The latest attack on the money in your pocket is the talk about eliminating the highest denomination banknotes. This discussion was intensified in the political policy world with the article by Lawrence Summers that appeared in The Washington Post. Summers is a professor at Harvard and had once been the Secretary of the Treasury and Director of the White House’s National Economic Council.
Summers cites a paper by Peter Sands of Harvard and students that claims to make a compelling case to stop issuing high denomination notes and possibly withdraw them from circulation because of its use in crime and corruption.
Crime is mostly a cash-based enterprise. Criminals do not use gold, checks, or credit cards. As those of us who use cash over other payment types understand, cash is more anonymous. Cash transactions can be used to perform untraceable transaction that could be used to evade taxes. Criminals use cash to avoid law enforcement and terrorists use cash to fund their activities outside of the monitoring of financial transactions. In fact, Sands notes that these criminals have nicknamed the €500 note the “Bin Laden.”
In order to carry out cash-based transactions is the ability to carry the cash. Sands’ paper and Summers’ article both say that lower denomination currency will make it difficult to carry large volumes of currency in order to make these transactions. Considering the weight of United States currency, carrying $1 million worth of $100 Federal Reserve Notes would weigh about 10 kilograms (22.0462 pounds). Using a 15 liters (just under 4 gallons) as the “standard” briefcase capacity, you could carry $1 million in 0.7 cases.
As a comparison, $1 million worth of $50 Federal Reserve Notes would require 1.4 briefcases and 3.5 briefcases when using $20 notes. If the $1 million was being paid using €500 notes, it would weigh 2.2 kilograms or about 4.85 pounds that takes up a quarter of a briefcase.
Comparison of the weight of the equivalent of $1 million using U.S. Federal Reserve Notes
Comparison of the weight of the equivalent of $1 million using euro currency
Sands says:
By eliminating high denomination, high value notes we would make life harder for those pursuing tax evasion, financial crime, terrorist finance and corruption. Without being able to use high denomination notes, those engaged in illicit activities – the “bad guys” of our title – would face higher costs and greater risks of detection. Eliminating high denomination notes would disrupt their “business models”.
Summers agrees with Sands and even suggests that the baseline currencies, specifically the dollar and the euro, should “stop issuing notes worth more than say $50 or $100.” Both consider demonetizing these high denomination notes a step in the right direction.
$207 Million in $100 notes seized as part of a drug raid in 2007
In the world of policy analysis there is the concept of the three-legged stool. The first leg is to identify the policy, which is what Sands’ paper does. Next would be to translate the policy idea into something that could be used as the basis for a law. The final step is something to drive the policy to be considered by the lawmakers in order to do something with the policy.
This is how the one cent coin went from being 95-percent copper to being copper-covered zinc. There was the idea to change the composition of the coin in order to save money. After the idea, there was the research and the law writing that went into changing the composition. As part of that second-leg exercise was the creation of the 1974 aluminum cent pattern. Finally, by 1982, the costs were so out of line that it became the driver that forced action.
Although the article and report has been well discussed as part of the financial press it is not likely to be acted on in the near future. It is only the first leg. It will take time before this stool gets its two other legs.
Images were copied from the report “Making it Harder for the Bad Guys: The Case for Eliminating High Denomination Notes,” by Peter Sands, et. al.
2016 Native American Dollar celebrates the contributions of the Native American Code Talkers in World War I and World War II
Last year, I wrote that one of the most under appreciated coins currently being produced by the U.S. Mint are the Native American Dollars. Featuring the portrait of Sacagawea with her infant son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, was designed by Glenna Goodacre for the original Sacagawea dollar that began production in 2000. Since 2009, the reverse was changed as part of the Native American $1 Coin Act (Pub.L. 100-82). Under the law, the reverse of the one dollar coin “shall depict images celebrating the important contributions made by Indian tribes and individual Native Americans to the development of the United States and the history of the United States.”
The reverse designs has represented some of the best work by the artists working with the U.S. Mint with the 2016 design continuing the record. Celebrating the Native American Code Talkers who were instrumental in using their native language to communicate troop movements and enemy positions, the reverse of the coin celebrates their work.
