Presidents on Coins: Some Food for Thought.

[Treasure_Hunter]

No living person should ever appear on our currency. Should be requirement of at least 50 years after death to prove their legacy justifies being on our currency. ..

 

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[bigscoop]

What was wrong with the older designs? These new designs look as cheap as the currency as they're on. I feel like some others on here, let's get back to our heritage and stick with that theme, a time when those images really stood for something.

 

[uglymailman]

The next President on a coin will be decided by what ever party is in power at the time. I guess Eisenhower deserves to be there. Maybe Kennedy because he was murdered in office. I can't think of a single President since them that deserves to be on a coin. Not a one wasn't a bum,crook,liar,ineffective or an idiot. Except maybe Jerry Ford. He got a raw deal. But then HE was never elected was he?
I like the idea of going back to Lady Liberty. Not sure what she'd look like but with all our freedoms that have been taken in the last 60 years she cant be as pretty as she usta be.

 

[DFX DAVE in M.D.]

I love the Indian Head Penny and the old Buffalo Nickel design. Its ashame how the U.S. Government shafted the American Indians.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Not a one wasn't a bum,crook,liar,ineffective or an idiot....
Not sure what she'd look like .

But that's the American way..lol

 

[Escape]

I would vote for marvel comics super heroes and villains on the currency. How many batman's make a superman? W'll find out.

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

The government will probably go the way of the NFL and let companies buy their way onto coins like the stadiums names were changed.The qualcomm quarter,Fed ex dime,etc,etc...........LOL

 

[BigWaveDave]

All you realize that in a short time the British, and all their colonies, will have King Charles, on all their coins......ugh!

And then, commemoratives with the beastly Camilla........ugh, ugh.

 

[Helix]

I am almost certain that I read somewhere the founding fathers, Washington, Jefferson, Adams ect. were completely against the idea of putting individuals faces on currency. To much like the British monarch.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

I am almost certain that I read somewhere the founding fathers, Washington, Jefferson, Adams ect. were completely against the idea of putting individuals faces on currency. To much like the British monarch.

[h=2]Flowing Hair Dollars, 1794-1795[/h] On July 6, 1785, the United States established its own standard monetary unit. Since Americans were used to the Spanish dollar (or Piece of Eight) that had circulated in the original colonies, the new currency was named the "dollar". The first U.S. Mint building began operations in Philadelphia in 1793, and the first silver dollar appeared the following year – the Flowing Hair dollar of 1794-95. According to the official mint report, just 1,758 dollars were struck the first year. It's been said that some had expressed interest in portraying President George Washington on the first U.S. silver dollar, but Washington didn't like that idea, feeling that it emulated coins of the British royalty.

 

[Dave Rishar]

I don't personally see the harm in putting the faces of dead people on money, but never live ones. It should not be politically motivated, although it often is. (Look at how warships are named after people in the US, for instance, particularly aircraft carriers.) I like the idea of a 50 year cooldown period. If we're still impressed after five decades, maybe remembering them and how they conducted themselves in life is not such a bad idea.

We need new artists though. Look at this:



And then look at this:



And then finally, look at the Barber coins. It seems to me that the quality of the artwork on our coins has been moving in the wrong direction over the last century or so. I'd feel a bit better about presidents on coins if the newer ones didn't look so cartoonish. If we must have real people on our coinage, then let them look dignified; if not, the neoclassical idealized people from earlier coinage work just fine for me.

Like it or not, a nation's coinage serves as a diplomat of sorts. For some foreign nationals, it will be their first contact with the US. We are judged by it to some extent, both its value and its appearance. It should look the part. I don't think that the presidential coins are doing the job adequately. (Of course, it's almost a moot point, as nobody will use the damned things! )

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Yaah. Golbrecht, Saint-Gaudens and Weisman were arists. The Susan B. and Sacagawea dollars look like Mrs. Bee's high-school art class design contest winners.

Lovely Coin


Modern silver coin


Say . . . even the Mint knows the old designs are better! Unfortunately they used a flat/poor strike vs. the originals.

 

[Higgy]

A lot of thoughtful comments in here. I'm glad I started this thread. There were many comments about faces on coins verses symbols of liberty. Some mentioned a cooldown period, and this made me think of Kennedy's assassination in '63 and the following year, Franklin was kicked off the half-dollar and JFK was depicted on it. Was that decision reactive? JFK was only president for 3 years.

