AP: U.S. Mint to unveil presidential coins

[Eugene]

Sunday, November 19, 2006 · Last updated 9:36 p.m. PT

U.S. Mint to unveil presidential coins

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
AP ECONOMICS WRITER

WASHINGTON -- Can George Washington and Thomas Jefferson succeed where Susan B. Anthony
and Sacajawea failed? The U.S. Mint is hoping America's presidents will win acceptance, finally,
for the maligned dollar coin.

The public will get the chance to decide starting in February when the first of the new coins,
bearing the image of the first president, is introduced.

Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison are scheduled to grace the coin
in 2007, with a different president appearing every three months.

-snip-

Those designs were being made public during a ceremony Monday at the Smithsonian Institution's
National Portrait Gallery, home of some of the famous paintings that served as models for the
coins.

-snip-

Full article: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1152AP_Presidential_Coins.html

Living presidents won't be included.

[Kiouni]

1. I like the dollar coin

I use it to get chips and candy bars, it's a pain in the butt to drag around that much change and the machine never takes dollars.

[w4rma]

8. I don't. Imho, this is just a move to try to gain acceptance for higher inflation. (nt)

[liberaldemocrat7]

9. I like my coin.

and I have a real one and the images of this coin on magnets too.

Email me if you want details or check my messages in the market place.

[trogdor]

12. You got one of those old dinosaur vending machines?

I thought just about all the ones made since about 1980 took dollar coins. Haven't seen one in awhile that didn't.

[tammywammy]

19. When I worked at Starbucks, someone giving you a dollar coin

meant later on an extra dollar in the tip jar.

Many customers just always threw all their coin change into the tip jar. If you gave out the $1 coins they ended up in the jar as well. :)

I'm all for the Treasury to just stop printing the $1 bill...and the penny too.

[mcscajun]

28. They'll see some circulation, but not much; that's as the gov't wants

BTW.

They're counting on most of these going into private collection drawers and gathering dust. They make a fair amount of money on uncirculated currency.

[annabanana]

2. Living presidents won't be included.

Leave Reagan off too. Also Nixon.

[dipsydoodle]

3. I'da thunk Alfred E. Bush

might be appropriate:



edit to correct the link

[Ferret Annica]

4. The only commemoration Reagan deserves

is his image on a special line of urinal deodorizing wafers.

[Donnachaidh]

5. ca we make that a commemorative line?

And make Bush 43 a urinal wafer also? Cheney needs worse - any thoughts?

[The Count]

6. decorating shooting targets for drunks

[Ferret Annica]

7. Sounds like a plan to me

especially since I hope I outlive him. I see the delivery of a urine sample of mine to his grave as a must do item on my agenda if I am fortunate enough to do so.

[Donnachaidh]

22. that will turn into a conga line

And all of us ladies wearing skirts :eyes: Some of us for the first time in years :rofl:

[doc03]

14. How about a likeness of them on clay pigeons that they

use for skeet and trap shooting. Remember the Freeper targets with Bill Clinton's picture on them and the threat one of the Repugs made saying he better not show up in one of the southern states, I forget who that was and what state.

[jmowreader]

61. It was Jesse Helms, and North Carolina

North Carolina's least-favorite son said, after President Clinton started talking about gays in the military, that Clinton should stay out of North Carolina because there were too many soldiers there. The gist was that one of these soldiers, who was so highly offended by Clinton's allowing gays to be in the military, would shoot him.

[krispos42]

20. Cheney clay pigeons

painted deferrment-yellow, of course.

[krispos42]

47. Oh, a few...

Toilet paper.
Doggy-doo bags.
Maxi-pad.
Toilet brush.
Diaper pail.
Bedpan.

[ChoralScholar]

56. Reagan, Bush, and Bush II on Urinal Cakes, I like it.

Put Cheney's face on the little deodorizer that hangs over into the bowl - he can get shat upon, just like he has shat upon us.

[saigon68]

24. Ah yes Urinal Targets Lovely

[rusty charly]

10. this is probably the end-run to a reagan coin

the only way they could get it. you'll see just the reagan coin for sale on late night tv ads, i bet.

