Oct 5, 2009 | coin design, coins, national park quarters
Over the weekend, Mike Zielinski of the Mint News Blog posted a slide show of the candidates for the America the Beautiful Quarters program. Starting in 2010, the US Mint will release five quarters per year until 2020 and one quarter in 2021 honoring one National Park or National Historic Site in the 50 states, District of Columbia, and five insular territories.
The first five quarters for 2010 will be as follows:
Mike put together a slide show of the design candidates.
The first thing I notices is that the image of the proposed obverse of the new quarters show a better executed design. George Washington’s hair looks less spaghetti-like and the features are stronger. While I would have preferred to see Teddy Roosevelt on the obverse of this quarter, a better image of our first president is a good consolation.
In looking at the designs, there seems to be an effort by the Mint to come up with meaningful designs than the State Quarters. I am sure that they will not be coming up with dead skulls and cuds for designs.
Regardless of the designs, I continue to not be excited about these quarters.
Aug 14, 2009 | coin design, US Mint
Yesterday was the first day that the new Professional Life Lincoln Cents were released. Aside from the ceremony in Springfield, Illinois, the US Mint sold rolls at Union Station in Washington, DC. The event passed without much notice.
When the Formative Years, or Rail Splitter cents were released, there was a rush of people to Union Station that caught the notice of the media. Local and national news outlets descended on Union Station to take capture the scene. It was such a happening that it broke through the political games that were going on within yards of Union Station.
Other than an article from the State Register-Journal of Springfield, there was little notice elsewhere. Even the Mint’s hometown Philadelphia Inquirer buried a paragraph about the coin’s release at the bottom of the “Business news in brief” page.
It is the bicentennial birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the president that is credited with holding the country together during its most tumultuous times. We should be celebrating Lincoln. But there seems to be less excitement for these coins than there were for the Westward Journey nickle program.
Discounting the fact that I work “inside the Beltway” and hear more about politics than any other news, there seems to be a focus on other issues and not numismatics. Even the numismatic press has been covering issues of the market and issues of metals values.
This year, the proof sets have 18 coins. When the Mint Sets are released, there will be 36 coins. With coins from the Lincoln Bicentennial Cents, DC and Terrotories Quarters, Presidential Dollars, and the Native American $1 Coin it is the most coins in these sets in the Mint’s history.
Has all of these coin programs jumped the shark?
Originally, I thought this would be an exciting year. But the near monthly release of new coins seems to have faded into the background like rain on a tin roof.
And we have yet to see the 2009 24-karat Gold Buffalo.
Unfortunately, next year will begin the National Parks quarters. Modeled after the successful State Quarters program, congress did not think we needed a break and passed this law anyway.
It’s not like the Mint has been creating “awe inspiring designs.” Now we have to contend with another 11 year state series from the designers that gave us such winners as the Ohio hanging astronaut and the Montana’s dead animal skull.
Numismatic history has not looked too kindly on the early commemorative era. There were too many coins with only marginally interesting commemorations that wore out collectors. We seem to be doing the same with these circulating commemoratives. History is going to show that we overdid the circulating commemorative concept these last ten years. I hope that when these programs end we are granted a break.
Jun 4, 2009 | CCAC, cents, CFA, coin design, US Mint
For the last few months, the Commission of Fine Arts and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee have been volleying between each other and the sculptor-engravers at the US Mint over the design of the reverse for the 2010 Lincoln Cent. Based on what is being reported one thing is clear, the designs are somewhat less than stellar.
Ok… they stink!
According to Public Law 145-109 Section 303 states, “[the] design on the reverse of the 1-cent coins issued after December 31, 2009, shall bear an image emblematic of President Lincoln’s preservation of the United States of America as a single and united country.”
While the mandate sounds simple, there is a catch: Lincoln only caught a glimpse of a united country. Prior to Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender on April 9, 1865, Lincoln visited Richmond after it was taken by Union troops. Lincoln was greeted as a conquering hero by newly freed slaves on his way to visit the Confederate capital. When Lincoln arrived at Jefferson Davis’s office, he sat behind Davis’s desk to symbolize that there was only one president who had the authority to rule over the land. Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865 and died on April 15.
