If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
The "Jayne Wyman bullion coin act" passes committee....
From Numismatic News:
Presidential bill put on calendar From Numismatic News by David L. Ganz The Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2004 moved toward action in the House of Representatives June 24 when the Committee on Financial Services, formerly known as the House Banking Committee, which handles coinage matters gave its approval and had it placed on the House Union Calendar. House Report 108-568 was issued on H.R. 3916, a bill that would change the portrait on the Sacagawea dollar coin to a series of presidential portraits on a circulating dollar coin over a period of a dozen years, and add a new $5 gold commemorative coin honoring the spouses of the presidents, a First Lady series. Rep. Michael Castle, R-Del., former chair of the House coinage subcommittee, is the author of the new legislation. He explains the problem with the Sacagawea dollar and circulating commemorative coins in a report bearing his imprint. “Although it is clear that a widely circulating 1-dollar coin would be useful in ordinary commerce for low-dollar-value transactions, recent attempts to introduce such a coin have been unsuccessful,” the House report begins. The Susan B. Anthony dollar, issued beginning in 1979, and the golden color Sacagawea dollar are both written off as failures. “Despite ... a large advertising campaign, demand and availability for the so-called ‘golden’ dollar first issued in 2000 fell drastically after the initial enthusiasm,” the report suggests, adding that “lack of availability to businesses in packaging of appropriate sizes, and lack of acceptance by many vending machines” doomed the denomination. H.R. 3916 attempts to address the barriers to circulation, as well as creating a demand for the coin similar to that for the 50-state quarter program. “That program more than tripled demand for the quarter-dollar because both professional and amateur collectors alike sought the various designs,” the House reports. Changing designs “with the images of the Presidents on the obverse combined with use of the Statue of Liberty on the reverse” and a “series of pure-gold bullion coins featuring images of the First Spouses, to be issued in the same order and rate as the Presidential dollars, so that the dollar and bullion coins could, for example, be sold in pairs” is the proffered solution. In keeping with the educational theme established by the 50-state quarter program, one president (to date) would have two coin designs, as he served non-sequential terms, two Presidents would have two spouse coins as they remarried while in office and several would have no spouse coins, as they were not married while in office. “For all of those except Chester A. Arthur, the coin would feature on the face the image of Liberty as represented by a circulating coin of the period; in the case of President Arthur, the image on the face would be that of Alice Paul, a suffragette strategist born during his term,” the Report continues. “Bronze copies of the bullion coins would be made available at a nominal cost for those who wanted to collect sets of First Spouses or Presidents and their spouses but did not wish to pay for the cost of a half-ounce of pure gold, plus processing and marketing costs.” The Congressional Budget Office estimates that seigniorage resulting from the value of additional coins in circulation under the bill would amount to about $340 million over the 2005-2014 period. Under the principles established by the President’s 1967 Commission on Budget Concepts, seigniorage does not directly affect the budget, but is treated as a means of financing the deficit. Seigniorage estimates are notoriously difficult to estimate, but the amount that the budget office suggests seems low. The Mint makes a profit of about 82 cents on each dollar coin, so the overall mintage that the Congressional Budget Office is using seems to suggest that only 414 million new presidential dollar coins will be produced . “Taking into account the experience of the 50 State Quarters program, information from the numismatic community, and the public’s continued resistance to the use of dollar coins, CBO expects that the new $1 Presidential coin would increase the public’s interest in collecting coins but it would continue to face barriers to widespread circulating use,” the House Report says. “CBO expects that most of the demand for the $1 Presidential coin would be from collectors. According to the Mint, the federal government is currently putting into circulation about 55 million Golden Dollar coins annually, with seigniorage of 82 cents per coin.,” it continues. Those darn economists at the CBO expect “that demand for the new $1 Presidential coin would triple the current demand for the dollar coin to about 150 million annually in 2007, and then follow the experience of the 50 State Quarters program. Hence, CBO estimates that replacing the Golden Dollar with the $1 