As someone who has made a career in technology and information security, the concept of using something as low-tech as a language that nobody else can translate to openly communicate secret information is an elegant solution. It proves that technology is an answer but not the only answer. It makes these people heroes for their service to a country that has not treated their people fairly over the course of history.
Learning and honoring the history of Native Americans was the goal of the Native American $1 Coin Act. It is a simple yet effective way to bring history to the masses. Although the dollar coin does not circulate well, it is still a nice way for the country to teach and honor history.
I don’t think JFK would mind using the reverse to honor U.S. history!
I was thinking about what could be done to honor other aspects of United States history. Why not use another coin to celebrate something that has shaped the country in some way. With over 200 years of history, there is a lot to choose from. I propose that beginning in 2017 the reverse of the Kennedy half-dollar be changed every year to celebrate an anniversary of something significant in U.S. history.
As I consider writing a draft version of the bill to send to my representatives in congress, I know that any good coinage program in the United States should have some guidelines. Far be it for congress to tell the U.S. Mint to do what it thinks is right. In order to satisfy something that congress would adopt and create a meaningful program, how about a Half-Dollar history program as follows:
The obverse will remain unchanged, the edge will continue to be reeded, and the coin will remain a half-dollar
Reverse design changes annually and only one design per year
Half-dollar can be made for circulation and the U.S. Mint can create collector versions including silver collectibles and different finishes
Theme for the reverse must be from 50 years prior to the year of circulation and older with anniversary dates being divisible by 25 (i.e., 50 years ago, 75, 100, 125, 150, etc.)
Theme will be selected by the U.S. Mint in collaboration with the CCAC and the Smithsonian Institute National Museum of American History
The U.S. Mint creates the design for the theme selected by either using in-house artists, AIP members, or may hold an open competition
The CCAC will review the designs
The program will have no end date
Although there was no such thing as having a minor when I went to college, I did use some of my elective credits to take some classes in history and political science. Add my masters in public policy and some people wonder why I don’t run for office (I hate the idea of begging for campaign contributions). With that background, I was able to think of a few historical events that could be honored over the next few years:
2017: The 150th anniversary since the U.S. purchased the Alaska territory from Alexander II of Russia by Secretary of State William H. Seward in 1867. This was so unpopular at the time it was called “Seward’s Folly.”
2018: World War I ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.
2019: “What hath God wrought” was the message of the first telegram message. It was sent from the U.S. Capitol to the B&O Railroad depot in Baltimore 175 years ago.
2020: The 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment granting suffrage for women
2021: The 50th anniversary of the passage of the 29th Amendment that lowered the voting age to 18.
2022: Celebrating 75 years of technical innovation. In 1947, Dr. Edwin Land introduced the Polaroid Land Camera, broadcast of the first World Series game, the USS Newport became the first warship that was fully air conditioned, Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier, and Bell Labs scientists introduces the first semiconductor are just some of the innovations to celebrate.
Purposely missing from this list is the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s becoming the first African-American to appear in a Major League Baseball game in 1947. I fully expect that a commemorative coin will be issued for that event. If it is not, then congress should be ashamed of itself for not doing so.
Over the summer, a Harris Poll was conducted to understand how Americans feel about abolishing the one-cent coin and the paper dollar note. Even though there are pundits calling for these changes and even the end of physical currency, Harris found that those wanting to keep the lowly one-cent coin continue to hold the majority opinion.
Series 1935 $1 FRN Reverse Early Design
According to Harris, 51-percent of those polled oppose abolishing the minting and use of one-cent coins versus 29-percent in favor. In 2008, 56-percent were opposed and 24-percent were in favor. While some will see a small movement to being in favor of eliminating the one-cent coin, the change is not significant when considering that the last poll was seven years ago shortly before the height of the recession and the beginning of the bank failures.
Every so often an article is written, usually by the political elite, about ending lower denomination coins for many reasons including the high cost of mintage or the inconvenience of their existence. Others point to rise of non-cash transactions and the rise of digitally created currencies as the future.
