exists. Concerning the dollar coin design's origins, it references the White House portrait as inspiration and claims that the White House portrait's pose was chosen by Jackie Kennedy based on a photo of Edward Kennedy at JFK's funeral. Five alternative Kennedy dollar designs, all reviewed by the CCAC, appear including the original sketch for the chosen design. Many have probably already seen this, but in this sketch Kennedy's eyes look down and seem more obscured. The final approved design opened them up a little and pointed them forward. Obviously this is my opinion, but had the design stuck to the portrayal of the eyes shown on the sketch the coin would have been far more effective. Depicting Kennedy in this manner was a very interesting, potentially risky and innovative idea, but something happened between conception and implementation. The original sketch shows the potential that existed.