Okay, here's one that will take a bit of research on the sayings of Thomas Jefferson. The prize is a full roll (40 coins) of 2006 Jefferson Nickels with a custom counterstamp which says "NO MORE LIES" on the obverse side... and a balancing counterstamp on reverse which says "NO MORE WAR" . The roll-paper is custom printed on cotton bond paper in case you want to keep the roll intact. Okay so here's the challenge. Below is a list of eleven Jeffersonian quotes taken from collections of his speeches and letters. The winner will be the person who first posts the correct original context of EACH of the eleven quotes. If it is from a speech, please provide the place and date of the event, if it is from a letter, please provide the name of the recipient etc. Treat it as a research project on the philosophical foundations of Jeffersonian thought on what America should be. 1. "A government of reason is better than one of force" 2. "God has bestowed reason... as the umpire of truth." 3. "That liberty is pure which is to go to all, and not to the few or the rich alone." 4. "In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own" 5. "Peace with all nations, and the right which that gives us with respect to all nations, are our object." 6. "Peace is our most important interest, and a recovery from debt" 7. "Wars and contentions indeed fill the pages of history with more matter. But more blest is that nation whose silent course of happiness furnishes nothing for history to say. This is what I ambition for my own country." 8. "I do not believe war the most certain means of enforcing principles." 9. "No citizen should be free to commit his country to war." 10. "The criminal attempts of private individuals to decide for their country the question of peace or war, by commencing active and unauthorized hostilities, should be promptly and efficaciously suppressed." 11. "If there be one principle more deeply rooted than any other in the mind of every American it is that we should have nothing to do with conquest."
Here's the answers.. 1. Jefferson to Richard Rush, 1820 (letter) 2. Jefferson to Miles King, 1814 (letter) 3. Jefferson to Horatio Gates, 1798 (letter) 4. Jefferson to H.Spafford, 1814 (letter) 5. Jefferson to CWF Dumas, 1793 (letter) 6. Jefferson to William Short, 1801 (letter) 7. Jefferson to Comte Diodati, 1807 (letter) 8. Jefferson to Robert Livingston, 1801 (letter) 9. Jefferson to James Monroe, 1793 (letter) 10. Jefferson in the 6th Annual Message, 1806 11. Jefferson to William Short, 1791 (letter)
Love those Nickels! Hi, I'm new to this message board and stumbled upon this neat contest. I understand that the correct original context for each quote is required plus its origin (letter, speech, etc.). Here's my go at it. Please excuse any odd spaces or fonts or oversites. Phew... I'm exhausted from all this enlightening research. Time to retire <yawn>... I'll list the number/s with context and explanation. The origin of each quote is in brackets. 1 & 2: Context: REASON and TRUTH The Founding Fathers introduced the revolutionary idea that government focused on the reasoned choice of the people as opposed to authoritarian domination and government control, where people were suppressed by the wealthy and educated. "A government of reason is better than one of force" (Letter to Richard Rush, 1820). "God has bestowed reason... as the umpire of truth" (Letter to Miles King, 1814). 3: Context: THE RIGHT TO LIFE AND LIBERTY All persons have equal rights and the government is responsible to, and derives its powers from, a free people. Jefferson viewed this idea as intrinsic in the nature of man. The Declaration of Independence summarizes the inalienable rights of the people as the basis for a free society and for a just government to protect those rights. "That liberty is pure which is to go to all, and not to the few or the rich alone" (Letter to Horatio Gates, 1798). 4. Context: FREEDOM OF RELIGION Freedom of religion is a civil right and is vital in a free society. Religious institutions should not use government power to force views on persons of various faiths, or of no faith. In a free society, there needs to be separation between the church and the state to avoid religious chaos and indifference of the clergy to their people. "In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own" (Letter to Horatio G. Spafford, 1814). 5. Context: FOREIGN RELATIONS (PEACE FOR ALL NATIONS) The United States was founded on unique principles as compared to other nations. Rather than stressing conquest and power, its principles were based on peace and prosperity, thus evading its involvement with other nations. "Peace with all nations, and the right which that gives us with respect to all nations, are our object" (Letter to C. W. F. Dumas, 1793). 6 – 11. Context: PEACE AND WAR Free societies stressed happiness and prosperity of the people, best practiced by peace. This concept was different from the nations which utilized their country’s resources for the sake of conquest resulting in debt and destruction. "Peace is our most important interest, and a recovery from debt" (Letter to William Short, 1801). "Wars and contentions indeed fill the pages of history with more matter. But more blest is that nation whose silent course of happiness furnishes nothing for history to say. This is what I ambition for my own country" (Letter to Comte Diodati, 1807). "I do not believe war the most certain means of enforcing principles" (Letter to Robert Livingston, 1801). "No citizen should be free to commit his country to war" (Letter to James Monroe, 1793). "The criminal attempts of private individuals to decide for their country the question of peace or war, by commencing active and unauthorized hostilities, should be promptly and efficaciously suppressed” (6th Annual Message, 1806). "If there be one principle more deeply rooted than any other in the mind of every American it is that we should have nothing to do with conquest" (Letter to William Short, 1791).