Those of us who work in areas outside the larger commercial world has experience with a cash economy that is not tied to economic status. One of those is the numismatics industry. While many dealers will take credit cards, and will pass along the fees along to the customer, many dealers have said that most of their off-line business is a cash-based business. While larger purchases are done using checks, most will leave shows with more hard currency than other types of payments.
1909-VDB Lincoln Cent
Collectibles businesses are very reliant on cash. In my business, I do accept credit cards but when I do shows the overwhelming majority of my business is in cash. A few weeks ago I did a two day show and had one of my best weekends ever but only had one sale using a credit card.
There are people who are leery of using credit and debit cards for every transaction. We use cash to limit our exposure. In this connected world, the credit and debit card leaves a digital breadcrumb that is available to be hacked. I cannot tell you how many times I watched people in local convenience stores punch in their codes in a matter I could see them and then leave their receipts behind. This could be used to steal your money and your debit cards are not covered the same as credit cards. But the public does not see this.
A week does not go by without a report of the hacking of personal information that should not be made public. Unfortunately, it is getting to be like rain on the hot-tin roof, after a while the sound blends into the background.
According to the Federal Reserve, there was approximately $1.39 trillion in circulation as of September 30, 2015, of which $1.34 trillion was in Federal Reserve notes. That represents a lot of money that would have to be accounted for if we were to go into a cashless society. It would take a significant effort that would not make for good public policy.
The calls to make changes to change are beginning to drone on as background noise like rain on a hot-tin roof.
Images courtesy of The Harris Poll, Wikipedia, and usacoinbook.com.
2015-W Native American Dollar Reverse celebrating the Mohawk Iron Workers
One of the most under appreciated coins currently being produced by the U.S. Mint are the Native American Dollars. Featuring the portait of Sacagawea with her infant son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, was designed by Glenna Goodacre for the original Sacagawea dollar that began production in 2000.
Through 2008, the reverse featured a soaring eagle by U.S. Mint sculptor-engraver Thomas D. Rogers. Starting in 2009, the reverse was changed as part of the Native American $1 Coin Act (Pub.L. 100-82) signed into law by President George W. Bush. Under the law, the reverse of the one dollar coin “shall depict images celebrating the important contributions made by Indian tribes and individual Native Americans to the development of the United States and the history of the United States.”
The act also moved the E PLURIBUS UNUM and the date to the edge of the coin.
While dollar coins have not been popular and even have undergone unneccesary scorn, the images and artwork going into these coins are amongst the best produced by the U.S. Mint. In 2009, the subject was the Three Sisters of Agriculture depicting a Native American woman planting seeds in a field populated with corn, beans and squash. It shows how the Native Americans understood the concept of crop rotation long before the Europeans did. But the design by U.S. Mint sculptor-engraver Norman E. Nemeth is nothing less than fine art on a coin.
For 2015, the reverse commemorates the Kahnawake and Akwesane Mohawk ironworkers who contributed to the building of New York City skyscrapers. The deisgn by artist Ronald D. Sanders and engraved by U.S. Mint sculptor-engraver Phoebe Hemphill is nothing less than fine art touting the talents of both artists.
This year, the U.S. Mint issued the American $1 Coin and Currency Set containing a $1 Federal Reserve Note from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York with a serial number beginning with “911” and an Enhanced Uncirculated 2015-W Native American dollar coin with the Mohawk Ironworker’s reverse. Originally, I bought this set for the dollar note because of its tie to New York but the enhanced uncirculated dollar coin makes this a fantastic collectible.
Outer packaging of the 2015 American $1 Coin and Currency Set
Front of the folder for the American $1 Coin and Currency Set
Back of the folder for the 2015 American $1 Coin and Currency Set
Obverse of the 2015-W Enhanced Uncirculated Native American Dollar
Reverse of the 2015-W Enhanced Uncirculated Native American Dollar
Series 2013 Uncirculated $1 Federal Reserve Note from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Close up of the Series 2013 $1 FRN. Note that the serial number begins with “911”
There are some great designs that the U.S. Mint has issued as “Enhanced Uncirculated.” To add the textures to the coins, the dies are polished and enhanced with lasers and wire brushes. In my opinion, these are better than the colored coins because they are part of the design and not the printing of pictures on the coin. I will have more thoughts on the enhanced uncirculated coins at another time.
