ONE-MAN FOCUS GROUP MARCH 4, 2013
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The United States Mint recently unveiled the first of this year's "America the Beautiful" quarters, with White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire featured on the back of the coin. Four additional quarters in the series will follow later this year, with five more per year at least through 2021 (and possibly through 2033).
The "America the Beautiful" series is nice, as was the state-by-state quarter series that preceded it. But these new quarter designs only affect the back of the coin. The front design—or the obverse, as it's known in the coin biz—has retained the familiar portrait of George Washington.
Courtesy of the United States Mint
America The Beautiful
The first of this year's new quarters
Washington, in fact, has been on the front of the quarter since 1932, which means there are relatively few living Americans who can recall anyone else being on the front of a 25-cent piece. The situations are similar with the nickel (which has had Thomas Jefferson on the front since 1938), dime (Franklin Roosevelt, since 1946), and penny (Abe Lincoln, since 1909!). Leaving aside the changes to the one-dollar coin, which is used by approximately no one, the last roster change to the front of an American coin came in 1964, nearly half a century ago, when John F. Kennedy supplanted Benjamin Franklin on the half-dollar. And that only happened as part of the spasm of national grief in the wake of JFK's assassination.
Things weren't always this way. During the half-century before JFK's death, our dimes, nickels, quarters, and half-dollars had three different obverse designs apiece. What's changed? In a word: politics. Coinage can only be altered by act of Congress, and coinage designs have become just another political football. Republicans have long been annoyed that two 20th-century Democratic presidents—FDR and JFK—appear on our coins. The Eisenhower dollar, introduced in 1971, was supposed to help even the scales, but it never caught on and was discontinued after only eight years, which just made things worse. GOP lawmakers would dearly love to enshrine Ronald Reagan on one of our primary coins, but Democrats will never allow that to happen. So the only people who've been acceptable to both sides over the past generation or so are nonpartisan figures like Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea (who were both consigned to the dollar-coin ghetto).
Coin designs have even become an odd form of political pork. In 2002, Eric Cantor—now the House Majority Leader but then just a freshman back-bencher—introduced the American 5-Cent Coin Design Continuity Act, which stipulates that the nickel must always feature Jefferson on the front and Monticello on the back. Why? Because Cantor represents Virginia, where Monticello is located.
There's something sad about all this. Coin designs are a good way to document the progression of our national design sensibility—or at least they should be. And while changing the back is fine (did you notice that the penny got a new back design in 2010?), it's a shame that the fronts of our coins are stuck in the past. Too bad President Obama didn't go ahead with that trillion-dollar coin. At least he could have had some fun deciding who to put on the front of it.
6 comments
So . . . in order to rectify the failure to present any suggestions, I'll make some. I'd say LBJ. In fact, I'd love to remove Kennedy (he didn't DO anything!) and replace him with Johnson or MLK (who's already achieved national sainthood). If you have a legitimately liberal Congress around, I'd even suggest Earl Warren, since under him the Supreme Court assumed a real legislative importance lacking since, well, ever. Other than putting up a fight over economic legislation in the Lochner era and then relenting (1905-1937) or strengthening freedom of speech, the Court was kind of a backwater. Warren, a politician, was kind of like a second Marshall, re-establishing the Court as a powerful and co-equal branch straining to meet the demands of a much stronger and larger national government. If you need to string the Republicans along, I'd be fine with putting forward Theodore Roosevelt. I'm sure they're aware of the fact that he struggled with his party, eventually taking on the conservatives and business interests and losing (although he probably could have won better by working with WJ Bryan Democrats on progressive legislation and subverting Joe Cannon). Another president who could use some love is probably Grant on a coin. People generally dismiss him to this day as corrupt, but I think the historical view on his administration is steadily changing and he did have a pretty interesting career before becoming president. But honestly, I don't think we really have any really consequential presidents that we have to put on money right now. Eventually Obama, but for now it's not like there's a Woodrow Wilson caucus or anything. Eisenhower moreso for military accomplishment than his presidency. If Pelosi had better screen presence and Hillary weren't so close to becoming president, there might be a caucus for her. She's the highest ranking female in the government ever, and she was very consequential in uniting the Democratic caucus and getting difficult legislation through the House (and in the case of the ACA responsible for the law's passage). But against that, I guess the 2010 shellacking.
- chaitless
March 4, 2013 at 1:01am
Ok how about this? Andrew Jackson is on the $20 because he looks presidential but while in office he certainly didn't act presidential. I say we get rid of him and replace him with Truman. At the same time, Grant was a great general but a so-so president. Let's replace him with Reagan. And if that is too controversial, let's just create a new series in both denominations.
- poldpf
March 4, 2013 at 12:19pm
I am for taking politicians, no matter how beloved, off coins. The Morgan and Peace dollars were some of the most beautifully designed coins ever minted in this country. The use of Liberty as a design motif would depoliticize the entire topic. Politicians can be honored on stamps. A coin's reverse could continue to have eagles, buildings and historical sites, although I would also like to see the return of the buffalo.
- jama1
March 4, 2013 at 3:49pm
I agree with that. Why not have some cultural figures on the coinage? Jackie Robinson or Marilyn Monroe or Nikola Tesla or, I don't know, Buddy Holly? Willie Dixon?
- rmutt
March 5, 2013 at 11:47am
SHOW 1 RESPONSE
I hope the dollar coin can be made distinguishable from the quarter at a glance. I put a dollar coin in a parking meter once after reaching in my pocket for a quarter. I have no suggestions about whose image should be placed on the dollar coin. However, I know parking meters accept all sorts of coins.
- Doug12
March 4, 2013 at 5:01pm
At a youthful (for TNR readership) 69, I keep waiting for aliens from other star systems to land on earth, or at the very least, communicate with us. At the very least, lets have some images of aliens on our coins. And instead of the absurd and separation of church & state violating "In imaginary deity we trust," "Klaatu barada nikto" on our money.
- skahn
April 9, 2013 at 3:33pm