Weekend rant/whining: JMO, but the Shield cent is the best modern coin we have in circulation now.

BBN

Let's face it, the half is long ago history, they had a good dollar concept in 2000, but it couldn't catch on and now the dollar coin is just another ever-revolving commemorative coin, and the quarter's become lost in the never-ending roll out of commemorating something. Sorry for my weekend rant but I just read an article that made me think they might settle on one quarter design, but new multi-year modern consumption coins appear to be rolling out for a long time to come.

BTW, I haven't forgotten the dime. I know people think it's boring but the constant changes in other denominations have made it into a stable piece of money.

BillDugan1959

All in all, these are considerations well-beyond trivial. They just backed-into the Shield Cent design, it was not the first choice.

Occasionally we have gotten an excellent quarter. As a numismatist with some liking for Spanish colonial coinage, I really appreciate the San Antonio Missions coin.

BBN

I just like the shield because it's simple and doesn't appear like it's was created on a computer. Also, it kind of reminds me of the shield nickel. A Lady Liberty image on the front would've been pretty sweet.

jmlanzaf

I'm surprised they haven't one something with the dime. Maybe for the 75th anniversary.

It would have been a natural for some kind of circulating WW II commemorative reverse.

messydesk

@BBN said:
I just like the shield because it's simple and doesn't appear like it's was created on a computer....

My biggest complaint is that it does appear to be created on a computer. The rendering of the computer fonts is as if the shield and banner were perfectly flat. A decent artist would have hand-drawn the lettering to both be highly legible and lend necessary depth to the design. The concept is good, execution not so much.

ms70

BNN, you forgot the nickel. That might have wound up with a cool new design until Virginia insisted they own it.

ricko

I would like to see the end of real people on coins, the cessation of commercialization, and a return to real art. Cheers, RickO

Ebeneezer

Rather than put so much effort into commemoratives which only getting boring after the first few years, if they take off at all, one would think they might consider a real change by completely redesigning every denomination. The Director of the mint has that authority under the 25 year law.

Zoins

@BillDugan1959 said:
All in all, these are considerations well-beyond trivial. They just backed-into the Shield Cent design, it was not the first choice.

Interesting. What was their first choice and how did we wens up with the Shield Cent?

By the way, I’m a big fan of the design!

koynekwest

@ricko said:
I would like to see the end of real people on coins, the cessation of commercialization, and a return to real art. Cheers, RickO

I agree. But as far as it goes, I find the shield design a good one-far superior to the memorial reverse.

ctf_error_coins

JRocco

@ricko said:
I would like to see the end of real people on coins, the cessation of commercialization, and a return to real art. Cheers, RickO

Your mouth to God's ears my friend

BillDugan1959

@Zoins said:

@BillDugan1959 said:
All in all, these are considerations well-beyond trivial. They just backed-into the Shield Cent design, it was not the first choice.

Interesting. What was their first choice and how did we wens up with the Shield Cent?

By the way, I’m a big fan of the design!

There was a "wheatstack" or "wheatsheath" design that was first choice, but somehow it was objected to as too similar to a lower denomination German design from the mid-1920s.

The preliminary drawings were a little bit like this:

And this verbiage: https://2010lincolncents.com/2010-lincoln-cent-design-proposal-lp-18/

The great coinage idea (after the four coins of 2009) being that Lincoln's life's work left the USA as 'One Nation'.

Unfortunately, the Germany wheatsheath design was used until 1936, so it overlapped the beginning of the Hitler/Nazi regime. This appears to be why we did not use it.

BBN

I remember that concept and actually was totally favor of it even over the shield. But with the generic "Ad Council" or tourist advertisement style dump outs we're getting the Shield is still my favorite design being made at this time.

7Jaguars

Kennedy revised I like.