What is going on at the U.S. Mint? For an organization whose actions are micromanaged by law seems to be finding a way to get around those rules to make some real questionable decisions.
2015-S Saratoga National Historical Park Quarter
First, the U.S. Mint begins production of uncirculated San Francisco struck America the Beautiful Quarters in 2012 leaving the coins of the first two years of the program out. Collectors of the entire set will have two uncirculated options for 2010 and 2011 but a partial set for the rest of the program. Why start something like this in the middle of the program?
Just before the release of the S-mint quarters, the U.S. Mint changed its branding and changed the design of the Presidential $1 Coin Cover. Those of us who collect the coin covers now have two different formatted designs that shows when you show your 2010 Abraham Lincoln cover followed by the 2011 Andrew Johnson cover. And the change puts a thick black bar across the bottom forcing the portrait to be reduced making it an ugly design.
2010 Lincoln First Day Cover (before branding)
2011 Andrew Johnson First Day Cover (after branding)
Although I love the reverse proof coins and do not think including them in special sets, such as the 2015 Reverse Proof Roosevelt Dime as part of the 2015 March of Dimes Special Silver Set, but there are persistent rumors of a Presidential dollar reverse proof set. Why add a reverse proof set in the middle of a series? What is the U.S. Mint thinking? Adding a reverse proof to an existing series is as wrong as the S-mint national parks quarters.
2015 American Liberty High Relief Gold Coin
Allegedly, there is “excitement” being made over the new 24-karat $100 Liberty gold coin. First, there was a lot of industry discussion on the $100 face value, which is irrelevant to the issues. What difference does the denomination make on a non-circulating coin? But am I the only one who thinks the image of Liberty looks like an anorexic weakling?
Look at some of the past images of Liberty and they have a stronger look. Two of the most famous by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Adolph A. Weinman has a striding Liberty that shows character. George Morgan’s Liberty had a regal look and Anthony de Francisi’s Liberty on the Peace dollar is just a marvel of beauty. This image is so uninspiring that I would buy the coin only because it is the first year of issue and has some investment potential. Otherwise, if I were to invest in 24-karat gold coins I would continue to buy the American Gold Buffalo.
2015 American Liberty High Relief Gold Coin Reverse
The appealing feature of the coin is the eagle on the reverse. While there have been flying eagles on Christian Gobrecht dollar, James B. Longacre’s Flying Eagle cent, and Saint-Gaudens’ $20 gold coin, the new design brings forward the strength of the eagle gripping an olive branch to symbolize peace. Although the eagle depicted on Official Seal of the United States includes arrows in one of the eagle’s claws, modern sensibilities will prevent the symbolism that the arrows would depict.
I know that the designs were approved by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. But, as usual, their motivations and sense of design is really in question. Maybe it is time we drop one of these committees and streamline the process.
Expanding collecting options from the U.S. Mint is good for the hobby. However, adding options to existing series and ugly coins should be discouraged.
Saratoga Park quater image courtesy of USACoinBook.com All other images courtesy of the U.S. Mint.
During the course of searching for information, I stumbled upon the website for Women on 20s. It is a site dedicated to replacing the image of President Andrew Jackson with a woman by 2020. The group has targeted the $20 Federal Reserve Note to be replaced 2020 because it is the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment that granted women the right to vote.
Jackson is being targeted because as we look back through the long lens of history, he was not exactly a model person judging by today’s standards. During the War of 1812, Jackson led U.S. Army troops against native tribes working with the British against the United States to regain the lands taken following the colonies’ independence. It was said that Jackson’s troops were brutal against the native tribes on his orders, killing them rather than taking prisoners.
After beating back the British in the Battle of New Orleans, Jackson declared martial law in New Orleans and used his troops to enforce martial law. Aside from having a magistrate arrested who sided with a newspaper reporter writing who was arrested for writing negatively about his rule, he had members of the local militia who sided with the British executed without trial and went on to use it as propaganda to allegedly maintain order.
