Virginia and the Jefferson Nickel
jtryka
Posts: 795 ✭
Today I was thinking about all the hubbub about the commem nickel proposal by the mint, and the response of the Virginian Congressional delegation, and asked myself "Why didn't they make such a fuss about the BEP not returning Monticello to the $2 bill when they printed more in 1995? After all, it had the same characteristics as the nickel, Jefferson on the front, Monticello on the back until the bicentennial when the reverse was changed to commemorate the Declaration of Independence. Shouldn't the original design have been restored when they made the series 1995? I guess it's just that people see $2 bills far less often than nickels. And it brings up another idea, and that is how much should Congress be involved in our nation's coinage? I believe very little, but as the rule of unintended consequences suggests, when the mint started placing designs in circulation that depicted actual persons, it was only a matter of time before the designs became political footballs to be influenced and defended by those with a vested (or percieved) interest in maintaining the design. I'm sure that the Mass. delagation will cry foul if we ever try to change the half, or the VA folks again with the quarter, The New York folks with the dime, or Illinois with the penny. But I have little reason for hope, as the comments of mint director Fore at the ANA seemed designed to not rock the Congressional boat (from Coin World Online):
<< <i>Fore, speaking at a collector forum Aug. 1 in conjunction with the American Numismatic Association's anniversary convention in New York, said the Mint's efforts toward redesign looked at the 5-cent denomination first, followed by the Roosevelt dime, Kennedy half dollar and Lincoln cent. >>
So I guess we'll get new designs, but we'll still have the same old Presidents.
<< <i>Fore, speaking at a collector forum Aug. 1 in conjunction with the American Numismatic Association's anniversary convention in New York, said the Mint's efforts toward redesign looked at the 5-cent denomination first, followed by the Roosevelt dime, Kennedy half dollar and Lincoln cent. >>
So I guess we'll get new designs, but we'll still have the same old Presidents.
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Virginia survived quite nicely before the Jefferson nickel and would survive after.
That is unless the Virginian Congressional delegation gets their way.
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