What's the WORST conceived US coin?

topstuf

I'll take the gold dollar.

The T1 is so small that it's a wonder ANYONE ever found one in their pocket. They musta used purses.

The T2 & 3 are so THIN that it's a wonder anyone ever found it.

And they fell out of pockets on a regular basis. When they restored the gold rush town of Columbia in Calif years and years ago, they found gold dollars under the sidewalks.

And to top it off, when they were current a dollar was a BUNCH of money. Boo on the gold dollar.

Dave99B

IKE dollar. Too big, too ugly.

Dave

nwcs

Well, the gold dollar did serve a purpose in a state that hated silver... Here's my list in order of most useless:

1. 20 cent piece
2. Ike
2a. SBA
3. Stella
4. Union

Purple73

Sac dollars. They Ugly, Waste of money to make and they rarely circulated.

PURPLE

Scavenger

I disagree, I think the IKE was the best -

I love big coins

JadeRareCoin

Three cent silver coins, although I really like them a lot.

nwcs

But trimes weren't ill conceived. They matched the postage of the time and served a purpose.

jom

The SAC is NOT an ugly coin. Bad idea maybe but not ugly.

Ike, SBA, SAC: These ideas were BAD given they simply didn't do what it would take for them to circulate: Get rid of the ONE dollar bill. Until that happens a dollare coin will NOT circulate.

jom

flaminio

Gotta go with twenty-centers. This *might* have been a good idea if it was coupled with quarter elimination, but without that, it was an exercise in futility.

What they should have done in 1875 is eliminate quarter dollars and quarter eagles, and replace them with 20c and $2 coins. We would then have coins for 1c, 2c, 5c; 10c, 20c, 50c; $1, $2, $5; $10, $20, $50 (half unions being never actually produced, except as territorial and commemorative issues). Nice and logical.

JadeRareCoin

But trimes weren't ill conceived. They matched the postage of the time and served a purpose.

Good point. I forgot about that. I just know that they are often damaged due to their petite frame. I have heard stories about how they were used as shims in machines and even used to straighten teeth by placing them between the gaps.

I change my vote to the Sacagawea Dollar; a waste of tax payer's money.

Dennis88

<< <i>Gotta go with twenty-centers. This *might* have been a good idea if it was coupled with quarter elimination, but without that, it was an exercise in futility.

What they should have done in 1875 is eliminate quarter dollars and quarter eagles, and replace them with 20c and $2 coins. We would then have coins for 1c, 2c, 5c; 10c, 20c, 50c; $1, $2, $5; $10, $20, $50 (half unions being never actually produced, except as territorial and commemorative issues). Nice and logical. >>



That's the same system as we have here in Europe. 1C- 2 euro.

flaminio

<< <i>The SAC is NOT an ugly coin. Bad idea maybe but not ugly. >>

I really don't know why people keep saying that the Sac is an ugly coin. I find the obverse quite lovely, and having the baby is a nice touch. (Of course, the fact that Randy'L is a total hottie doesn't hurt.) The reverse is one of the best eagle depictions of any coin. I think that people got too caught up in design process and all the PC-ness that eminated from it. Yes, that was distasteful, but don't fault the child for the actions of her parents.

As for the Sac not circulating -- well, it circulates better than SBAs and Ikes, and probably better than Morgans and Peaces did in their day. Yes, it will never be truly successful without rag-buck elimination, but in the meantime it's found a niche. Indeed, it's more successful these days than half dollars, which are rarely seen outside of casinos.

And a waste of taxpayer's money? Ridiculous. The mint makes them for 22c, and sells them for a dollar. We should all be so lucky to have a product with that kind of mark-up. The real taxpayer waste is the continued production of rag-bucks. Switching to dollar coins would save hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

coinpage

I'll take a swipe at commem's - The 1997 Franklin D. Roosevelt Commemorative Gold Five Dollar - Wasn't he the president who outlawed gold ownership?

Steve27

I'm surprised no one said the SBA. It looks too much like a quarter, they didn't stop printing of paper dollars, and the coin is ugly.

BillJones

The gold dollar was actually quite popular in the years before the Civil War. It was the only U.S. dollar that had a reliable value, which enjoyed very much use in circulation. There was a lot of bogus, private bank issued paper money in circulation at the time the gold dollar was first issued. For that reason people took to the coin.

I'd say that the SBA Dollar would lead of list of poorly conceived coins. Why couldn't the treasury officials see that its size was too close to the quarter? Beyond that Ike was pretty bad because it was too big. Once more why couldn't the treasury offiicals note why our forefathers refused to use the silver dollar?

Beyond that the 20 cent piece was non-starter. No one could come up with a good reason why it was needed except that producing it took more silver off the market. Ditto for the Three Dollar Gold Piece, which helped take a glut of gold off the market. There was no demand or use for it once it had been issued. BUT at least no one confused it with the $2.50 or $5 gold coins.

JadeRareCoin

And a waste of taxpayer's money? Ridiculous.

