American Innovation $1 Coins

[redlock]

I am a bit surprised that this hasn't been reported here yet.

After the US House of Representatives the US Senate has approved this bill
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1326?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22s.1326%22%5D%7D&r=1
just recently.

Thus, a new series of $1 coins will be minted over a period of approx. 13 years.
As $1 coins don't really circulate in the USA these coins are basically NCLT.

[chrisild]

Yesterday the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) unanimously rejected all submitted reverse designs for the "introductory" coin. See the comments and designs here for example: http://mintnewsblog.com/the-ccac-unanimously-rejects-the-reverse-designs-submitted-for-the-2018-american-innovation-1-coin/

Yes, I find the designs to be fairly dull too. Then again, the artists had to follow design guidelines which required the country name, Washington's signature and the motto ...

Christian

[eurocoin]

Very interesting and daring. I can not imagine something similar happening in the Dutch Mint Advisory Committee. For me personally also interesting to see what my acquiantances Donald Everhart (artist) and Heidi Wastweet (CCAC Member) are currently working on.

[redlock]

Well, the final say has the Secretary of the Treasury. Let's see what he decides.
As the program is the law they need to make the coins. They might have some wiggle room with the introduction coin. But the program most likely cannot be stopped.

[Figleaf]

Looking at the public reaction in the link above, it looks like the programme has become a political issue. While this is understandable as it fits the Trump's America first approach, innovation can equally well be celebrated neutrally and it is in the interest of everybody, whatever their political affiliation. In that framework, a first patent can be seen as a positive (hey, I discovered something) as well as a negative (nobody can use this unless they pay me). There is no reason to say a priori that the choice of the theme of the first coin is negative. Let's wait for more coins.

That said, I get the itchy feeling that politics have already crept into the rejection of all the designs. I am somewhat comforted that it is a unanimous rejection, but only somewhat. Sure, the designs look utterly boring to me too, but in my eyes practically all modern US coin designs do. I think that more or less reflects the taste of the US public. Reflecting that taste is important to have the coins accepted in circulation and it's not up to me to deplore that, let alone change it.

Peter

[Finn235]

Bah humbug.

We went from three decades of stagnant designs (bicentennial quarters notwithstanding) to an explosion of circulating commemoratives. The statehood quarters were fun if not uninspired, and the America the Beautiful series is redundant, but at least interesting. The important thing is, people actually use them.

The Anthony, Sacagawea, and Presidential dollar coin series were all horrendous failures. I have never been given one in change, and back when I used to use them, about 1 in 10 cashiers would try to refuse them because they were totally unaware that dollar coins exist.

Americans for whatever reason have this cultural mindset that coins are to be put in a change jar to accumulate into a small emergency/vacation fund. We don't carry coins in our pockets for some reason. I don't know if having $1 or even $2 or $5 coins would change that.

First thing's first, it's time to tell the vending machine lobby to put on their big girl panties and adapt to change. No more manganese brass that tarnishes after a month of use.  No more coins that can easily be mistaken for a quarter. Make a nice hefty, maybe bimetallic coin that feels like a dollar, and maybe people will use them.

[quaziright]

Bah humbug.

We went from three decades of stagnant designs (bicentennial quarters notwithstanding) to an explosion of circulating commemoratives. The statehood quarters were fun if not uninspired, and the America the Beautiful series is redundant, but at least interesting. The important thing is, people actually use them.

The Anthony, Sacagawea, and Presidential dollar coin series were all horrendous failures. I have never been given one in change, and back when I used to use them, about 1 in 10 cashiers would try to refuse them because they were totally unaware that dollar coins exist.

Americans for whatever reason have this cultural mindset that coins are to be put in a change jar to accumulate into a small emergency/vacation fund. We don't carry coins in our pockets for some reason. I don't know if having $1 or even $2 or $5 coins would change that.

First thing's first, it's time to tell the vending machine lobby to put on their big girl panties and adapt to change. No more manganese brass that tarnishes after a month of use.  No more coins that can easily be mistaken for a quarter. Make a nice hefty, maybe bimetallic coin that feels like a dollar, and maybe people will use them.

...all that along with stopping the $1 bill. When you don't have a choice, you will adapt. Thats how they moved to loonies and twoonies on this side of the border

[chrisild]

The designs are not actually bad but I do not expect the common obverse, which has a lot of empty space, and the reverses to correspond. Also, as usual in the US, those $1 coins will not or hardly circulate, as anything above 25 cents is basically paper (or non-cash). Attached is an image of the "introductory" Innovators piece issued last year.

The obverse, featuring (parts of) the Statue of Liberty, is the same for all pieces to be issued in this series. Each coin is minted in Denver (D) and Philadelphia (P). The mintmark, the date ("2018" in this case) and the motto "E Pluribus Unum" can be found on the edge.

Christian

[chrisild]

This year four American Innovation coins are to be issued. These are the first two, dated 2019 on the edge:

* Delaware: The reverse features Annie Jump Cannon, an "astronomer who invented a system for classifying the stars still in use today."

* Pennsylvania: This coin's theme is "the polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk and his team at the University of Pittsburgh in the early 1950s". One of the main design elements is the polio virus at three different levels of magnification.

(Quotes and images from the US Mint website.)

Christian

[gpimper]

I'm not a fan...just saying.