Points to ponder.

Therein lies the problem. Who in congress is going to propose JFK is kicked off the half, as long as one of the Kennedys is in Congress??? They floated the Reagan Dime around, but you know many in congress will rally around FDR if that went anywhere (the Reagan Dime is a bad idea anyway). Our only hope for change is the Dollar, and they now want to put all dead (and maybe alive) Presidents on the dollar, honoring many presidents who do not even deserve to be on a coffee mug!!! It will be an uphill battle to defeat these silly dollars, but worth a shot as chronicled in ND's prior posts!!!

 

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Well the dollar design has passed the sub committies in the house. Rep. Mike Castle of Delaware is pushing this coin idea very hard. While I have several more meetings with the various congressmen and senaters, I expect that my quest will be defeated. Not enough support is available to remove the presidents.
Once all six coins have a presidential portrait, we will see a live person on a coin.
If another popular president like Reagan comes along, and we will follow in the footsteps of the emporers.

 

Putting live people on coins is, of course, folly. But I don't have a problem with introduing a (Dead) President Dollar set. As long as they are done well. And they circulate!! The quarter program has done very well. Some of the coins are top quality. If it gets people in the habit of using dollar coins, it will add a whole new dimention to coin collecting. I understand the concerns of the above posts. This is just my 2cents.

This is not my first choice for a dollar coin design. But we need something that will circulate. SBA just doesn't cut it.

 

Well lets take a moment to look at a couple of well deserving future coin images.


Andrew Jackson. Major depression.

Zachary Taylor. Died in office

James Garfield. Died in office

Herbert Hoover. Major depression

Lyndon B. Johnson. Still blamed for Kennedy assassination and Vietnam

Jimmy Carter. Gas crunch, Hostages, UFO sighting.

Bill Clinton. The man who gave us a whole new definition of what "IS" can be.

How can we as Americans stand by and let these men be honored?

 

I don't think putting a person's face on a coin is meant to declare their sainthood. But I understand your point.

 

Hmmm...
As far as the dollar coins go, I don't think that it really matters who gets put on the obverse. In my opinion they will never circulate and will be of interest only to collectors. It is probably better to just make a bunch of commemorative silver or gold dollars and call it good. The mint would, of course, make a truck load of money from collectors. Personally, I would love to see a return to large size dollars, the problem is that dollar and half dollar coins just don't circulate anymore because they are a bother to merchants, and ultimately they are the ones that use the coins the most in daily transactions. Lately, it's been very difficult to get rolls of Sacs from my bank, they say that there is no demand for them from merchants so they don't carry them anymore. They still have kennedys, but the demand really isn't there and I think that eventually they too will not be available at my bank.
Just my two cents.....

Joe

 

And let's not forget:

Jack Kennedy. Bay of Pigs.

Ronald Reagan. Surplus to deficit.

George Bush. Read my lips.

George W Bush. Surplus to deficit. Foreign policy debacle.

 

Maybe a coin series on achievements in science, medicine, engineering, electronics, etc. accomplished by or with U.S. citizens.

Electricity, light bulb, transistor, digital computer, printed circuit/chip, steam engine, cotton gin, telegraph, telephone, television, polio vaccines, pennicillin, first flight, moon landing, Hubble telescope, nuclear energy, etc. etc.

 

Don't get me wrong, I would love to see certain people honored, but lets do it right and honor them in a commem. That is why we have commems. To commemmorate something or someone.
Let our currency and coins represent America at its finest. All for one.

 

I'm really looking forward to the following dollar coins:

James Madison. We put Dolley Madison on a $1 commem. James did'nt make the cut. Why should he be on circulating coinage?

William Henry Harrisson. Died of Pneumonia after one month in office. Let's make mintages in proportion to term in office. That will make the WHH dollar VERY popular with coin collectors.

Polk, Tyler, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan -- Who cares???

Andrew Johnson -- Impeached and undermined Lincoln.

Garfield - better known as a cat

Benji Harrisson -- lasted longer than the other Harrisson but just as forgettable.

Warren Harding -- Teapot Dome Scandal

Woody Wilson -- He's on the $100,000 bill!! What more do you want?

Calvin Coolidge - Depression

Hillary Clinton - By the time were done, she will be on the dollar. No Comment.


I'm sure I missed several forgettable Presidents, but you get the picture. Not a pretty one.

 

If she ever becomes the President, her face on a dollar will be the least of my worries.

 

Good point.

I may move to Mexico.

 

I totally forgot, on the Bill of Rights Silver $!!! I have the coin, too, buried under 11 years of fine US mint products. Nice Portrait of Madison as well. OK, take him off the list. The Dolley coin from 1999 is nice as well. She was probably quite the elegance and style leader in her time.

That's the point ND made though -- the commems are great for honoring our presidents and/or their acheivements. It also weeds out the WHH's and the like.

 

There was a set of "Educational" dollar bills a bunch of years ago. An educational dollar coin set would be nice.

 

If only it were as simple as that. I believe that the allegorical Liberty was first used on our nations coinage simply because we had just gotten out from under a tyrannical monarchy, and wanted no living leader on our coinage. I think Washington said as much when it was proposed to honor him on coinage.

As time went on, and we developed our own history, someone got the idea to honor the "better angels of our nature" i.e.; above average leaders,(not just presidents), on both coinage and paper money. Perhaps it is time to come full circle and remove actual personages , replacing them , once again, with allegory.

Could be worse, you could be a subject of the Queen of England. You would know what was on the obverse of EVERY coin you came in contact with. Her royal mug.

 

How about a series on our natural heritage? All the great parks and waterways.