New designs for circulating coins@#$%$#@

DIMEMAN

WHAT A JOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just read the article in Coin World. Bimetallic compositions. Letterd edges?

There hasn't been a decent design of any coins or commems sence the end of the classics.

We've had to suffer through the Ike, Susan B Agony, Sac, Roose, Kennedy, and the Franklin's not that great.

Leave the Lincoln Cent alone. I don't collect them but Abe has been on the cent so long I think he should stay forever.

The rest they might as well just make plastic tokens like they have in Vegas, BECAUSE THERE WILL NEVER EVER BE ANOTHER PRETTY COIN COME OUT OF THE US MINT EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jon

keets

WOWZER!!!!!!

hey jon, maybe you need to take that high blood pressure medication now!! i think there's been a few good designs lately. i think the problem will be resolved so long as the mint allows no special interest groups----are you listening, Virginia!!----to curry any favors. that IMHO has been the problem and will continue when real persons are depicted.

i think some coins suffer because of weak design on one side or the other. i personally like the reverse of the SBA and prefer that coin overall to the sac dollars. some of the modern commems are well designed but it seems like the mint has gone overboard in an attempt to give us a continueing series, falling victim to special interests again. and in an effort to make coins "popular" they're about to go overboard on the state quarter inspired themeatic reverse with the nickel plan and some of the other ideas being considered.

i suppose it would be too simple to have an open competition like the duck stamp program where the end result is always a winner!! locking a design in place for a given period with review and change would work for me.

al h.

dpoole

How about those platinum bullion coins? Now there's a pretty design! Probably happened because nobody was paying attention...

shirohniichan

How about those platinum bullion coins? Now there's a pretty design! Probably happened because nobody was paying attention...

SSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Don't say anything about them or some Congressional subcommittee will be formed to make them ugly.

ricko

I believe the modern gold coins are very attractive.. Cheers, RickO

DIMEMAN

Yes, the rev. of Ike and SBA are OK, but the obv are butttttttt ugly and the Sac is no better. I don't know why they have picked on the dollar.Hasn't been a pretty one since the Peace Dollar. And the halves have been buttttt ugly since the Walkers left. Just crap and more crap.

Jon

LucyBop

<< <i>and the Franklin's not that great. >>


Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr..........

BSqr

nevermind

cladking

It's tough to tell the bear growls from the hepkitty hisses without a scorecard.

CalGold

Choosing coin designs becomes a political football. In authorizing the gold bullion coins Congress decreed that the reverse had to depict an eagle returning to its nest. Why? Who knows. Its Washington politics. Probably some senator's wife thought it was a good idea so he threatened to withhold his vote on the other guys' pork barrel projects unless they all went along.

And look what happened with the Virginia delegation and Monticello. Now Monticello is a beautiful house. If you have never visited it you should. But it just doesn't show well on the nickel.

And then you've got the Mint bureaucracy to deal with. Guys in short sleeve wash and wear shirts who drive Oldsmobiles wind up making aesthetic decisions. Look what they did to the Missouri state quarter. I also looked over the finalist designs for the Sac. The strong artistic statements were passed over in favor of a cartoon-like design. At best it will be design by committee.

The only way we will wind up artistic designs is if the President does what Teddy Roosevelt did. TR took a personal interest in putting designs of high artistic merit on our coins. Of course, we don't have TR in the White House anymore. We've got that fella' from Midland, TX. But its not just a George W problem. Of all the presidents in my lifetime I suspect that only Kennedy could have been trusted to foster new coin designs–or at least he could have delegated it to Jackie.

So there is a big risk that we will see another case of "dumbing down" new coin designs by people who think that appealing to the masses requires it, instead of trying to uplift the masses.

That's how I see it any way.

CG

beorn

if they cant get the new designs right,why not bring back the old ones? i,d love to see buffalo nickels and barber halves again

BSqr

CalGold said, "Guys in short sleeve wash and wear shirts who drive Oldsmobiles wind up making aesthetic decisions"

What an elitist attitude. What's wrong with short sleeve wash & wear? What's wrong with an Oldsmobile?

"Of course, we don't have TR in the White House anymore. We've got that fella' from Midland, TX."

That fella from Midland huh, well all I can say about that is THANK GOD!

At least you weren't supercilious. </ sarcasm off>

That is all.

** self-censored for niceness. **

WWBillman

What is it with the state quarters? A bunch of fruit, buildings, sail boats, state outlines, musical instruments, and a bunch of other crap. What kind of message are these designs sending to the world? State outlines, are they telling the world we are a nation divided by borders? That we are a nation of spoiled pampered lazy people sitting around eating fruit, listening to music, and only concerned with our leisure time riding around on sail boats feeling comforted by big buildings housing a bunch of draft dodging, self serving, politically correct elected leaders?

What about the Sac dollar? A woman with a baby, is that our interpretation of “It takes a village”?

Why all the busts of dead people? We are a self-governing, democratic, free nation not ruled by kings.


What ever happened to symbolizing our nations strength? Lady liberty, lady liberty holding a shield and olive branch, a perched or soaring eagle high above watching over and protecting our nation, an eagle grasping arrows and an olive branch in its talons.

I am not in favor of going back and copying the old designs for our current coinage. All those coin designs are part of our great coinage history and it should remain that way (I hate the buffalo dollar). To bring them back is just giving up and admitting we are a nation of dumb lazy people. There has got to be some patriotic creativity some were in this country. But I fear even if there is our law makers would get in the way and screw it up or let some self serving lobby group bully them just as was done by the state of Virginia.

CalGold

B Sqr.

Yeah, I am an elitist. If one looks at art through the centuries, it is something that has been cultivated and financed by the elite, whether it be crown, church, or industrial capitalists.

Attempts by modern governments to "approve" art for the "masses" has not yielded very good results. Look at the "art" of the Soviet Union. Except for a brief period during the 1920's, you will find that "official art" consisted mostly of portraits of Lenin, Stalin, and propaganda depictions of the "heroic" workers of the world--real corny stuff. The unofficial artists had their shows broken up by the KGB and their work confiscated. Some wound up in prison, psychiatric facilities (involuntarily) or in exile. The better unofficial artists have now had their works embraced by the art world.

I would prefer not to have "official" art on our coins.

CG the elitist.

Bear

Cladking - Grrrrrrrrr is an angry hepcat

Growwwllll is an angry bear.

I hope this clears up the confusion. Bear

DIMEMAN

I agree with all of you. Glad to see I'm not the only one in agony over this crap we've had for coins for the last 50 or so years.

I also agree with Bill in not bringing back old designs. I think it would demean the old classics.

I too hate the Buffalo Dollar and also the big Walker silver round.

Some of the state 25c are ok. I like the Conn. charter oak. But the Tenn. looks like a cartoon. There is no place for a guitar on a coin.

Jon