Presidential coin would increase seigniorage by $340 million over the 2005-2014 period.” My money says that they are dead wrong and that Mike Castle has done it again. He’s likely to have created a recurring program of at least $300 million annually over the program’s life of a dozen years – or about $4 billion by the time that it is done. CBO also estimates about 10,000 gold bullion coins will be sold, which may not be wide of the mark except for some very popular first ladies such as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Other changes in sto the legislation directs the Treasury Secretary, beginning in 2006, to issue 1-dollar coins with regularly changing designs representing the images of the Presidents of the United States, in the order in which they served. One major design change: the design on the reverse of the coin is to be an image of the Statue of Liberty. In a significant departure, the date of issue and the mottoes “E Pluribus Unum” and “In God We Trust” are required to be struck into the edge of the coin rather than on the obverse or reverse. The Secretary of the Treasury is also to strike and make available for sale 99.99 percent pure gold bullion coins bearing the images of First Spouses on the same schedule as the Presidential dollars, with images of the spouses on the obverse and of works associated with them on the reverse. It also specifies that in the instances where President remarried in office, more than one bullion coin could be issued during the period of issue of that President’s dollar, and specifies that in the case of Presidents who were not married in office, the bullion coin bear the image of Liberty as represented on a circulating coin of the period. Congress makes the laws and exceptions, and this has one too: President Chester A. Arthur’s accompanying bullion coin will bear the image of Liberty as represented by suffragette strategist Alice Paul, born during his term. Finally, the provision directs the Treasury Secretary to announce maximum mintages of each bullion coin prior to issue, plus it authorizes the striking of affordable bronze copies of the coin. No coin issued may bear the image of a President who has not completed such President’s period of service. This is also a change from the original draft. The issuance of coins shall terminate when each President who has finished his “period of service has been so honored and may not be resumed except by an Act of Congress.” So there will be a George W. Bush (Bush 43) coin, one for his predecessor Bill Clinton, and for his successor as well (whenever that is) – but images are not predictable thereafter. House action as well as a send-off to an uncertain fate in the Senate will follow. |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
One of my favorite movie lines is from the end of "Bridge Over The River Kwai":
.. "Madness!........MADNESS!" .. TomDeLorey - Ben Franklin: "A Penny saved..... "...is a CENT!" snapped Thomas Jefferson, back in the debate over the proposed U.S. monetary system. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Shall we beat the dead horse, yet, again?
(From the article by David Ganz that Elurio provided): “Taking into account the experience of the 50 State Quarters program, information from the numismatic community, and the public’s continued resistance to the use of dollar coins, CBO expects that the new $1 Presidential coin would increase the public’s interest in collecting coins but it would continue to face barriers to widespread circulating use,” the House Report says. More proof if you want something throroughly screwed up, get the government involved in the decision-making process. Jerry Get rid of the FBI-RD! "ELurio" provides an excellent article by David Ganz from Numismatic News. snipped for brevity |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Anyway to stop this hare-brained scheme? How does one congressman get
the power to get his little pet project passed, which has hardly any support among collectors? Wow, he gets to change the design of our newest coin. But if we asked him to change the designs of the other coins, most of which go back to before or about WWII, he'd probably just tell us that would impossible. I wish someone could attach an amendment to this bill calling for a complete overhaul of all the designs, then at least some good might come out of this. After all, if all the Presidents will be on the dollar coin, then there's no need for them to be on the other denominations. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Getting the most from coin price guides -- periodic post | Reid Goldsborough | Coins | 7 | March 16th 04 12:12 PM |
Getting the most from coin price guides -- periodic post | Reid Goldsborough | Coins | 0 | December 3rd 03 03:27 AM |
Toning: real, artificial, in between? -- periodic post | Reid Goldsborough | Coins | 0 | December 3rd 03 03:26 AM |
How to avoid getting cheated on eBay -- periodic post | Reid Goldsborough | Coins | 12 | November 26th 03 03:36 PM |