Lincoln was re-elected in 1864 with 55-percent of the vote and a 212-21 electoral vote margin. On March 3, 1865, Lincoln gave his second inaugural address as the war was winding down. Lincoln’s theme turned to healing as he ended his address:
With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.
With that rich and well documented history, someone could not come up with a good theme to represent the preservation of a united country?
Even though the Confederate states did not participate in the 1864 election, Lincoln’s re-election and inaugural speech laid claim to his desire to end this bloody chapter in our history and pursue a policy of peace. What would be a better iconic image than Lincoln delivering his Second Inaugural Address.
Although there is only one known photograph of the inauguration (see above), there are artists renderings that could be used to base a design. For example, the color image to the right of this paragraph was found on the Internet. I do not know who created the image but it shows Lincoln standing at a lectern with Vice President Andrew Johnson (a southern Democrat) sitting behind Lincoln, and Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase standing to Lincoln’s left. It is a better image to use than what appeared on the cover of Harper’s Weekly because it shows a more dignified proceedings’plus I think it would look better on a small coin, like the cent.
I think that this is a better idea than sheaths of wheat, shields, and images of the Capital building because it is clearly about Lincoln and how he lead the nation out of its bloodiest war into one United States.
If you agree with me, I encourage you to contact the US Mint, CFA, and CCAC to let them know if this idea. After all, it is our money, we should have more of a say in how it looks!!
May 5, 2009 | CCAC, cents, CFA, coin design, US Mint
I learned that the 2010 Lincoln Cent reverse design chosen by the Commission of Fine Arts has been withdrawn from consideration. Apparently, the design closely resembles the one used on the Weimar Republic of Germany 50 pfennig coin. This coin features the motto of the Weimer Republic “Sich regen bringt Segen”, meaning “hard work brings it’s own reward.”
Similar designs were used throughout the Soviet bloc countries during the Cold War era.
Aside from being US Mint policy not to use desings that have appeared on foreign coins, the imagry of using socialist and communist symbols of the past makes the design a bad idea.
I have learned that the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee selected the shield design LP-13 (see the image). The design entitled “Shield of Union” resembles the pattern cent designed by William Barber. However, the CCAC did express their concern that the designs submitted were not as good as they could be.
Next month, the CCAC will look at new designs for the obverse of the 2010 Lincoln Cent. While I am not in favor of changing the Victor David Brenner design, I learned that the CCAC will be looking at keeping the portrait but making it larger on the planchet. Hopefully that is the only design change they make.
Image courtesy of CoinNetwork.com.
Apr 26, 2009 | cents, coin design
I was catching up on the news and found an article about the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts choice for the reverse of the 2010 Lincoln Cent. In a word, “ugh!”
According to Public Law 109-145 (GPO: [Text] [PDF]) it reads:
The design on the reverse of the 1-cent coins issued after December 31, 2009, shall bear an image emblematic of President Lincoln&rdqo;s preservation of the United States of America as a single and united country.
There are many ways to depict the US as a single and united country. But wheat sheafs bound together is such an esoteric design decision that the majority of the country will not understand. To make matters worse, the CFA recommended that the US Mint removes the words “ONE COUNTRY” and the “1 ¢” designation for the words “ONE CENT” across the reverse.
Even though I have not seen the other designs the CFA had to choose from, I would not think about bound wheat as a symbolism of a united country. The United States is no longer an agrarian society. We are bound together as a people with diverse cultures tied together by communications and commerce. Lincoln’s preservation of the union was the ideal that the strength of the many outweighed the differences we had.
The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee will meet on Tuesday, April 28, 2009,at United States Mint Headquarters, 801 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20220. CCAC meetings are open to the public and begin at 9:30 AM. I wonder if they take comments from the public?