As president, Jackson’s policies to relocated native tribes lead to the Indian Removal Act that codified his policies. This lead to the “Trail of Tears” that forced the relocation of Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations from their ancestral homelands in the southeast to an area west of the Mississippi River that had been designated as Indian Territory. It is considered the most violent and brutal act against the native tribes in United States history.
To have Jackson’s portrait on the United States central banks’ currency is also a bit ironic. Jackson was against the concept of a central bank and refused to renew the charter of the Second Bank of the United States and vetoed the bill to continue its charter. After winning election in 1833, Jackson withdrew all of the country’s funds from the bank limiting the bank’s ability to conduct business. He gave power to local banks to lend money and issued the Specie Circular, an executive order requiring government transaction be done in gold and silver coin (specie).
Poster issued by the Whig Party blaming Jackson for the Panic of 1837
With the western expansion and federal lands being made for sale and the requirement that duties were to be paid in gold and silver, this created a run on banks that could not provide the hard currency necessary for people to exchange their banknote. Although Jackson paid off the country’s debt in 1835, the only year it has ever been paid off, the squeeze on currencies, lack of central management of money, corrupt bank practices, and reckless land speculation by railroads lead to the Panic of 1837. The resulting depression lasted five years and included the default of many banks and the treasuries of many states. Remember, this was long before the deposits were insured by the federal government.
The Women on 20s organization does not believe that this should be the legacy honored on U.S. currency. But if we look into the history of all of the men on U.S. currency, there are aspects of their pasts and personal lives that would make some blush, including Benjamin Franklin’s common law wife and illegitimate son.
Women on 20s do recognize that suffragette Susan B. Anthony did appear on a one dollar coin but the coin failed because of its confusion with the quarter. They also recognize that Sacagawea, the Shoshone guide to Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, appears on the current one-dollar coin. Aside from the 2003 Alabama State Quarter, no other woman has appeared on circulating coinage (they do not count commemorative issues). Since neither dollar coin has circulated well and since the Alabama quarter was a temporary issue, the organization believes a better tribute is warranted.
In what looks like an addendum to their argument, they mention that a portrait of Martha Washington appeared on the Series 1886 (Fr. #215) and 1891 (Fr. # 223) $1 Silver Certificates. Both Martha and George Washington appeared on the reverse of $1 Series 1896 Educational Series note (Fr. #224).
To decide who they will try to lobby to appear on the $20 note, the organization started with 15 candidates. Voters were asked to select thee of the 15 candidates in this preliminary round. The top vote-getters will be subject to another final voting round.
2012 First Spouse coin featuring Alice Paul
In the first round, the 15 candidates were Alice Paul (appeared on the 2012 First Spouse gold coin), Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm, Sojourner Truth, Rachel Carson, Rosa Parks, Barbara Jordan, Margaret Sanger, Patsy Mink, Clara Barton, Harriet Tubman, Frances Perkins, Susan B. Anthony (appeared on the 1979-1999 dollar coin), Eleanor Roosevelt (appeared on the 2014 First Spouse gold coin), and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Women on 20s reported that 256,659 people had cast ballots when the first round ended on April 5, 2015. They reported that Eleanor Roosevelt, Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks were named by as many as half of the voters as one of their top three. They added Wilma Mankiller to the final ballot. Mankiller, the first female Chief of the Cherokee Nation and the first female to be a chief of a native nation, was added because of a claimed “strong public sentiment that people should have the choice of a Native American to replace Andrew Jackson.”
Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation
Voting is open at the time this is being written. There is no closing date listed on their website.
Since congress does not control the design of the currency, Women on 20s will have to convince the Federal Reserve to change the design of the $20 Federal Reserve Note. If the Federal Reserve, whose chair is Janet Yellen, agrees to the change, they will work with the Bureau of Engraving and Printing for the design and the U.S. Secret Service to ensure that the appropriate anti-counterfeiting measures are included.
Design changes to any Federal Reserve Note can take 3-5 years to complete.
NOTE: I contacted the Women on 20s organization for comments via email. That email has not been returned at the time of writing this article. If they answer my questions, I will publish them in a follow up post.
