Lincoln, Roosevelt and Kennedy.....Was there political opposition to their....

MGLICKER

....appearance on US coinage?

Assuming that Jefferson and Washington got a pass.

BillJones

If there was it was very low key. There is or was a law on the books that allowed the secretary of the Treasury change a design on a coin without congressional approval after it had been in use for 25 years. That applied to the Indian/Lincoln cent and the Mercury/Roosevelt dime. The only controversy I have read about the Roosevelt dime was that mint director, Nellie Ross, insisted that mint engraver, John Sinnock, got to design the coin instead of an outside artist. By then members of the Fine Arts a Commission expected it to be done by someone who was not connected with the mint.

As for the Kennedy half dollar that did require congressional approval because the Franklin half dollar had only been issued for 16 years. Any vote against that change from the Congress would have been like voting against motherhood.

MGLICKER

<< <i> Any vote against that change from the Congress would have been like voting against motherhood. >>



Good point!

Zoins

<< <i>

<< <i> Any vote against that change from the Congress would have been like voting against motherhood. >>



Good point! >>



6 people actually voted against the coin (352-6).

Of note, one of those who voiced his dissent on the Congressional Record, but still ended up voting for the bill, George Atlee Goodling (R-PA), wasn't reelected in 1964. He was apparently hoping for a Lincoln's Gettysburg Address Centennial half dollar in 1963 at the time but did manage to get elected again in 1966.

Rogers Morton, R-MD, who voted yea as well, said, "To arbitrarily change the name of important American landmarks...to change the mint of one of our coins and make of it in this coming election year a campaign button - seems to me shabby treatment of the memory of a man who gave completely and finally of himself in his devotion to duty."

MisterSmithGuesser

As far as the Roosevelt dime...

As far as I've read, the general public received the coin favorably upon its initial release. But there were a few letters of opposition from citizens due, in part, to some opposition to the New Deal. These voices against putting Roosevelt on the dime, however, were the extreme minority.

Today, there are some who feel that Reagan should replace Roosevelt on the dime, which seems to be a purely political desire. From Wikipedia:


<< <i>In 2003, a group of conservative Republicans in Congress proposed removing Roosevelt's image from the dime, and replacing it with that of President Ronald Reagan, although he was still alive. Legislation to this effect was introduced in November 2003 by Indiana Representative Mark Souder. Among the more notable opponents of the legislation was Nancy Reagan, who in December 2003 stated that, "When our country chooses to honor a great president such as Franklin Roosevelt by placing his likeness on our currency, it would be wrong to remove him." After President Reagan's death in June 2004, the proposed legislation gained additional support. Souder, however, stated that he was not going to pursue the legislation any further. >>


Of 675 votes (to date) a CoinWorld.com poll shows about 25% favorable to replacing Roosevelt with Reagan: http://www.coinworld.com/polls.html

In my opinion, replacing FDR with Reagan is more of a way to dishonor Roosevelt than it is to honor of Ron Reagan.

Zoins

<< <i>In my opinion, replacing FDR with Reagan is more of a way to dishonor Roosevelt >>



Disrespecting a President is probably why we haven't been able to change Presidents from coins and, in general, they will stay on their coins. The only exception is Eisenhower because the large dollar coin went away entirely.

MisterSmithGuesser

Perhaps.

You make a good point. Replacement of any president on a coin is sure to draw controversy from somewhere.

ricko

It is my belief that NO presidents should be on coins. They are just men and have their faults, as do all men/women. I prefer art on coins. Using art promotes beauty and creativity. Cheers, RickO

LanLord

<< <i>It is my belief that NO presidents should be on coins. They are just men and have their faults, as do all men/women. I prefer art on coins. Using art promotes beauty and creativity. Cheers, RickO >>

Agree 100%, additionally, it shows a nations pride in itself and financial means as opposed to the self indulgent object of placing a past leader on coins.

Get dead people off our coins!

ernie11

Something that ties Lincoln, Roosevelt and Kennedy together is that they all died in office, via illness or assassination. Which means that many people genuinely grieved at the time of their deaths, as they did with Harrison, Taylor, Garfield and McKinley. Harding, too, though perhaps less so.

MisterSmithGuesser

<< <i>

<< <i>It is my belief that NO presidents should be on coins. They are just men and have their faults, as do all men/women. I prefer art on coins. Using art promotes beauty and creativity. Cheers, RickO >>

Agree 100%, additionally, it shows a nations pride in itself and financial means as opposed to the self indulgent object of placing a past leader on coins.

Get dead people off our coins! >>


I agree. Even as a long time Roosevelt dime collector, I would like to see a return of the allegorical liberty on the dime.

It would seem that human beings have a natural drive to make Gods of individual men. One of the most glaring current examples is the Apotheosis of Washington at the U.S. Capitol Building. Apotheosis is the glorification of a subject to divine level...from the Greek "apotheoun" = "to deify".

telephoto1

I've always felt Garfield was the "forgotten" assassinated President, at least from a numismatic standpoint. He never got his own coin (I'm not counting the Presidential dollar because he by default had to be on that one), and there are very few medals/tokens compared to the other slain Presidents. He appeared on just a few National Bank Notes of the period and that's it. They made exemptions to existing law to rush JFK coins into production, McKinley promptly made it onto gold commems 2 years after his death, and of course Abe is everywhere... what about Garfield?