My Rant....

[MAULEMALL]

America has the most boring coins in the world.

I am not speaking of the classic stuff but more of the little disc's with the ugly people on it..

My 6 year olds words...

Don't get her wrong...She likes Morgans, Peace and even CBHs...

But whenever she goes to the local B&M it's the foreign coins she gravitates too..

And thank God they are there.In time I am hoping that she will come to appreciate American coinage but for now her interests are in this;

 

 

I have posted pics of other coins(Bullion really) of the Snake ,Kangaroo,Kookaburra's etc, etc And these are Her Faverites...

The ones she takes to school and shows to her Teacher with a smile that would light the moon.

 

The Mint is excluding our kids..

 

Sure they have sets designed to attract kids but they are boring and uninteresting.

 

If you think the scammers on ebay are screwing up our hobby then I have to say the mint is doing a pretty good job all by themselves.

[BillJones]

You are entitled to rant, but those of us who are tired having more and more coins flowing out of the mint with totally inane themes do not share your enthusiasm to have more coins that will make your 6 year old happy. The private sector can make silver rounds and bars with almost any design they want. Let them do it.

 

Silver bars were a big deal for a while in the 1970s. Maybe it’s time for that market to be rejuvenated. Right now I’ve got new coin fatigue.

[pendragon1998]

Sorry, Maul - my preference would be for the mint to simplify its releases, not add to them.

 

In my happy world, I'd like to see new, more classic designs for the nickel through dollar (dropping the cent entirely). Each coin should have a single, static design, which we can recycle every 25 years or so. Each design would be symbolic of liberty, not an effigy of a dead person. Commemoratives would be limited to one dollar and one half per year (both silver), commemorating something of strong historical significance (preferably on its anniversary, and one greater than 50 years ago). We'd have gold and platinum 1/10, 1/2, and 1 oz coins and silver 1 oz bullion coins. I'd like to see the bullion change the reverse every other year, reverting to a classic design on every other year (like the Britannias).

 

If there's resistance to dropping the cent - fine, let it pay for itself. Sell advertising on the reverse, letting companies purchase by the production month. All profits would go first to reducing mint operating costs, and anything else into the treasury to reduce the tax burden on everyone else.

 

The dollar bill would be eliminated, and every other US bill would revert to a classic green design, with an allowance made for a security "zone" on the bill - a square where security features could be placed.

 

If your daughter likes the foreign approach to coinage - by all means, support that! There's no reason to lock her into US coins. In my opinion, foreign coins offer more bang for the buck in many cases, anyway.

[MikeKing]

You're right.

Our coinage really sucks. It's an embarrassment. It reminds me of the decay of Roman coinage paralleling the decay of the empire. A sad commentary, as having been raised with a lot of national enthusiasm, what I want for my country is success, and our coinage does not reflect that at all. It's decadent.

 

 

[jesbroken]

Well said, Mke. Great Rant, MM. I agree with you both. Our coinage has sucked for decades. We have no vision at the U.S. Mint along with no quality control. Makes a bad situation even worse.

[TomB]

I don't know that I would want more coinage designs, rather, I would simply like better coinage designs. It is obvious that the US Mint has the knowledge to produce technically outstanding coinage, but I would like to see them couple that with aesthetically superior work.

[jtryka]

Once again, I will quote Teddy Roosevelt - "I think our coinage is artistically of atrocious hideousness." He said that on December 27, 1904 and was referring to coronet Liberty gold and Barber and Morgan silver coins! Imagine what he would say today, I think it would have a lot of cussing involved...

 

[MikeInFL]

I don't know that I would want more coinage designs, rather, I would simply like better coinage designs. It is obvious that the US Mint has the knowledge to produce technically outstanding coinage, but I would like to see them couple that with aesthetically superior work.

 

I agree 1000%.

[Zoins]

The Mint is excluding our kids..

 

Sure they have sets designed to attract kids but they are boring and uninteresting.

 

If you think the scammers on ebay are screwing up our hobby then I have to say the mint is doing a pretty good job all by themselves.

The nice thing about world coins is that there are so many designs, there's something for everyone. That's better for people that want to choose a subject matter that appeals to them but is worse for people that want one of everything.

 

The SHQs are probably the best US program geared towards kids right now. The regular commems are probably too PC and the tribute coins are mainly geared towards older collectors that like classic designs.

 

If your daughter likes world coins and it encourages her to learn about other countries, she'll be a step ahead as she grows up.

 

Nice coin BTW

[BillJones]

Once again, I will quote Teddy Roosevelt - "I think our coinage is artistically of atrocious hideousness." He said that on December 27, 1904 and was referring to coronet Liberty gold and Barber and Morgan silver coins! Imagine what he would say today, I think it would have a lot of cussing involved...

 

Yes, if Teddy Roosevelt could see the new presidental dollars, he would be convinced that Charles Barber had come back to life.