Image of the $20 FRN and Whig Party poster courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Coin images courtesy of the U.S. Mint Image of Wilma Mankiller courtesy of the Native American Encyclopedia.
Let’s hear what you think. If you want, you can add a comment to this post. To make sure your comment is published below, keep it “family friendly” and do not spam. Even if you disagree with me, I would love to know what you think!
Will you buy the John F. Kennedy $1 Coin?
Yes, I collect the Presidential $1 coin series (42%, 20 Votes)
I do not collect Presidential dollars and not interested (27%, 13 Votes)
Yes because I am a fan of JFK (15%, 7 Votes)
Not only will I buy the coin but I will buy a Jackie Kennedy coin, too (8%, 4 Votes)
Some members of congress seem to act without thinking. Aside from not thinking about how much the U.S. Mint is forced to waste in order to make less than pure planchets, there are others who are so entrenched in their ideology that they make proposals that no longer make sense and will hurt the collecting industry in the long run.
Case-in-point, Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) introduced S. 95, a bill “[To] Terminate the $1 presidential coin program.” Like the knee jerking to copy and paste old bills, Vitter dusted off his previous attempt (S. 94 in the 113th Congress and S. 1385 in the 112th Congress) and dropped it in the hopper more in an attempt to make it look like he is doing something when all he is doing is annoying collectors.
By anyone’s measure, the Presidential $1 Coin program has not been a success. While it was fundamentally a great idea, the problem with having it gain wider circulation is that congress did not pass the appropriate laws to discontinue printing and distribution of the one dollar Federal Reserve note. When given a choice, people have chosen to carry the note rather than the coin.
Acting as the only adult in the room, then Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner, ordered that the production of all dollar coins, including the Native American dollar, be reduced to levels to only satisfy the collector market unless the Federal Reserve ordered more coins.
At this point, the Presidential Dollar, First Spouse gold coins, and the First Spouse medals are a collector’s series that is near its end. In 2016, the U.S. Mint is scheduled to issue coins in honor of Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford. By law, because President Jimmy Carter is still living, he is not allowed to appear on a coin. Even though President Ronald Reagan is deceased, the coins have to be in order making the program end with Ford.
With six coins to go in the series and four years after the fury, why is Vitter introducing this bill now? Costs have been contained with the reduction of circulation. In fact, reviewing the annual reports, the Presidential $1 program has increased in sales as more of the better known 20th Century presidents have been featured.
Rather than leave well enough alone, Vitter joins the others in congress of not thinking and dropping a bill into the hopper that he might think has value to a small percentage of a perceived base but fails to look at the bigger picture. This is part of their collective myopia that keeps congress’s approval ratings in the single digits.
If Vitter did this for show, he has wasted the time of his staff for having to prepare the bill for submitting; he wasted the time and resources of the Senate clerk for having to record the bill; and he wasted the resources that will have to go into the various mechanisms for tracking the bill. Anytime a member of congress wastes resources they are wasting money.
As a federal government employee, Vitter, his staff, and the congressional support services are paid for out of your taxpayer dollars while the U.S. Mint is making more profit by maintain this program than it would otherwise. If members of congress would look beyond any ideology they pretend to profess and engage their brains when they do something like this, then maybe they might find their approval ratings at least higher than the current temperature in Washington, D.C.
We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills; because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win…. It is for these reasons that I regard the decision last year to shift our efforts in space from low to high gear as among the most important decisions that will be made during my incumbency in the office of the Presidency.
—President John F. Kennedy at Rice University in Houston on September 12, 1962
On July 20, 1969, just 45 years ago, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon fulfilling President Kennedy’s dream. We have learned from those that were there that it was a hard and did require the best of our energies and skills. It was a challenge everyone accepted and made a success in seven years as the social and political turbulence of the 1960s were in high gear.
Space continues to be a fascinating topic as the “final frontier” of exploration. While there are areas of Earth’s oceans that remain unexplored, more people look to the stars as the next place for human exploration.
