Kill the Dead Presidents

One of the wonders of discovering coins as a child in the early 1970s was the beauty and wonder of the old coins, which were fundamentally different than our current coins. Indian Head pennies, mercury dimes, buffalo nickels, standing liberty quarters, walking liberty halves, and the Morgan Dollar make up an array of individual exciting pieces of art. Todays coins have always seemed more than drab. The Washington Quarter is one of the most boring coin I've ever seen and we've been stuck with this coin for only 70 years. The Jefferson nickel just is a bore. You can barely see Lincoln in the penny. The Roosevelt dime has some artistic credit, especially the back, but is also mostly drab. These coins are all just boring portraits that have been with us far to long. The time has come to dump the dead presidents!

In fact, I'm convinced that some of the excitement of the ASE and the AGE is the excitement of the coin designs. Resurrecting the old classics make them stand in stark contrast of our boring circulation coins. But no really new designs have come forward outside of commemorative series in almost 70 years.

Worse is that these coins are largely made for silver material. We need designs that are made especially for clad coins, and that wear beautifully with clads and can be cut with beatifly with clads. Its long past time for the US coins to move ON. And I want to start a letter righting campaign to Congress to do just that in the next few year. We don't need more dead Presidents. WE NEED LESS DEAD Presidents, and more Eagles, Bison, Cranes, Panthers, Liberties, Twin Towers, Capital Buildings and more. And we need the coins to change every 20 years or so.

When did we become so stagnant as a people. Who want to right a letter and Deliver them in Person to Congress!

Ruben

 

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Ruben,

You are correct in my opinion. But I get the feeling that idea is to eventually do away with coinage, so anything to make it less attractive is more desirable. The ASE might be the best looking coin every produced by the Mint, but I doubt you'll ever see a circulation coin that looks as good.

 

the kennedy half really needs an update IMO

 

I agree whole heartedly with the concept and would add that it's probably something that the general public even agrees with too. The problem as you see, is farther up the ladder, and a little off to one side. Coin designs (or redesigns) are still mired in politics so we end up with the SBA and Sac dollars, state quarters that more resemble graffitti on a wall, then tweeked by the Mint, and stipulations that the nickel MUST go back to the Monticello reverse. Getting rid of the dead Presidents is a good artistic idea, but it's not going to be an easy idea. Congress I fear will do what it does best. Listen, observe, pause for effect, then do whatever it wants or NOT do what it doesn't want.
The other thing I have concerns with is the fact that in todays society there isn't much of a common thread anymore that can lead you to a concensus design for any abstract concept like Liberty, or Freedom, or Self Determination. Past generations possessed such an ability and it showed mightily in the works of St. Gaudens, Weinman, and Fraser, etc. Nobody does that work anymore. It just isn't valued on the whole. We are a nation of 300 million opinions; each more important than the others.

Rick L.

 

Even in my darkest dreams I never imagined a scenario so fraught with terror as the idea that the mint is purposefully foisting ugly coins on us so we'll be more complacent when they tell us they're doing away with them entirely. I always just figured they were a bunch of bozos who were so detached from the world in their ivory towers that they had no clue... but this... this conspiracy theory... is truly chilling!

 

I agree, we really need a new design for the half. Maybe a variety of the walker design.

 

I may be in the minority here but I am a fan of the portrait on coins, it is one of the things that got me into collecting. I am a fan of the portrait in general. I always think there is a perfectly good reverse for other designs...I kind of look forward to the pres dollars...I like other coins as well but since my thing is using coins to write histories and biographies, I am probably biased. My favorite american coin is the Buffalo Nickel, mainly because of the portrait of the indian.

But then again, I come from a background of collecting ancients with an emphasis on Roman coins and the portrait rules there.

 

it's early in the morning, which is probably why I am taking this thread as rather blathery self important indignation. But lately it kills me that people love to assume the soap box and proclaim that what everyone else collects is bunk, and so and so and such and such should be accumulated in Los Angeles harbor, soldered together as the worlds largest anchor and sunk, proclaiming to the world that what the masses of Americans want is really dither, and what they should have is a good old fashioned wheat nickel.

