The mint is considering a .9999 fine gold eagle. If they do make it, I wonder if they will continue to mint the gold eagles in .9167 gold. If so, I would predict more talk about which is the better "investment". Would it be a new design? It seems to me like a lot extra to take on with everything else the mint is doing.
I personally feel our coinage needs a new look. Many of the series now have been the same for many decades to nearly a century! Just imagine getting a new mint set with all new and different designs... David
Not to offend fans of the current coins, but I agree wholeheartedly. The lincoln obverse has been in use since 1909 - reverse since 1959, the Jefferson Nickel since 1938? Roosevelt Dime since 1946, Washington Quarter since 1932. Do you think that they will replace the quarter after the state quarter series are done? what about the nickels, since they are doing the nickel varieties? PR70
If I had my way they'd change them all. But - I seldom get my way We will have another new nickel though in 2006 - that much is certain. We just don't know what the final design will be yet.
I'd like to see more Bi-Metallic commemoratives. (Like the 2000 Library of Congress that was comprised of Gold and Platinum, I like them so much that I have two proof examples and three MS examples now, heh... need to quit buying them)
i've heard something about more than one type of nickel being made in 2005. i know that there were 2 types of nickels this year because i have both of them, but does anyone know how many different types there will be next year?
The Nickel will return to Jefferson and Monticello in 2006 and remain on the five cent nickel forever according to the current law. The Quarter will also return to Washington and the Eagle at the end of the Statehood program. No new law requiring it to be permanent yet, but many are working to make it that way. The Lincoln Cent, Roosevelt Dime, Washington Quarter, Kennedy Half, and Sac dollar supporters are all trying their absolute best to make the design permanent.
Until the law is chnaged, that is. Could easily be done if there was some feisty Congressman to initiate the process. Unforztunatley, unless someone wanted to put something else on there, theere would be little motivation.
It really should make no difference as an investment, unless you are buying the gold coins to melt down, in which case you would want .9999. If you are going to keep the coins as is, you would want the lower gold fineness for durability. There is a myth that .999 (or.9999) bullion coins such as the Maple Leaf contain more gold than the AE, since the AE is not .999 pure. But, the AE also CONTAINS one ounce of pure gold. If you weigh the coin, it should weigh more than one ounce due to the extra alloying metals. So, the MP is made of .9999 fine gold and weighs one ounce. The AE is minted of gold that is just over 90% pure, but it has more than one ounce of that alloy. If you boil off the other metals, it all comes down to one ounce of pure gold.
I can just see in 2055, the Roosevelt Short Set, years 1955-2055. Why would they do this? Budgetary reasons for the redesign? Don't they care about the collectors any more? PR70
What they care about is not angering specific states and "dishonoring" old, dead presidents, and that means maintaining the status quo. This was a Pandora's Box that we started opening in 1909, and no one has the will to close it.
I don't think presidents should have ever been introduced on our coinage. Perhaps a commemorative of sorts, but not everyday coinage. David
They were not supposed to be. George Washington and the first continental congress set the law concerning who's image would appear on coins, and it lasted until 1909. Now, the members of congress overstep their bounds and rewrite the laws to make their wishes stand the test of time. The Fed is scared to enforce the power that they have. Congress is only supposed to get involved if a change is needed before the 25 year period. After that time, the Fed can change at will. In 2001 the Mint was considering changing the five cent coin, congress jumped in and allowed the Virginian delegates to write a law requiring Jefferson and Monticello to remain on the coin from 2006 to forever. Now they are working on the other 5 coins currently minted. It is a sad time in the history of US coinage. From my dealings with several congressman, none are interested in rocking the boat. Even the powerful Reagan group hit a stone wall in trying to remove a current design. Now they are going to remove a founding father on our currency. Another tool used to promote dead people. But alas, that is another subject.
ND, i don't think you understood my question. i wasn't asking about 2006 after the commenrative coins were over. what i was asking was how many different designs are there going to be in 2005. i know there's more than one but i don't know how many. -Josh-
With a new pic of Jefferson which, as I understand, will continue to be used afterward. I guess I could live with the same people on our coins, they could do the same thing with the others and replace the design without replacing the person. Collectors get a new coin, and politics keeps their role models.