[Tesha]

11. Bingo. Get Reagan on the money by hook or, more likely, by crook. (NT)

[mcscajun]

29. The series will run through 2016.

No further comment. :evilgrin:

[CatholicEdHead]

36. Reagan was probably the main reason this was started

They have wanted Reagan on currency for years.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

13. Sacajawea failed?

I use them quite a bit. If I put a $5 in the ticket machine at the Max, I get my change back in Sacajaweas. They work great when getting on the bus.

[doc03]

15. I don't see what the problem is with the dollar coin

I have used them when I get them with no problems. One store clerk made sort of a complaint that she would have to keep it for herself she just had to save them for some reason. They always say the public won't accept the dollar coin well how do you use them when they don't circulate. Maybe if they would just make one and stick with it eventually people would quit hording them. I was in Germany when in the Army and the Germans used coins in Marks.

[krispos42]

21. The problem with dollar coins is...

They compete with the dollar bill. We won't start using the dollar coins unless the dollar bill is withdrawn from circulation.

Hell, in Europe they have one- and two-euro coins.

I guess the srippers will have to get creative, that's all.

[ozone_man]

34. Keep Sacajawea, ditch Washington.

They have to get rid of the paper dollar before any one dollar coind will be successful. What imbeciles that work in the mint. Smart countries like Canada or Australia have one and two dollar coins and start at the paper $5 bill. Australia coinage is the best in my opinion with their smaller $2 coin. You can easily carry $10 or $15 in coins without loading down your pocket. We can't make fun of the worth of their currencies anymore either, after severely inflating our own.



http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/currency.html

[Art_from_Ark]

43. The "imbeciles at the Mint" don't have any control over paper money

They just make the coins they are told to make. It's Congress that has the most to say about what coins/notes are produced.

[krispos42]

44. That's right, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing does the paper money

But they are both part of the Department of the Treasury. You'd think some coordination between Congress and the Dept. of the Treasury could be worked out. But the replacement of the $1 bill is a no-brainer. Like I said, the strippers will have to get creative, that's all! :-)

[Art_from_Ark]

53. A lot of people love the dollar bill

because it is super light and can be carried in a billfold. Also, Americans tend to think of paper as "big" money and coins as "little" money (especially now when the metal in coins is worth squat). And if you're returning to the States from a trip overseas, it's nice to know that you can trade your leftover foreign money at the airport of departure for American money for everything except for the fractional amount (cents), since exchange banks do not handle foreign coins.

On the other hand, if you're a Japanese traveller returning to Japan from a trip overseas, you might end up getting stuck with up to about $8.50 worth of foreign currency, since the equivalent of $8.50 (1000 yen) is the lowest denominationJapanese note.

[ozone_man]

50. OK, the imbeciles in Congress.

That the mint thinks of making more $1 coins at all is a waste. Of course it will never take until the paper dollar is eliminated. Also, why promote more fascism with all our dead presidents on the one dollar coins? Sacajawea was perfect for the dollar.

[Art_from_Ark]

52. I think the Mint botched it with that crazy alloy they chose for the Sacagawea $

And that was a Mint decision :D The alloy contains zinc and manganese, which are OK as nutrition supplements, but really blow as coinage metals, since they tend to become dark and/or corrode easily. The Canadian dollar coin (bronze-aluminum alloy, I believe) works well and still looks nice after several years in circulation. But the Canadians did remove the dollar bill from circulation a couple of years after the "Loony" was introduced.

It is ironic that throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Americans distrusted paper money, preferring coins where practical, and the Mint produced dollar coins for most years from 1838-1904. But for some reason, (silver) dollar coins never were very popular outside of the West.

[ozone_man]

54. They were too large.

The trick is to make them small enough like Australians $1 and $2 coins so you can carry all the change you need without the need for a $1 bill. It's much faster to just reach in the pocket for up $10 in change than to have to open the wallet. Anyway, Canada and Australia have done it, but we just won't give up the $1 bill.

[doc03]

40. You're probably right, I remember the one and two Mark

coins but I think the paper currency started at 5 Marks. I would think dollar coins would save the US mint a lot of money since the coins would last for decades and they would probably be cheaper to produce in the first place.

[krispos42]

45. Yeah, here are some pictures...

The two-euro coin:



The one-euro coin:



Note how the different metals used are reversed in position. Golden on the outside for the one-euro, golden on the inside for the two-euro.