Image courtesy of Numismaster.com and the US Mint.
Apr 14, 2009 | CFA, coin design
If you are in the Washington, DC area on April 16, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts will be holding a public meeting. The CFA will meet at the National Building Museum located at 401 F Street NW in Suite 312. Meeting is scheduled to convene at 10:00 AM.
On the agenda is the selection of the final design for the 2010 Native American One Dollar Coin. Five reverse designs are being considered. The CFA is also considering the final design for the permanent reverse for the 2010 Lincoln Cent. Sixteen designs are being considered.
Based on what I have read in previous minutes of the CFA’s discussions, it could be entertaining to hear what is said about these coin designs.
Feb 28, 2009 | coin design, US Mint
Buried within the hype of the Ultra High Relief Saint Gaudens Double Eagle and all of the other news of the day was that during the ceremony for the opening of the UHR exhibit at the Philadelphia Mint was the announcement that John Mercanti would be the 12th Chief Engraver of the US Mint.
Mercanti, who was previously the “Supervisory Design and Master Tooling Development Specialist,” has been working for the US Mint since 1974 and has been responsible for the design of some of the Mint’s most spectacular coins of the last 35 years. Mercanti worked under Chief Engravers Frank Gasparro and Elizabeth Jones.
After Jones retired in 1990, the US Mint abolished the position of Chief Engraver. After 19 years, Director Edmund C. Moy has decided to bring back the position and offer the job to the Mint’s most experienced and accomplished engraver. Mercanti deserves the honor to join this elite group:
| Robert Scot |
1793-1823 |
| William Kneass |
1824-1840 |
| Christian Gobrecht |
1835-1844 |
| James Barton Longacre |
1844-1869 |
| William Barber |
1869-1879 |
| Charles Edward Barber |
1879-1917 |
| George T. Morgan |
1917-1925 |
| John R. (Ray) Sinnock |
1925-1947 |
| Gilroy Roberts |
1948-1964 |
| Frank Gasparro |
1965-1981 |
| Elizabeth Jones |
1981-1990 |
| John M. Mercanti |
2009-present |
Congratulation to John Mercanti!
Feb 12, 2009 | cents, coin design, coins, Federal Reserve, US Mint
The US Mint will introduce the first in a series of redesigned Lincoln Cents honoring our 16th President’s 200th birthday at the Abraham Lincoln Brithplace in Hodgenville, Kentucky. Unveiling will occur at 10:00 AM during The Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration to be held at LaRue County High School in Hodgenville, Kentucky.
Billed as the first redesign of the Lincoln Cent in over 50 years, the first coin issued will honor his birth and early childhood in what is now known as Hodgenville, Kentucky. Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in a log cabin to Thomas and Nancy Hank Lincoln. While the log cabin where Lincoln lived has been lost to history, a replica of common design for the era was used as a model for the coin. The reverse was design by Artistic Infusion Program (AIP) Master Designer Richard Masters and sculpted by Sculptor-Engraver Jim Licaretz
However, it may be a while before the new coin will be seen in change. Susan Headley points out that the way coins are distributed through the Federal Reserve system, there may be a backlog of coins in stock that will prevent the new cents from reaching the public. Susan explains that the bad economy has caused more coins being returned to the Fed than being distributed. Since the Fed buys only what it needs from the US Mint, it may be a while before the inventory is depleted enough for the Fed to order coins.
Susan reported that when she visited the Philadelphia Mint last week, she found that three of the lines striking cents were not running. When I visited the Philadelphia Mint in the summer of 2007, we were told that the machines that strike cents run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To hear that the Mint has reduced production of cents is very worrisome for the economy and those who work at the Mint. I hope their superintendent has the chutzpa that Mae Biester showed in the 1950s.
Image courtesy of the US Mint.