Winners! Two first prizes! Congratulations to spiralstreet for being the first to submit the original context of the quotations! Those were the answers I was seeking. ... and also... Congratulations to slyjoh for taking the "context" idea further and expounding upon the principles Jefferson was encompassing by his words. I have decided to award rolls of counterstamped nickels to both respondents! Jefferson's words seem to ring true as much today as they did two hundred years ago. I'm happy that the mint has chosen to revise his portrait on the 5c so as to provide a space for him to say something to the people of today. If spiralstreet and slyjoh will private-message me, I will mail you each a roll of nickels, that you can use in any way you see fit. Be well! Tom
wow!!! thats great... know what? I'm an Indian and I've not won anything like this before. Thanks a lot Tom. I think it would be difficult for you to send the coins to me.. So, I'd give you an address of a friend in North Carolina, who can hand over the coins to me. I hope you agree with this arrangement. I'd PM you at the earliest... Thanx a lot. :smile
Spiralstreet: Yes i can ship to a US address if you prefer. I have things going out every day worldwide though, and usually ship to India via Global Priority Mail... it's no problem if you'd like me to ship direct... if it's not a problem at your end. To all: There was an earlier thread about these nickels at http://www.cointalk.org/showthread.php?t=19819 Recently I've had one person, a veteran and current government employee, send me a private-message letting me know that they were offended by this contest because they deemed the inscriptions inappropriate for this forum. I wonder if many other people feel this way. Basically... I wonder what possible problem someone could have with "NO MORE LIES". Are lies EVER a good thing? Does the TRUTH matter so little now that we simply accept lying as natural and necessary? And since no particular target is named... the referent could be Clinton's lies as well as anyone else's... what possible offense could be taken except by those who lie or support the use of lies as policy? Then there is "NO MORE WAR". Could it be that there are actually people who WANT war? I selected the Jeffersonian quotes specifically to point out what sort of international policy our founding fathers sought for our future and their legacy. If anyone bothers to actually peruse the extensive collection of his writings it becomes very clear that in his view war was to be avoided at all costs except as a last resort in dire self-defense. He even went so far as to borrow money from bankers in Holland to buy off Napoleon in order to avoid war with France. (We call this the Louisiana Purchase... read about it... it worked!). I feel quite certain that Thomas Jefferson would have supported both of these statements and would have acknowledged their linkage the one to the other. I suggest that Lies and Wars are strongly linked in a web of mutual causality. Whose lies? Well... that is a matter for debate and discussion is it not? Therefore handing people this nickel is useful as a way of engaging others in meaningful discussion, no matter what their political affiliation. You might be amazed at the conversations this little thing can spark when you hand it to somebody and say: So here's my five cents worth! Be well! Tom "Peace is our most important interest, and a recovery from debt"
This sounds like a tread for the political section as any conversation can only lead there. Trying to beat sakaato to the punch :bow: I like the contest and the prize as a form of free speech. I am also a vet. and believe in protecting our right to freedom of speech and expression. You should add a counter stamp that says "support our troops" it would be more popular. BTW: this also probably qualifies as a seperate topic which is frowned upon. sorry moderator(s) or anyone else if offended.
Moving this thread to Politics and Religion... Understood... I'll start a new thread at Politics and Religion on "Political Counterstamps". By the way... there are technical problems with putting "Support Our Troops" on a counterstamp... at least for this 2006 nickel. The amount of space available is small. In order to keep thge text large enough to be readable by most people without magnification there can be no more than an absolute maximum of five characters per word...four is better and three is best. Four words tops... three is better, two is best. So the major challenge is to devise a slogan that is sufficiently concise in order to fit the space! The second challenge of course is to make the slogan fit the context of the person depicted on the coin, as known to us by their collected writings. Be well! Tom
Hey, I won my first contest! Beginner's luck... I learned a lot from this contest and will receive a cool roll of nickels to boot! Thanks for sending to Canada, Tom. I agree that Thomas Jefferson would have supported both counterstamp statements and they fit into the Peace and Truth/Reason concepts. Let's see... 5 character max for counterstamps? How about, "NO LIMIT" as another possible counterstamp for this nickel? Thanks again, Tom! slyjoh
Tom, its just that I dont trust the postal department out here, especially with a roll of nickels... My friend will take them to me in the coming March atleast. And I'm ready to wait..
"No Limit"? Slyjoh... no problem about sending to Canada... that will go out on Monday (er... tuesday... monday is MLK day) Spiralstreet... okay, I'm sending to you c/o the US address you provided The suggested counterstamp "NO LIMIT"... what does it mean? Are we talking fishing here? You hand this to the Game Warden as he's about to ticket you for going over the bag limit? Or is there something else?
I agree with this. Why waste my time with trying to win trashed (Counter stamped) Nickels in the first place and not only becuase of what its stamped with.
I really like the counterstamp. Tom, please PM me if you have any info about where I can get a roll of these nickels.