[Art_from_Ark]

58. There were also 5-mark coins

Pretty large, but not so heavy

[central scrutinizer]

16. seigniorage

If they change the face every three months, many of these will disappear immediately into coin collections. The only way to get the public to use them is to stop printing dollar bills. Canada uses one and two dollar coins and they don't seem to have any problems with them. Of course Americans are so stuck in their ways that they can't switch to the metric system or use Celsius or get rid of the dollar bill.

[ileus]

17. The whole plan is for collectors, just like the 130million

quarter collectors that popped up overnight. This is big business for the mint, has nothing to do with getting rid of the paper dollar. Got my 2006 silver proof sets in a few weeks ago.

[Lisa]

32. when they first introduced the Canadian $2 coin, people tried to break it

There were cases where they tried to pop the gold-colored center piece out by running it over with their cars, heating it over a flame or dunking it into liquid nitrogen (in the hope that different expansion/contraction rates of the metals would loosen it). Some of the early attempts succeeded, but once the novelty wore off, the coins were simply accepted. I remember thinking that the design was kind of weird, but even though it's a bit larger than the all-gold-colored $1 coin, it's not that much heavier.

http://www.mint.ca/royalcanadianmintpublic/repository/htmlproduct.aspx?language=en-CA&sku=628186

[rusty charly]

33. and you'd think companies that rely on vending machines

would be clamoring for it. sometimes the business world is mystifying. they throw some stupid idea out and yell "it's good for business" and then little things like this and big things like national health care? crickets.

[Lorien]

18. If they keep making them the same size as the quarter

then they'll keep failing, no matter whose likeness they bear.

Geez, if they honestly believe that the other two failed because they put WOMEN on currency...:crazy:

They ought to look at the British pound for starters.

[jayctravis]

23. They're not though

Unlike the SBAnthony dollar, the new coins are a bronze color and significantly heavier and bulkier than a quarter.

They are the standard currency in the break room where I work. It's really nice when you break a $5 or a $10 not getting a pound of quarters out of a machine.

I think it also probably saves wear and tear on the machines, and it doesn't run out so quickly only having to store one coin in the space that four would usually go.

[skids]

38. They are still too small.

You want a dollar coin to be about twice the mass of the current one, and a bit wider even still. The #1 reason I've heard people say they dislike it is it doesn't "feel" worth a dollar.

Personally I think they should make the dollar coin double as a bottle opener. :-)

[krispos42]

46. I have some of those old silver dollars

They are uncomfortably massive. The old fifty-cent pieces are of a good size, though. Perhaps making the golden dollar the same size as an old 50-cent piece is the best idea.

[Art_from_Ark]

59. If you make the "golden dollar" the same size as the 50c piece

then you will suddenly have a lot of 50c pieces turning up in machines as dollars

[last_texas_dem]

25. I think it's a neat idea

I've always wished a dollar coin would actually catch on here. It would be cool if these managed to, but I have my doubts based on the failures of recent attempts. I agree with an above poster who said that the only way to get the dollar coin to catch on would be to take the dollar bill out of circulation. The coin seems more practical; they would last much longer than bills and be more convenient for vending machines- at least if the machines have been outfitted to take them.

Oh well, even if they don't catch on in terms of mass circulation, it will definitely be cool to see all of these "Presidential" dollars. I collect coins casually, and I'll definitely be looking out for them.

[treestar]

27. I always wondered why the half-dollar never seems to have really

caught on. In fact, I haven't seen one in years.

[liberalpragmatist]

37. Probably because they were so large

They need to design a normal-sized half-dollar, withdraw the dollar bill, add a $2 coin in addition to the current Sacagawea $1 coin and get rid of the penny.

[bigworld]

39. Ask for 'em at the bank

... they're fun to spend at restaurants -- people usually light up when they encounter a half dollar. And it amazes me how many have never even seen 'em.

[Art_from_Ark]

60. At one time, the half dollar was a "workhouse coin"

and was frequently used in circulation, as all those old worn Barber, Walking Liberty, and Franklin halves out there will attest to. The decline of the half dollar can really be traced to 1964, when the design was changed from the relatively new Franklin design (introduced in 1948) to one commemorating the recently assassinated President Kennedy. The new coin was issued in the traditional 90% silver, an alloy which was on its way out at the time. Even though the Mint made millions upon millions of these coins, the demand was so strong for them, not only in the US but around the world, that they were rarely found in circulation. And when someone did spend one, the person receiving it would often save it.