You know what.. that wheat nickel was 19ought5, and the masses loved it then, can still collect it, and still appreciate it. But now the masses want dead presidents and this is just as good, just as artistic and just as functional as wheat nickels were in 1925.

If you don't believe me check back in a year and see sales data, you may now flame on

P.S. I'm looking forward to these. etc. etc.

 

Ruben:
"And we need the coins to change every 20 years or so."

Actually, I would suffer with the legal 25 year minimum for designs.

"When did we become so stagnant as a people. Who want to right a letter and Deliver them in Person to Congress!"
I have and do write to congress and others, often. I vote, so it gives me the right to gripe.

 

The bufalo nickel does not have a picture of a living anyone.

Ruben

 

Influencing Congress is not as hard as people think. It just takes determined comunication, and constituency building. You need to start by writing letters and talking to like minded people and to then spread the campaign to firends and relatives. And you need to apear in Washington a couple of times, at the Capital. Who would like to try to change the Coinage designs? I'll put up a nice exapmle letter? Who in the new Congress is on the right subcomittees in the Senate and the House?

Ruben

 

Dear Congressman

In previous generations, American Coinage had varying designs and great artists which made American Coins the envy of the world. The coins at the time had been altered about every 20 years with new art, and new design ideas. From this, coins which are legendary to todays collectors and art lovers including the classic Buffalo Nickel, the Walking Liberty Half Dollars, Mercury Dimes, Indian Head Pennies, The Seated Liberty Silver Dollar with its wonderful flying eagle reverse, St Gaudens Twenty Dollar coin, the famous Morgan Dollar and more.

Compare these coins to todays drab Washington quarters, Jefferson nickels and Lincoln pennies, and it is distressing. And these coins, once exciting for the newness and wonderful execution, today are mundane. Even the execution of the Lincoln penny at the mint is mundane as billions of dimes, pennies and quarters are stamped with bland and imperfect images. After all, after nearly 70 years, there are billions of them.

In addition, nearly everything has been changed about these coins except the design. The metal is no longer copper or silver, and that means the designs are being stamped on inappropriate materials for the design. And while new coins like the American Silver Eagles have been produced, they are not for general circulation, nor are they new designs. They are the old designs from previous generations. In many ways, the last truly unique coin design for the produced for a circulating coin has been the Peace Dollar of the early 1920's.

The time has come to put the dead presidents away and to make a 10 year plan to make new coin designs. Other countries have made lovely multicolored coins, fantastic modern designs based on new materials, which excite the public and collectors alike. It is time the the US to do the same and we are asking you to help draw up a bill to map out a new future for US coins.

sincerely

Registered Voter

Ruben Safir
1163 East 15th Street
Brooklyn, USA
11230

 

I never said it did...nor does any of our other circulating coins...I said I like portrait on coins...it has a great portrait of an indian. If I am not mistaken you are raging against DEAD presidents.

I simply said I like portraits on coins...and I look forward to the pres dollars...who are not living. So I wont be writing my congressman about it as I dont think we are stagnant or lost our way.

Oh, and I dont like multicolored coins either

 

The coins haven't been fundementally changed in 70 years. Their is no proof that masses want dead presidents. In fact, there is evidence to the contrary but nobody in their 40's has ever seen any other coins, AT ALL in circulation.

Ruben

 

Ruben:
Actually it does. The obverse is acknowledged to be the composit portraits of 2 actual, living Native Americans.
(Oopps, I almost said Indians.)

 

Two is not one! Unless they mate.

Ruben

 

Well put Ruben... :hammer:

 

The letter I mean......

 

The portrait of the native american on the Buffalo actually is a composite of three (3) different indians from three (3) different tribes.

1. Iron Tail 1850-1916 ,Oglala tribe

2. Two Moons 1847-1917, Northern Cheyenne

3. Big Tree no birth or death dates, Seneca

 

"The bufalo nickel does not have a picture of a living anyone."


he said living anyway...none of them are alive, we dont put living people on our coins to circulate...

and indeed I havent seen people as excited about american circulation coins as they are about the presidential dollars...not in a loooong time. I have people who dont even collect asking me about them and saying they want to collect them.