 

BTW I don't think that TR thought much of cussing. His vocabulary and his image as a Victorian gentlemen would not allow it.

[Zoins]

Yes, if Teddy Roosevelt could see the new presidental dollars, he would be convinced that Charles Barber had come back to life.

Maybe Augustus St. Gaudens. Did TR hate the Barber coins?

[jesbroken]

Surely, no one would want more coinage, merely to rid ourselves of the garbage we now have and replace part of it with quality designed features that our forefathers envisioned such as liberty, freedom, peace, strength, conservation of our country's assets-to mention a few.

[Zoins]

Surely, no one would want more coinage, merely to rid ourselves of the garbage we now have and replace part of it with quality designed features that our forefathers envisioned such as liberty, freedom, peace, strength, conservation of our country's assets-to mention a few.

Don't forget our forefathers also envisioned the CCHDs (classic commem half dollars).

 

Also, the OP's daughter likes dragon coins which are not covered in US coin allegories of liberty, freedom, peace, strength or conservation. That was the original point of the post, so surely there are people that want more, or at least different, coinage aside from the topics you mentioned. Those people may become YNs and lead numismatics into the future.

[BillJones]

Yes, if Teddy Roosevelt could see the new presidental dollars, he would be convinced that Charles Barber had come back to life.

Maybe Augustus St. Gaudens. Did TR hate the Barber coins?

 

Yes, Teddy Roosevelt described all of the coins that were in circulation at the time he asked St. Gaudens to redesign everything as “atrociously hideous.”

 

Roosevelt and St. Gaudens viewed Barber as a bureaucrat whose lack of talent and vision were responsible for many of the mint’s design shortcomings. They joked that he had been working at the mint since the days of George Washington.

 

St. Gaudens disliked the man. He thought of him as nothing more than a hack. St. Gaudens was angered by the charade that went on in 1891 when it was finally decided to replace the Liberty Seated designs. The public and professional artists were asked to submit designs. St. Gaudens felt that the professionals should have been paid for their time. In the end St. Gaudens was convinced that Barber had no intention of any designs ending up on the coins except his own.

 

In 1892 St. Gaudens was especially incensed when his obverse design for the 1892 Columbian Exposition medal was combined with Barber’s reverse. He felt that his work had been degraded when it appeared opposite Barber's design.

 

[jtryka]

I think that TR was most displeased with the long-running Gobrecht/Longacre designs, and their efforts started with the cent and the gold coins as those were able to be changed according to the laws in place requiring any changes to designs in use mroe than 25 years could be made at the discretion of the mint rather than an act of Congress. As for the Barber designs in particular, they came about in 1892 a a result of the failed coinage design competition which really set Saint-Gaudens and Barber on the path to heated animosity to say the least. I am quite confident that TR had intention to replace all the coinage designs, and in many cases it was artists more in line with Saint-Gaudens' vision that completed the work (such as James Earl Fraser who was a former assistant to Saint-Gaudens). Certainly if RWB sees this post, he can add his authoritative thoughts on TR's impression of Barber's designs.

 

As for TR not cussing, you may be right, but I have a really hard time envisioning the "Rough Riders" as a band of Victorian gentlemen saving the world from bad manners.

[MAULEMALL]

Well to be honest this turned into a pretty good discussion..

[rbrown4]

I do not know enough to get into the historical and political reasoning behind the whys and hows of the US coin mintage, but I can say that the main reason my father became interested in Canadian, Austrailian and Russian coins as well as other miscellaneous coins is due to the fact that their overall beauty was superior. Now classic US of course were not discounted and should not be, but the detail and the themes of these foreign coins was and continues to be exceptional. You will not find a cameo in US coins like you can in Canadian today or anytime in the recent past.

 

Rey

[Architecht]

Once again, I will quote Teddy Roosevelt - "I think our coinage is artistically of atrocious hideousness." He said that on December 27, 1904 and was referring to coronet Liberty gold and Barber and Morgan silver coins! Imagine what he would say today, I think it would have a lot of cussing involved...

 

It is an interesting cultural situation. At the ANA show in Milwaukee I was talking to an ancients dealer looking at Roman and Greek coins and noticing how much more attractive and detailed greek coins are.

 

I wonder if there are common sorts of political or cultural mind sets that drive that.

[Bruceswar]

Once again, I will quote Teddy Roosevelt - "I think our coinage is artistically of atrocious hideousness." He said that on December 27, 1904 and was referring to coronet Liberty gold and Barber and Morgan silver coins! Imagine what he would say today, I think it would have a lot of cussing involved...

 

It is an interesting cultural situation. At the ANA show in Milwaukee I was talking to an ancients dealer looking at Roman and Greek coins and noticing how much more attractive and detailed greek coins are.

 

I wonder if there are common sorts of political or cultural mind sets that drive that.

 

Arch.. did not know you collected coins... Share more about what you collect!