Then, the next year (1965) it was decided to remove all silver from the dime and quarter, because the cost of the metal had reached the face value of the coins, and use a nearly worthless alloy of copper and nickel in its place. However, due to concerns about inflation resulting from converting completely to a fiat money system, it was decided to continue the use of precious metal in the half dollar, but at a greatly reduced fineness of 40%. So, realizing that the silver in the 1964 and earlier coins would eventually be worth much more than the face value, people began to hoarde silver coins in earnest once the new cheapie alloy coins appeared.

However, this hoarding carried over to the 40% half dollars, which still contained silver (and which were still being viewed as mementos of the fallen President Kennedy). I started becoming interested in coin collecting at around that time, and I can remember lots of people telling me that they were saving all the half dollars they could get their hands on, "because they contain silver". Thus, while 40% silver halves were produced for circulation from 1966-69 (with a lot of the 1966 coins actually being dated 1965), they never really circulated, so the next highest denomination, the quarter, became the workhouse coin by default. By the time the Kennedy half was introduced in cheapie alloy in 1971, most vending machines were no longer accepting halves, and the coin was never able to regain its popularity as a circulating coin.

[Odin2005]

26. I really wish dollar coins would catch on here.

Nothing is more annoying then trying to get a worn out, crumpled up $1 bill into a vending machine.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

30. The Chimpy.

Looks kind of like a dollar. Spends like a centavo.

[phusion]

31. Now, if we can only phase out the penny...

They cost more money to manufacture than they are worth.

[tammywammy]

35. I'm all for that too

I'd like to get rid of the dollar bill and go straight to coin. And get rid of the penny.

There's a restaurant in the DFW area that doesn't accept pennies. If your order comes to $7.57 they round in your favor. There was an news piece on it a week or so ago. Pretty nifty idea.

[truthisfreedom]

41. the only thing bush's image is good for is lining birdcages.

we'll never have to look at his sneering mug on a coin.

[napi21]

42. The problem I have with converting to coins is that I don't carry

much in coins at all. I try to keep 5 pennys, 1 nickle, 1 dime, and maybe 4 quarters for vending machines, and that's it! It saves a lot of weight in the purse. I hate to think I'd have to get rid of the 5 ones and add coins in their place.

[MadHound]

48. This will fly about as far as the other attempts at dollar coins.

People like the portability of paper currency. It isn't heavy, and it's easily folded into your wallet. These are advantages that coins simply can't overcome. Most of these will wind up in drawers and jars and piggy banks.

[krispos42]

49. Hey, they have "E Pluribus Unum" on them!

They also have "In God We Trust", too, but, hey, they're trying!

[DarleenMB]

51. The whole problem

was related to SIZE, as usual. The coins were so close to a quarter it was almost impossible to tell them apart. Leave it to the bureaucrats to NOT be able to figure out why there was a problem.

Unless they make these coins LARGER than a quarter it'll be another fiasco.

[Wells]

55. #43 was not a lawfully elected President

I've been collecting the state quarters. Not a bad hobby. There's two mints, one in Denver the other in Philadelphia. A complete collection includes both the 'D' and the 'P' mints over all 50 states. My initial interest was to get grandkids to correspond across the nation with grandparents swapping D and P mints.

As far as this dollar coin goes, if and when The 43 finally comes out, I will drill holes in them, or dent the face with a hammer, or carve horns, or stamp a swastika, pass them along, and omit them from my collection. George Bush was never President.

[krispos42]

57. Business idea:

You can sell a stamping kit that contains one of those slash-in-a-circle hardened steel stamps, a mallet, and a coinholder.

The angry Democrat buys a kit, and each time he gets a Dubya dollar coin, he slips the coin into the holder, positions the stamp in the holder, then *WHANG* uses the mallet to 'stamp out' Shrub.

You can offer expansion kits. One could stamp horns on his head, one could give him a Pinoccio nose, one can stamp "The Supremely Appointed pResident" underneath his mug, one could add a small spoon filled with powder under his nose...

The possibilities are endless.

Damn, I'm good.