Weekly World Numismatic News for April 24, 2022

National Coin Week wraps up this weekend, celebrating coin designs. One thing that has been constant throughout the 21st century is changing coin designs. It started with the 50 State Quarters program and has affected every circulating coin except the half-dollar and the dime.

Although the design has lasted more than 25 years, it is not likely that the Treasury Department will change the design. The story of the JFK assassination continues to resonate with a significant sector of the population, and Kennedy’s popularity remains.

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s appearance on the dime is different. Roosevelt helped create the March of Dimes, and following his death, Congress decided that adding his portrait to the dime was the best way to honor the late president. Since its release in 1946, the dime’s design has not changed.

The Roosevelt Dime is the smallest coin produced by the U.S. Mint. Changes to the design may not display as well. When John Sinnock designed the coin’s reverse, the similarity with the Mercury dime was not a coincidence. Aside from the symbolism, the U.S. Mint knows the design will strike well on a small planchet.

While the ability to strike the designs continues to be a concern, modern technology could help produce a suitable design. The problem is, what would make an appropriate design?

Until someone in Congress proposes a bill to change the dime’s design, it will remain the longest-running design on U.S. coins.

And now the news…

 April 17, 2022

“The Romans had been used to extremely fine silver coinage, so they may well have lost confidence in the denarius when it ceased to be pure,” Matthew Ponting, one of the archaeologists involved in the research, said in a media statement.  → Read more at mining.com

 April 17, 2022

An approximate amount of $1 has been received. The U.S. economy is estimated to grow by $5 trillion over the next five years. Coins with physical characteristics. The 11th quarter accounts for about 80% of this value. A billion-dollar note is $100 worth 5 billion. 70 percent of new bills are written to replace older notes as they go out of circulation each year.  → Read more at malaysiandigest.com

 April 18, 2022

Nearly 1,300 priceless 4th-century AD Roman coins, all in a pot, were found in September 2021 near Bubendorf, Basel County, Switzerland by amateur archaeologist volunteer, Daniel Ludin.  → Read more at ancient-origins.net

 April 20, 2022

A family's new truffle-hunting puppy is already worth its weight in gold after digging up 15 sovereign coins worth £6,000 on its first walk.  → Read more at dailymail.co.uk

 April 22, 2022

Out on his daily constitutional, a dog in Poland unexpectedly struck gold, or rather, silver.  → Read more at ancient-origins.net