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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;mlmummert, post: 835114, member: 21178&quot;]Regarding the comment that other countries may get offended if Reagan were to be put on a US banknote, any sovereign country has the right to design its coinage and currency as it sees fit.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now as to whether Reagan is too recent or controversial for US coinage or banknotes, I think people&#039;s political persuasions tend to influence their feelings on that one.&nbsp; For all who think Ronnie should be commemorated permanently, how about putting Billy &quot;Good Times&quot; Clinton or Jimmy &quot;Inflation&quot; Carter on something?</p><p><br /></p><p>This is the whole problem with putting political figures on coins and banknotes.&nbsp; Who do you honor with them?&nbsp; Nobody is liked by everyone.&nbsp; How do you choose?&nbsp; There are only so many coin and note denominations to use.</p><p><br /></p><p>Although I&#039;m American, I have friends in Toronto and am in Canada regularly.&nbsp; Thus I have an interest in both American and Canadian coinage.&nbsp; Anyway, as most know, the Queen is on all Canadian coins, the current $20 note and the last issues of $1, $2 and $1000 notes.&nbsp; Why her?&nbsp; Well, what makes a coin different from a token?&nbsp; What&#039;s the difference between a US coin and a Chuck E. Cheese token?&nbsp; One is issued by the government.&nbsp; What&#039;s the difference between Canadian money and Canadian Tire money?&nbsp; One is issued by the government.&nbsp; Canada is a kingdom where the sovereignty of the country is vested in a King or Queen.&nbsp; The Queen of Canada (currently Elizabeth II) represents the legal authority of the government.&nbsp; Having her effigy on the coinage is part of what makes that coinage legally issued by the government rather than just a mere token.&nbsp; The effigy represents her job, not her personally.&nbsp; When someone else succeeds her, the effigy will change again.</p><p><br /></p><p>The US of course is a democratic republic.&nbsp; The sovereignty of the country is vested in this theoretical thing called a republic rather than in any one single person including the president.&nbsp; For that reason, it&#039;s not appropriate to have the current president on any coin or note.&nbsp; Ok, so the US doesn&#039;t have a monarch or dictator to put on its coins.&nbsp; Over the years, the government has placed various historical figures on various denominations of coins and notes as a way of honoring them.&nbsp; When you do this with permanent coins &amp; notes rather than commemorative issues, this presents problems over time.&nbsp; Who do you put on each denomination?&nbsp; Who do you remove and when?&nbsp; Who replaces who?&nbsp; The country has largely &quot;winged it&quot; over the years in this regard.&nbsp; &nbsp; Really I personally wish we would get away from honoring specific persons on permanent issue coins and notes.&nbsp; Go back to permanent themes that represent the nation and the democratic ideals it is supposed to stand for.&nbsp; Put the politicians and statesmen on commemorative coins where they belong.&nbsp; By commemorative, I think that can include coins issued for circulation but of a non-permanent design as well as non-circulating coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>So my own opinion, put the Gipper on a set of commemorative coins.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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