Jan 18, 2009 | coin design, coins, Royal Mint
It is interesting to watch what other mints do with circulating and commemorative coinage. Each mint is governed by its own laws and regulations that are very different than the coin design process required of the US Mint. While the US Mint is very regulated, other mints have the flexibility to create interesting coins and do it in a way that involves the public. One mint that is using its flexibility is Great Britain’s Royal Mint.
The Royal Mint is a crown corporation answerable to the Queen. While the Queen has the final authority of all Royal Mint activities, the Mint is required to consult with the Chancellor of the Exchequer (a position equivalent to the US’s Secretary of the Treasury) and the Prime Minister. Although this gives the Royal Mint a lot of flexibility, the Royal Mint uses their power judiciously—as they showed last year by redesigning British circulating coinage for the first time in 40 years, after decimalization.
With the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games a few years away, the Royal Mint is preparing by starting the design process. To commemorate the games, the Royal Mint is planning issue 50 pence coins with 27 different reverse designs representing the different sports that are part of the games. The obverse will continue to use the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II designed by Ian Rank-Broadley. But rather than go through a traditional design competition by having a competition amongst artists, the Royal Mint is opening the design competition up to the entire nation.
The competition is open to residents of the United Kingdom. Those interested should go to the Royal Mint’s special website for entry information. Design winners will receive a gold version of their coin, get to see their coin being produced at the Royal Mint, and receive a £1,000 prize (currently about $1,473). The following video was produced by the Royal Mint and features Chief Engraver Matt Bonaccorsi:
Along with the regular competition, the Royal Mint is holding two other competition for students. There will be a design competition for children aged 6 to 12 years and a design competition for children aged 13 to 19 years old. The younger competition winner will not receive cash and the school where the winner of the older competition attends will receive £10,000.
Deadline for the competition is the end of April. It will be interesting to see how the process progresses. It looks like the Royal Mint has an interesting idea to get the country involved. I will be watching to see how successful they are with this program. Maybe the US coin bureaucracy can learn something from this venture.
Oct 27, 2008 | cents, coin design, gold, history
Few noticed and seemed to care, but as numismatists, we should have been in celebration for the 150th anniversary of the birth of Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt was known as a reformer with a real vision as to how to modernize a nation still recovering from a bloody Civil War and draconian laws from the Victorian Age. Roosevelt was a man of strength and a man of peace. Roosevelt was the first US citizen to win Alfred Nobel’s prize, the first sitting president to be so awarded (the only other sitting president to win the Nobel Peace Prize was Woodrow Wilson for his founding of the League of Nations, the forerunner to the United Nations). He earned this honor for negotiating the 1905 peace treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War.
For us numismatists, Roosevelt initiated the “Golden Age of American Coin Design.” Using his bully pulpit, he held the designs of the US Mint’s Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber in contempt and ordered coinage whose designs were more than 25 years old to be redesigned. Roosevelt was a fan of sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens and asked Saint-Gaudens to redesign the small cent. Rather than use the Liberty design in an Indian Headdress for the small cent, it was used on the 1907 $10 gold coin. Roosevelt also asked Saint-Gaudens to design the $20 gold double eagle coin to rival the beauty of all classic coins.
Unfortunately, Saint-Gaudens died of cancer before he could redesign the small cent. Roosevelt continued to look to revitalize US coinage and seized on Abraham Lincoln’s 100th birthday to redesign the small cent. He was steered to Victor David Brenner, whose bust of Lincoln was used as the model for the new Lincoln Cent first issued in 1909. Not only was Lincoln the first president to appear on a circulating coin, but Brenner’s obverse is still in use today.
Roosevelt called his coinage redesign his “pet crime.”
The impact of Roosevelt’s redesign continues to be felt today. Saint-Gaudens’ image of Liberty from the $20 coin is being used today on the American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins. And don’t forget the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin, which is based on a reported pattern of the original Saint-Gaudens design.
It is difficult to understand why the youngest inaugurated president and the first to win the Nobel Peace Prize while in office has not had a commemorative coin made for him.
Happy Birthday, President Roosevelt. We numismatists thank you for your “pet crime!”
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