You forgot about the multi-million dollar advertising campaign by the U.S. Mint. That advertising campaign was one of the biggest marketing failures in recent times and will probably be used in marketing schools for years to come as a study model. And don't forget about the multi-million dollar investment in metallurgical R&D, tooling and manufacturing. I read recently that over 200,000,000 of the Sacagawea Dollars are being stored in Government vaults. So they only cost $0.22 to make? What's the use if they are not used? Sounds like a waste of tax payer dollars to me. It's much cheaper to print dollar bills.

flaminio

<< <i>I'll take a swipe at commem's - The 1997 Franklin D. Roosevelt Commemorative Gold Five Dollar - Wasn't he the president who outlawed gold ownership? >>

Heh -- good one. For useless commems, nothing beats the 1936 Cincinnati, a commemorative that commemorates ... nothing, apparently.

ms70

I think we are witnessing the worst conceived coinage this very decade. And we still have the 2009 Lincoln Cent on the horizon that I'm
sure they will make a mess out of.

samingeorgia

My vote would definitely be for the SBA dollar. Within a month of its issue I received one in change in place of a quarter and almost made the same mistake myself with a purchase about a week or so later. I started putting them on my left pocket whenever I got one so I wouldn't lose 75 cents from carelessness.

topstuf

If I recall correctly, when the Research Triangle Institute recommended the SBA dollar, they ALSO recommended changing the size of the rest of the coins.
I don't remember where I read it, but it seems to stick in my mind. Something about paying RTI $300,000 or $600,000 of OUR money to study it, but rejecting their full recommendation.

anyhow here is:

More than you EVER wanted to know about the SBA dollar

ziggy29

<< <i>I'll take a swipe at commem's - The 1997 Franklin D. Roosevelt Commemorative Gold Five Dollar - Wasn't he the president who outlawed gold ownership? >>

Wow -- nice irony; I'd never thought of that. Good pick.

Though one could also make an argument for *any* coin honoring George Washington, knowing how he felt about his image and images of other politicians on coins. It could reasonably be said that "honoring" Washington on coinage is actually dishonoring him, based on how he felt about it.

XpipedreamR

<< <i>IKE dollar. Too big, too ugly.

Dave >>






Too big? It's the same size as all the other silver dollars!

earlwbollinger

The gold dollars were real popular way back then.
At the time they had come out, pockets didn't really exist that much yet.
Everyone had purses or money pouches.

I'd say the SBA dollars were the worst. Too much like a quarter.

Coinhusker1

Had to be the SBA. Instant flop for the public (known as the "Carter quarter"), and collectors (Terrible design -- looked like Ike with a wig, And they were too lazy to come up with a new design for the reverse).

Conder101

<< <i>If I recall correctly, when the Research Triangle Institute recommended the SBA dollar, they ALSO recommended changing the size of the rest of the coins.
I don't remember where I read it, but it seems to stick in my mind. Something about paying RTI $300,000 or $600,000 of OUR money to study it, but rejecting their full recommendation. >>


No they didn't recommend changing the sizes of the other coins, but they did recommend making it a different color and eliminating the paper dollar or it wouldn't work.

And we have funded that same study at least three times, gotten the same conclusions each time, and still not implemented them.

saintguru

I 'd have to go with the Janet Reno 7 cent piece.

cosmicdebris

That Eunice Shriver Comm

saintguru

That Eunice Shriver Comm

Just goes to show...I liked that coin. But not as much as the Maria Shriver Shield-Nipple

Goldfinger

It has to be the Trade Dollar. Completely botched.

nankraut

My vote for the worst would have to be the SBA Dollar

coppercoins

Worst "conceived" may not have been the SBA dollar, but because of government red tape it was the worst "carried out." Plans were for a gold colored dollar, a dollar with multi-edges, etc...but they came out with a coin nearly indistinguishable from a quarter. Duhh...

aem4162

the agony because it's ugly and too close in size to the quarter
the sac because the govt STILL won't get rid of the paper dollar. i think she's a really pretty coin, though

sliderider

The SBA

sliderider

<< <i>It has to be the Trade Dollar. Completely botched. >>



Huh?? How was it completely botched?? Although many trade dollars were eventually dumped into circulation at home, they were never intended to be used here. They were created for trade with China, and they excelled in that area. The standard silver dollar was short in silver compared to many of the other silver coins being used for trade with China and in order to make U.S. silver coins more acceptable to Chinese merchants, the trade dollar was created which bumped up the silver content to be equal to the coins used by other nations and those produced internally in China. The fact that so many examples of the trade dollar can be found with literally dozens of chopmarks attesting to their weight and fineness, makes more than an adequate statement about the success of the coins.

saintguru

It was botched because she has the tiniest titties of any US coin. Yechhhh!!!

catfish172

Lincoln Memorial Penny, most of these wind up in floorboards and street gutters.

smselvek

Definatly the MORGAN DOLLAR. Who in their right mind would want to collect them!



Just Kidding

saintguru

NEW TO COINS??


BUSH/CHENEY!!

cladking

<< <i>Lincoln Memorial Penny, most of these wind up in floorboards and street gutters. >>



I think we got a winner. Sure there have been ugly coins and coins with dubious themes (Korean war).
There have been coins which were even demonetized for many years but how can you beat a coin which
has so little value that the handling costs and costs to the economy greatly exceed the face value. If coins
are money what is a new zinc cent with a negative value? It's not a coin, it's anti-money.

UncleWiggly

Whew! what a relief from all "those" other posts. I have to pick the Bullion coins. Simply because there is no stop date for the run. I had a set of the ASEs but sold them when I realized I might not ever have a complete set from beginning to end.


Jerry