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In what year were these words written?

Why is it that we have the ugliest money of all civilized nations? For such undoubtedly our silver coinage is. The design is poor, commonplace, tasteless, characterless, and the execution is like thereunto. Our silver coins don't even look like real money. They have rather the appearance of tokens or mean medals. One reason of this is that the design is so inartistic and so insignificant. That young woman sitting on nothing in particular, wearing nothing to speak of, looking over her shoulder at nothing imaginable, and bearing in her left hand something that looks like a broomstick with a wooden nightcap on it--what is she doing there? What is the meaning of her? She is Liberty, we are told, and there is a label to that effect across a shield on her right, her need of which is not in any way manifest. But she might as well be anything else as Liberty; and at the first glance she looks much more like a spinster in her smock, with a distaff in her hand. Such a figure has no proper place upon a coin. ............

Our coins of forty or fifty years ago were much better in every respect, and looked much more like money, the reason being that they bore a head of Liberty which was bold, clear, and well defined in comparison with the weak thing that the Mint has given us for the last thirty years or so.

The article goes on to say that the ideal portraits for our coins would be the busts of Washington and Franklin. The mint director agreed with the critics that change in coin design was needed.

Comments

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    IGWTIGWT Posts: 4,975
    1886
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    garsmithgarsmith Posts: 5,894 ✭✭
    Thursday January 22, 2009 6:23 AM
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    baddogssbaddogss Posts: 1,326 ✭✭✭✭✭
    1876.
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    Sugar magnolia blossoms blooming, heads all empty and I don't care ...
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    IrishMikeIrishMike Posts: 7,737 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Thursday January 22, 2009 6:23 AM >>



    I wondered which smarta$$ would answer that first. image
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    IrishMikeIrishMike Posts: 7,737 ✭✭✭


    << <i>1876. >>



    Wow am impressed, correctomundo!
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    garsmithgarsmith Posts: 5,894 ✭✭
    What did I win?
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    baddogssbaddogss Posts: 1,326 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>1876. >>



    Wow am impressed, correctomundo! >>



    I'm reading the book. Which book?
    Thank you PCGS for the Forums! ANA # 3150931 - Successful BST with: Bah1513, ckeusa, coin22lover, coinsarefun, DCW, guitarwes, SLQ, Sunshine Rare Coin, tmot99, Tdec1000, dmarks, Flatwoods, Wondercoin, Yorkshireman
    Sugar magnolia blossoms blooming, heads all empty and I don't care ...
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    IrishMikeIrishMike Posts: 7,737 ✭✭✭
    Ted Schwartz, A History of United States Coinage, only book in the local library that I hadn't read yet, that pertained to coins.
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    baddogssbaddogss Posts: 1,326 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Ted Schwartz, A History of United States Coinage, only book in the local library that I hadn't read yet, that pertained to coins. >>



    PM sent.
    Thank you PCGS for the Forums! ANA # 3150931 - Successful BST with: Bah1513, ckeusa, coin22lover, coinsarefun, DCW, guitarwes, SLQ, Sunshine Rare Coin, tmot99, Tdec1000, dmarks, Flatwoods, Wondercoin, Yorkshireman
    Sugar magnolia blossoms blooming, heads all empty and I don't care ...
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    IrishMikeIrishMike Posts: 7,737 ✭✭✭
    It struck me as ironic with all the clamor today to remove dead presidents and other historic figures from our coinage and return to a classic motif.
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    baddogssbaddogss Posts: 1,326 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Also referenced in the book "Striking Change - The Great Artistic Collaboration of Theodore Roosevelt and Augustus Saint-Gaudens" ...

    Thank you PCGS for the Forums! ANA # 3150931 - Successful BST with: Bah1513, ckeusa, coin22lover, coinsarefun, DCW, guitarwes, SLQ, Sunshine Rare Coin, tmot99, Tdec1000, dmarks, Flatwoods, Wondercoin, Yorkshireman
    Sugar magnolia blossoms blooming, heads all empty and I don't care ...

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