Senate passes Nickel Bill

[chrisfuccione]

link

 

Next step is the President still has to sign it. CHRIS

[gmarguli]

While it is nice to have new designs, the fact that the designs are going to go to committee is a little scary. We know how well committees work.

 

Why go back to the previous design in 2006? Let's get new designs without dead people on them. Liberty. Parks. Animals. Landmarks. Something interesting, not a dead guy.

 

Hopefully they can fix Jeffersons hair. The current spaghetti hair needs to be more defined like an angel hair.

[keithdagen]

My original understanding is that the obverse would basically swipe the design of the 93 Jefferson commemorative dollar.

[TomB]

Well, at least we can hope that by 2006 there are some people with common sense in positions of authority that might allow for a discontinuance of the "traditional" nickel design.

[Hoot]

The passage of this bill is an abomination. We now are entered into a new era where the political representatives of a given state have the power to rail through a bill that makes a single denomination their private issue. What next? Mass. will propose bills to require Kennedy on the half ad infinitum and Illinois will do the same for Lincoln on the cent forever and ever, and where was FDR born? Oh! and VA will rise again for Washington on the 25 cents.

 

This makes me sick. I dispise such political stupidity. Such are the politics of immature and prejudicial minds in the Congress and Senate. We should be afraid of such ignorance among the leadership of our country. It goes to show how unimportant the legacy of U.S. coinage has become to the nation at large.

 

Hoot

[keithdagen]

The new protected class of citizen: the dead President.

[GDJMSP]

There is a small victory in this - but only a small one. After 12/31/05 the law reads - " the obverse of any 5-cent coin issued after December 31, 2005, shall bear the likeness of Thomas Jefferson and the reverse of any such 5-cent coin shall bear an image of the home of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello."

 

It does not say it must be the same design we have now.

 

There is also still the opportunity - for the next 3 years - for this law to be amended even further. And to remove the clause that requires the continuation of the Jefferson nickel.

[gmarguli]

where was FDR born?

 

I want to say NY, but I'm not sure.

 

 

Such are the politics of immature and prejudicial minds in the Congress and Senate. We should be afraid of such ignorance among the leadership of our country. It goes to show how unimportant the legacy of U.S. coinage has become to the nation at large.

 

Are there any active coin collectors in Congress? I know we had a couple in the past, but I don't remember who or even if they are still in Congress.

[keithdagen]

Senator Gramm of Texas was a strong advocate of complete coinage redesign, but he recently retired before getting a real opportunity to do anything.

[Hoot]

Are there any active coin collectors in Congress?

 

I truly do not know. If there are any collectors, there mustn't be any serious ones, or they are unduly quiet.

 

I'm not as optimistic as GDJMSP about the future of the nickel. I think there is too much complacency and inertia in Congress to do much of anything but control our coinage, rather than place new inspiration on the faces of our coins. It'll be a fight and I think that more of us collectors will have to get involved.

 

Hoot

[gmarguli]

I thought there was one Congresscritter that had an awesome Mercury dime set and he recently sold it?

[Wihlborg]

Greg,

 

I remember that also, but I can't remember his name.

 

John

 

[New_Horizons]

Is there any chance the ICTA can step in, and throw their "weight" around? I know it's been a good long while since they bothered to update their web-page, but it was being run by TAG... I was under the impression this would be right up their alley...

[jtryka]

Well, as disappointed as I am, there isn't much we can do right now outside of writing to our reps to change this. If we return to the same old nickel in 2006, why don't we coin collectors have a revolt/protest ala the Boston Tea Party, and just come out to the Potomac and dump a whole bunch of nickels over the side? At least it would make a statement. Or better still, refuse to accept any nickels and send all 6 billion a year into Virginia, since they have taken ownership of the denomination! AAARRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!! Sorry, this sort of thing just chaps my hide!

[EVillageProwler]

FDR indeed was born in NY, upstate from the City.

 

EVP

 

[Higashiyama]

Congressman Jimmy Hays (Alabama?) had an extraordinary first year of issue type set, which he sold to raise money to run for Congress. I attended the sale at Stack's - it must have been 20 years ago.

[gmarguli]

The Congresscritter I'm thinking of sold his set within the last two years.

[TomB]

Wasn't it the Sal (I can't remember his last name but it's something like Bassano) set of Mercury dimes through Heritage and they realized enormous prices?