 

[jeff of pa]

A lot of thoughtful comments in here. I'm glad I started this thread. There were many comments about faces on coins verses symbols of liberty. Some mentioned a cooldown period, and this made me think of Kennedy's assassination in '63 and the following year, Franklin was kicked off the half-dollar and JFK was depicted on it. Was that decision reactive? JFK was only president for 3 years.

yes and when it really comes down to it, if he wasn't assassinated,
I'm sure more people would have realized he really wasn't a very good President.

was the Pity Party that voted him on the Half.

Of course I can't go into details this isn't politics

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

The Roosevelt Dime was another fast turn-around coin. But I don't think in either case (Roosevelt or Kennedy) there was the stomach to put up much resistance when the new coins were proposed.

Franklin is a perfect choice for the $100 bill as he was instrumental in getting bank-reserve paper currency. One of his ideas was to make our currency land-based rather than precious metals as land can not be exported (which was what was happening to our coinage - it was all going overseas for purchases). And he never put a human face on any coin or currency he was involved with, so he probably would have been OK with losing his spot on the 50¢ piece. I think he'd be much better honored with a reintroduction of the Fugio Cent.

 

[DDancer]

Not to sound like a conspiracy junky *I'm not* but I've always thought that Kennedy was put on the half to remind people of what will happen to anyone who tries to put our currency back on the gold standard or use silver as currency ever again. I'm not saying this to start a political debate so please don't take it that way.
Coins and currency should depict our countries higher ideas and heritage. Lincoln is one such Icon as are Jefferson, Washington and Eisenhower however the stars and stripes, liberty and buffalo all with the great seal are much easier on my eyes than the junk that's been stamped of late. The artists the engravers office use are street performers compaired to the artists of the turn of the century.

 

[jeff of pa]

Coins and currency should depict our countries higher ideas and heritage. Lincoln is one such Icon as are Jefferson, Washington and Eisenhower however the stars and stripes, liberty and buffalo all with the great seal are much easier on my eyes than the junk that's been stamped of late. The artists the engravers office use are street performers compaired to the artists of the turn of the century.

I don't believe Eisenhower should be on that list. I'm absolutely no fan of his.

the rest.... just old & tired of them now.
we need new ideas for a New U.S.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

I appreciate the difficulty the mint has in coming up with a coin material that is worth face value or slightly less. Maybe stainless steel? I blame minimum wage (but that's another political rant that will get me in trouble). When we earned $2.50 an hour a cent was worth it's weight in copper.



Even if we used stainless steel washers they'd be worth 4¢ each. And that's the low-grade cheap stainless.

But then why not use washers? At least they're practical and serviceable. How fundamentally American is that? Go back to the sound test on a piece of marble counter - "Hey, this is carbon steel - whaddya tryin to pull?" No, wait, they're worth about 4¢ each as well.

Problem solved! Close the Mints - look what we'll save on that! Put it toward HealthCare (without insurance companies - let the military run the hospitals).

 

[BosnMate]

I don't believe Eisenhower should be on that list. I'm absolutely no fan of his.

the rest.... just old & tired of them now.
we need new ideas for a New U.S.

I used to think a lot more of Ike until I read O'Riley's book, Killing Patton. That's an eye opener if you haven't read it. Not really a conspiracy theory, just reporting facts. Perhaps we should put Patton on a coin. No, I'm not serious, I'd much rather go back to liberty coins, no faces.

 

[Helix]

About the newer U.S. coins. Don't get me wrong I enjoy collecting coins but it all just seems a bit too commercially motivated on the mints part. Making four different designs of the new zinclons alone. Limited edition, special edition, collectors edition ect. I could be wrong but just seems they are doing that with coin collectors in mind just so they can make an extra buck. Just seems somewhat wrong playing with the United States Currency like that. When I first had seen the new Lincoln cent with him reading a book and his tools lying idle it seemed just wrong to me. Not saying that reading or learning is a bad thing, I am reading and learning all the time. I make a living with my hands and hard work and there is nothing wrong with doing so. Just seems if they are going to have a coin like that they should of created one depicting Lincoln building a log cabin or doing some manual labor of some type.