The politics and the politics of space have changed over the years but not the fascination of space exploration. One of the oldest science fiction franchises is based in space (Star Trek) and has been the inspiration for a lot of scientific development. While there were contractors building the parts NASA needed to fly into space, today there are companies that are building their own rockets and planning their own exploration.
Space has been a theme of coins, currency, and stamps around the world. An Internet search using the phrase “space themes on coins” can show a small sample of some of the coins that featured images commemorating space exploration. But the country that landed and walked on the moon first will not be amongst that list.
Although the United States has launched more rockets containing humans into space than any other nation and was the first to walk on the moon, the only tribute to space exploration was the use of the Apollo 11 insignia as the design by Frank Gasparo on the reverse of the Eisenhower and Susan B. Anthony dollars. For the Bicentennial issues in 1975 and 1976, an image of the Liberty Bell was superimposed over part of the image of the moon. This was the idea of Dennis R. Williams who won the design competition in 1974.
Eisenhower Dollar Obverse
Eisenhower Dollar Reverse
Eisenhower Dollar (Type 2) Bicentennial Reverse
Obverse of the Susan B. Anthony Dollar
Reverse of the Susan B. Anthony dollar
Given the remembrances of President Kennedy’s assassination and the celebration of the issuance of the half-dollar bearing his likeness, maybe it would be a nice idea to commemorate this achievement with a genuine United States commemorative coin.
John F. Kennedy speaking at Rice University where he gave his famous speech declaring the U.S. will land on the moon before the end of the decade.
Image of Kennedy speaking at Rice University courtesy of the JFK Library. All other images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
For those who do not collect currency, the note-position identifier is the little letter followed by a number that identifies where on the sheet the note was printed. On the $1 FRN, the note position identifier is on the left side of the front of the note under the “1” and next to the Federal Reserve branch number.
Change in the Note Position Identifier
On the new 50 note sheets, the note-position identifier will feature a code with both the letter and number the same size. The only way to determine whether the note was printed on a 32-unit sheet or a 50-unit sheet is by looking at the note-position identifier.
As part of this change, the BEP is also changing the position identifier code mechanism. On the 32 note sheets, the notes printed four-across and eight-down were divided into four eight-note blocks (or quadrants). Each block was given a number in columns where the top-left quadrant was #1, the bottom left was #2, top-right was #3, and bottom-right was #4. Within the quadrants, the note positions were lettered A-D in the first column and E-H in the second column. If you found a note with the note-position code of H3, the note would have been printed in the fourth row and fourth column of the sheet.
The new 50 note sheets simplifies the note-position numbering by assigning a letter to each of the 10 rows (A-J) and a number to each of the five columns. On this sheet, H3 would now be located on the eighth row and third column.
Position Identification layout of 32-note sheet
A1
E1
A3
E3
B1
F1
B3
F3
C1
G1
C3
G3
D1
H1
D3
H3
A2
E2
A4
E4
B2
F2
B4
F4
C2
G2
C4
G4
D2
H2
D4
H4
Position Identification layout of 50-note sheet
A1
A2
A3
A4
A5
B1
B2
B3
B4
B5
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
D1
D2
D3
D4
D5
E1
E2
E3
E4
E5
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
G1
G2
G3
G4
G5
H1
H2
H3
H4
H5
I1
I2
I3
I4
I5
J1
J2
J3
J4
J5
BEP has begun to deliver the new notes to the Federal Reserve currency distribution operations in all 12 Federal Reserve district branches. These new notes will enter circulation as per the policies of each branch. BEP has not said whether they will sell the 50-note sheets as part of their uncut currency products.
The $1 FRN is the first note to be printed on 50-note sheets. Over time, the BEP will transition the printing of other notes to 50-note sheets with the only design change being the subtle change in the note-position identifier.
As part of this change, the Federal Reserve created a video explaining the changes. You can watch the video here:
Images courtesy of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
Over the summer, a Harris Poll was conducted to understand how Americans feel about abolishing the one-cent coin and the paper dollar note. Even though there are pundits calling for these changes and even the end of physical currency, Harris found that those wanting to keep the lowly one-cent coin continue to hold the majority opinion.
During the course of searching for information, I stumbled upon the website for 
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