Attention All Fellow Virginians

i have heard from some other coin talk patrons that Virginian senators are trying to get a bill passed that will keep our current coin designs FOREVER. this would mean that we would not see any more coins. if this is indeed true, it is a total outrage. virginian legislature should be embracing the change of coin designs, not preventing them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

The five cent coin is already done. The quarter is in the works. That is all Virginia is trying to do. I understand and can appreciate the logic behind their decisions, but as a coin collector and dealer I hope their efforts on the quarter fail.

 

I only discovered the new nickle last week! It was in my change -I thought "what the hell is this?" Is this a one year change in design (like the Bi-Centenials) or semi-permanent thing that will last many years?

 

Oh,OK.

Parkland should be forever. Coins should change every 20-30 yrs. (if not more often)

 

Thankfully, our nickel is safe.
Now we can only hope that the Father of our country can be preserved as well.
I have been in touch with my Senator, and he has assured me that he would support any legislation that would keep George Washington on the quarter.

 

Why would we want the quarter (or any coin) to stay the same forever? I hate politicians.

 

some of us would prefer to have liberty or the flag or something symbolic on our coins. we have the most stagnant coins and currency on the planet.

how can you call yourself a collector and yet not want what's best of our coinage and hobby?

 

Hi aem4162,
I appreciate your preferance for coinage that has Liberty or the flag or something symbolic as design elements. I have many such coins myself, and I enjoy owning them. Come to think of it, there's not a greater "symbolic" design than that of George Washington. At least he symbolizes quite a lot to me.
As far as how I can call myself a collector, and not want what's best for our coinage and hobby, I suppose I can call myself whatever I choose.
I've collected numismatica for over 40 years. I've given away countless collectable coins to other young collectors. I've studied countless books, articles and referances on the subject of numismatics. I've answered thousands of questions from newbie collectors on many boards just like this one, and I do indeed want what's best for our coinage and our hobby.
What I don't understand is why you think your opinion is right and mine is wrong. I mean, I certainly see nothing wrong with people wanting to change the design of the Washington quarter obverse. I just don't share that desire.
So my advice to you, would be to try and be a little more tolerant of other people's opinions. It works for me

 

Well we have had this conversation before. I think the newcomers to this forum would do well to read some of the past posts concerning this topic.

Jody's views have a lot of merit. I know from having many a conversation that he wants our coinage to remain the same because of the honor that they attribute to our founding fathers.

While many of you know that I for one would love to see them honored on commems rather than our coinage, I agree with Jody that these men should never be allowed to be forgotten. These were men that are unlike any today. Not only did they set forth a great nation, but gave each of us the right to express ourselves.

Before condemning someone for their beliefs, try to understand why they have them.

 

I didn't fully understand the issue when I posted. I totally agree that GW should forever have a place on at least one of our coins. (GW is one of my personal heros, and I believe the greatest man to live in the last thousand years.)

I think a better law (if one is really nesesary) would be to have GW on at least one coin (any coin) at any given time. So If the quarter obverse were to be changed, GW would have to be put on a different coin.

I do understand that their is quite a bit of controversy concerning our founding fathers. And if GW were removed from the quarter, one would be concerned that his image may not make it back onto another coin. But I'm not sure locking his image onto the quarter is the best solution. Actually, I think GW would look great on a full Dollar coin.

In any case, it's a complex topic and I apologize if I didn't think this issue through enough before I last posted.

 

The decision to keep certain designs "forever" does not mean they are to stay forever ;-) I am not really familiar with US law but I think that while it's usually the Treasury that may decide, every so and so many years, to change a coin's design, the decision would in those "permanent" cases have to be made by Congress.

(In case the above is wrong I'm sure somebody else will set me straight ...)

Christian

 

i agree with Jody that washington was a great man, HOWEVER our coins need to be changed at least every forty years. If the design changes, the value of the old coin designs goes up. that's a major boost to our collections and buisnesses. plus, coin designs represent an era (when I think of the great depression, i think of buffalo nickels, and WWII reminds me of the jefferson wartime nickel). if our designs stay teh same forever, how will we represent our era?????

