What process is involved in choosing and implementing a new coin design?
NJCollector
Posts: 199 ✭✭
Does anyone know the exact process that takes place that results in a new design for a coin? Is it similar to the process a bill goes through to become a law?
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treasury can change a design if it has been in use at least 25 years but they have been
reluctant to do so. There are many laws which mandate what has to be on the coin from
mottos to eagles, but they can be changed. For practical purposes it does take an act of
congress to mandate a new design and it is usually picked by them too (except for the states
issues).
There are a couple people much more well versed in this subject who may respond.
TTT
I don't see how they can do this.
read link below
Nickel
myurl
Link
with a soft strike in worthless metal to sell to collectors at a high price. How come with all of our
technology, our coins look like they do now, instead of the neat way they looked in the 18th and 19th century.
I cant help but feel its all Coinguys fault.
Camelot
<< <i>I have also heard the 25 year change, but what is the deal with the nickel? After the mint announced the memorial reverses for 2004, A senator got a bill passed that some likeness of Montecelllo must return and be permanent. I am not sure of all the details, but how can they do that? I love the Jefferson Nickel, but after so many years, I think it has had it's time. I think all coins should change after 25 years.
I don't see how they can do this.
read link below
Nickel >>
Monticello on nickels permanetly?Thats bogus.I can't see why they can do this either, Jefferson was a really good person but...he dosen't deserve to have his house put on every single five-cent piece from now until whenever.
<< <i>A coin will only be changed when the government decides its time to Mint a less appealing coin,
with a soft strike in worthless metal to sell to collectors at a high price.
>>
What? No sense of humor? One can't expect the government to put a dollars worth of
metal into a five or fifty cent coin- - even with as little as the dollar is worth now days.
Keep in mind that silver coins were worth as little as 27 cents on the dollar over the years
they were issued. Cents have long been worth much more than this and the nickel now
greatly exceeds it. At the rate copper and nickel are increasing it may not be too long
before it applies to clad as well. Carefull what you wish for.
The mint has instituted an artistic infusion program for the express purpose of raising the
quality of new coin designs. They have also expressed great interest in actually changing
the current designs.
Keep in mind it's been a couple generations since current coin got much public attention.
It's taking a little time for the mint to shift gears.
Eventually minting quality will improve also and then people will forget just how bad so many
of our coins are now.
happen before the 22nd century.
Camelot
myurl
One reason why we have the most persistent coin designs in US history right now is because the political cost of change is greater than the cost of inertia. Look at what happened when the Mint tried to change the nickel -- they got the entire Virginia congressional delegation ticked off and lost control over the design for the foreseeable future. I doubt the Sacagawea dollar would ever have replaced the SBA if it had portrayed a man -- that would have been seen as a "loss" for women.
The only way that's ever going to change is if there is sufficient pressure for new designs to tip the political balance and make Congress fear the cost of not changing the coinage. It's something that also needs to be bipartisan, to avoid unnecessary fights over whether it's proper to replace a Democrat (Roosevelt) with a Republican (Reagan) that get in the way of artistic considerations.
Just my two cents' worth, which I hope will someday be more interesting to look at.
<< <i>In regards to the comments concerning the nickel (above), it is worth noting that while Monticello will return to the reverse in 2006, it can be a different rendition and not the same one as used from 1938-2003. One possibility is the original reverse design that was rejected. A totally new rendition could also be used. Jefferson's portrait could also be different, as well.
Don't be surprised if there isn't more meddling in that process. Now that they've established who "owns" the nickel design, they're going to keep a close watch -- the bill's sponsor has said as much. I predict you'll see lawmakers from Illinois working up a similar deal for Lincoln by 2009.
I wouldn't be surprised!
<< <i>How come with all of our technology, our coins look like they do now, instead of the neat way they looked in the 18th and 19th century. >>
Because we are asking more of that technology than it can deliver.
In the 1th and 19th century we struck coins in softer materials and at a slower pace. Typically a die was required to strike 30 to 60 coins per minute. Lets work with 60 per minute. That is one coin per second. If we say that the actual amout of time of the striking was a fourth of that then the silver gold or copper had a quarter second (.25 seconds) in which to flow and fill the recesses of the die.
Today the high speeds single die Bliss presses are churnning out coins at a rate of 750 coins per minute in order to keep up with demand. That is twelve coins per second. If we assume again that the die filling portion of the cycle is still one fourth of the time then the modern harder alloys have to flow and fill the die recesses in .02 seconds. The harder metal can't flow as far or as quickly so one of three things has to happen. Keep the dies at the higher relief and just accept poorly struck coins with no detail that look like VG's coming off the press, Increase coining pressure to try and make the metal flow faster but wind up shattering the dies, or greatly reduce the relief and simplify the designs so the metal doesn't have as far to flow.
If you wish to return to the higher relief designs, the solution is to eliminate the one cent piece.
The cent accounts for close to 3/4ths of the mints production. Its elimination would greatly reduce the demand on the production line allowing the presses to be run at a slower rate and still easily keep up with the production requirements for all of the other coins because of the freed up presses that are no longer striking cents. This slower rate of striking will allow for more fill time and allow the higher relief to return. (Of course since the coppernickel alloys are harder than the silver it still may not be possible to have as hogh a relief as we did in the 18th and 19th centuries.)