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<p>[QUOTE="cladking, post: 654127, member: 68"]Some people seem to be losing sight of the fact that these coins are very small change now days. Small change has never been made out of precious metal anywhere. Even when dimes were made out of silver in 1964 it would buy a candy bar (or two) that today would cost nearly a dollar or more. </p><p><br /></p><p>If they thought about the value at all it would be the wondrous things that could be purchased with them. No, not bread or beer but computer time or enough electricity to run a computer for hours. They'd be impressed more by what the coins represented than the dollar's loss of value. </p><p><br /></p><p>I think they'd be pretty impressed with the durability of the cu ni and cu/ ni clad coinage. They'd be impressed that it could circulate for decades and most get lost and destroyed long before they have a chance to wear out. </p><p><br /></p><p>They'd be appalled and insulted by the display of "e pluribus unum" on the territorial coins, perhaps but they'd be mightily impressed with the country that now encompasses the fifty states and the territories. They'd be impressed by the diversity of the coinage even if not necessarily favorably. </p><p><br /></p><p>I think they'd consider the designs to be far too busy and discombobulated by a reference to a deity. I think they'd generally find the coinage to be bland and a tribute to personalities and wonder why the people have lost their sense of the importance of knowing history and the meaning of liberty. They'd find the coins represent a turning away from some of the principles on which the country was founded. </p><p><br /></p><p>Were they to stick around a while I would think some of these opinions would mellow in time. That some words have evolved in their meanings is not necessarily indication that the most fundamental principles have truly changed but that it's much more how they are practiced and displayed. They would also need to learn 250 years of new knowledge about what money is and what it isn't to fully understand today's coins. </p><p><br /></p><p>Consider Franklin's reaction to coins that cost more to produce or count than they are worth! Here was the man who said "a penny saved is a penny earned" and we literally waste billions of them every year and saddle the economy with this albatross rather than admit it has no value whatsoever. How ironic these observations occur on the 100th anniversary of this once venerable yet humble coin. And further imagine their reaction to the depiction of the leader who most changed the nature of our government. A leader who a mere 44 years earlier was the most hated man in the country. </p><p><br /></p><p>I think the overall reaction would be a comic mixture of quizzical, pride, chagrin, and a sort of relief. </p><p><br /></p><p>It's probably just as well old leaders can't come back because so many are like their followers; too busily spinning in their graves for such trivialities. Life is for the living.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="cladking, post: 654127, member: 68"]Some people seem to be losing sight of the fact that these coins are very small change now days. Small change has never been made out of precious metal anywhere. Even when dimes were made out of silver in 1964 it would buy a candy bar (or two) that today would cost nearly a dollar or more. If they thought about the value at all it would be the wondrous things that could be purchased with them. No, not bread or beer but computer time or enough electricity to run a computer for hours. They'd be impressed more by what the coins represented than the dollar's loss of value. I think they'd be pretty impressed with the durability of the cu ni and cu/ ni clad coinage. They'd be impressed that it could circulate for decades and most get lost and destroyed long before they have a chance to wear out. They'd be appalled and insulted by the display of "e pluribus unum" on the territorial coins, perhaps but they'd be mightily impressed with the country that now encompasses the fifty states and the territories. They'd be impressed by the diversity of the coinage even if not necessarily favorably. I think they'd consider the designs to be far too busy and discombobulated by a reference to a deity. I think they'd generally find the coinage to be bland and a tribute to personalities and wonder why the people have lost their sense of the importance of knowing history and the meaning of liberty. They'd find the coins represent a turning away from some of the principles on which the country was founded. Were they to stick around a while I would think some of these opinions would mellow in time. That some words have evolved in their meanings is not necessarily indication that the most fundamental principles have truly changed but that it's much more how they are practiced and displayed. They would also need to learn 250 years of new knowledge about what money is and what it isn't to fully understand today's coins. Consider Franklin's reaction to coins that cost more to produce or count than they are worth! Here was the man who said "a penny saved is a penny earned" and we literally waste billions of them every year and saddle the economy with this albatross rather than admit it has no value whatsoever. How ironic these observations occur on the 100th anniversary of this once venerable yet humble coin. And further imagine their reaction to the depiction of the leader who most changed the nature of our government. A leader who a mere 44 years earlier was the most hated man in the country. I think the overall reaction would be a comic mixture of quizzical, pride, chagrin, and a sort of relief. It's probably just as well old leaders can't come back because so many are like their followers; too busily spinning in their graves for such trivialities. Life is for the living.[/QUOTE]
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