 

Our era is being represented not by people or symbols but by alternative means of payment like direct deposits/withdraws, credit card/debit cards, money transfers etc. If this continues then coinage and bills will be a thing of the past which may mean all coins will become collectable items for the generations to come. As far as today is concerned, anybody who recalls my position will know that I side with Jody in keeping the founding fathers on our coins to keep the foundation of our nation secure. Our collective history is being discarded and a nation divided can not stand by itself or something.

 

i beleieve this is an opinion thread which is very deep. i mean for years and years we have had the same denomination of coins cent, nickel, dime, etc. their has been many changes in some of them some not. i like them all and they all symbolize something and they all mean different things to us all. if coinage changes i think it is pretty cool. just as long as we dont forget what the pictures do symbolize and who that picture is of george washington, abe lincoln, thomas jefferson, teddy roosevelt all of these men hold a place in our history and hearts. what we be today without them? what better place to have these men to remeber them by than coins? i guess what i am trying to say is change is good and as far as changes every year isnt their commemoretive coinage issued evert year with a different change on every coin? if that is what some of us prefer (changes every year ) then wouldnt be better to collect that coinage. i dont think we will ever lose coins or currency it is the most easiest way to perform transactions and keep track of finances. and when you use cash you dont get charged crazy interest.

 

I think occasional change in coinage is good for the hobby, and for my cash register! Look what states quarters have done for coin collecting!
Sure I'd be happy with a "permanent" design, as long as we can get an occasional change, like with the quarters and nickels. That can only help coin collecting.

 

"and when you use cash you dont get charged crazy interest."

You right about that pog but I also remember watching TV for free. There is always someone with more money then you or I who is thinking of ways to get more of our money. I wonder if old debit/credit cards are going to be major collectables of the future. The only reason why I don't look into the matter is the problem of how are they going to be able to date them for being the real thing.

Tradernick, love your new photograph and I agree with your compromise of keeping the standard for coins but throwing in a special design every ten years or so for a short run and then going back to the standard. I think that would be better for coin collecting then changing the face of our coins like flavors of ice cream at Ben and Jerrys etc.

 

Right i guess i gotta be careful how i step here.

Firstly; i think coinage is best when it changes every 20 or 30 years, if it changes more than every ten i'm not keen cos it smacks of commemoratives and the mint cashing in, if it stays the same for more than 30 years it's getting boring.

Taking the topic slightly off of course, but with a point to it as you'll see; take Britain prior to decimalisation it was actually interesting, obverses changed every time a monarch snuffed it, and with regards to the longer reigns they updated the portrait accordingly. The reverses sometimes changed every 10-20 years to keep things fresh, although some reverse held out for over 80 years unchanged and really could have done with erradicating sooner.

Now we're decimal, the obverses have changed three times in 35 years, which isn't so bad, but the reverses have stayed exactly the same, and they are getting boring. (only just getting?) Before decimalisation the mint got creative and used to find different new inspiring ways of defining Britain on the reverse, now they just stick with what they know.

Taking this back onto the US theme, the US coin designs have lasted longer, which could make them even more tiring. Now i appreciate that you'd like to see the great founders of the nation still represented on the coins, but what's wrong with having a bit of a revamp and trying a new way of portraying these great men?

Take Miss Liberty portrayed on the US coinage for a long time, she has gone through many different stylisations and varations on a theme, Morgan's, JBL's, Barber's... Some are better than others, but that's just luck of the draw.

Perhaps a new stylisation of Washington or Jefferson? A reincarnation of Franklin? Perhaps having Miss Liberty on the obverse and Franklin on the reverse? Or how about conjoined busts of Jefferson on the obverse with Liberty? A great man behind the idea of freedom and Liberty, next to the personification of the same?

There is so much material that could be worked with, it's just a lack of imagination on the designer's part.

 

I agree with sylvester on how the frequency of coin design changes should be managed (every 20 or so years). I think that we need to first get rid of all of those boring buildings on the back of our coins, and then change all of the obverses. How about a symbol like the old eagles on the back and firemen, troops, and our flag on the front?

 

It'd make a nice change, how about a nice big eagle on the reverse, not like the Washington quarter and not like the St Gaudens, an eagle facing towards the right, perhaps swooping down for a landing?

On the obverse a styilisation of Franklin signing the Declaration of Independence?

Now how's that for representing the US?