Bye bye, Sacagawea....hello, Barbara Bush dollar coin?

[Bluebear]

WASHINGTON - The House on Wednesday approved a new gold-colored coin bearing the faces of presidents to join the unpopular $1 Sacagawea coin in circulation, hoping a new design will spur use of dollar coins.

By a 422-6 vote, the House approved a plan for the U.S. Mint to begin selling the coins early next year.

The bill also creates what would be the nation's first investment-grade 24-karat gold bullion coin. Intended for collectors, it would carry portraits of first ladies and a have a face value of $10 but sell for many times that amount at fluctuating prices based on the price of gold.

The new dollar coins would be the same shape, size and makeup of the gold-colored $1 coins now bearing the face of Sacagawea. The coins imprinted with her face would remain in circulation.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=512&ncid=703&e=8&u=/ap/20050427/ap_on_go_co/congress_gold_coin

[Fire Walk With Me]

1. I've got a couple of Susan B. Anthony dollars laying around

so why change a good thing.

[atommom]

2. I'd much rather have Sacagawea in my pocket than Barbara!

:scared:

Maybe it's a hazard of becoming politically aware ... but there aren't many recent first ladies I'd want on a coin. Hillary, perhaps, but I'm sure she wouldn't make the cut. :eyes:

[KansDem]

24. I know what you mean! Gives a whole new meaning to...

"Gotta dollar burning a hole in my pocket." Babs' face would burn a hole through my leg!

[derby378]

3. Doomed to failure

We want a dollar that looks and feels like a dollar. We want the Eisenhower dollar back! (One of my favorite Republicans, BTW.)

[formerrepuke]

4. No living person can be on US currency or stamps.. so that leaves

the most recently-departed Republican first ladies (if that's what they're looking for): Mamie Eisenhower and Pat Nixon. Aaahhemmm.

[tritsofme]

17. I don't think that is law, but just tradition. nt

[Art_from_Ark]

26. A law for stamps, but not for coins

In fact, a living person was portrayed on the 1995 Special Olympics commemorative. Can anyone guess who?

Special bonus points-- Who were the other 4 Americans who were portrayed on coins when they were living? (1 governor, 2 Senators, and 1 President)

[tanyev]

5. This bothers me.

Our first ladies aren't elected; they have no official duties. A few of them have been quite memorable in their own right, but I bet that's a very small percentage.

[Midnight Rambler]

6. How about Madison?

Doesn't he deserve a coin? He wrote the damn Constitution for chrissake.

[Bluebear]

7. And the GOP will never forgive him for that.

Being it's getting in the way of so many things.

[havocmom]

8. best reply of the day!

bluebear scores again.

[Bluebear]

12. :)

:hi:

[Gato Moteado]

9. no new republicans or their hoes on any money please.....

the idea of the profile of any corrupt bush family member on a coin inside my pocket in such close proximity to my other money is terrifying. i mean, look how the dirtbags are stealing money from us now and pouring it into halliburton's bank account. i don't want them that much closer to my money.

what's next? the kenneth lay 5 cent bill?

[kanrok]

10. Sounds good...from Sacagawea to Sacashitea

n/t

[elehhhhna]

20. CRASS! Oh my gosh!

I was thinking EXACTLY the same thing!

[kanrok]

23. Great minds think alike.

[atreides1]

11. But...

...Barbara Bush is already on the dollar bill!!!!;)

[Dr.Phool]

14. LOL, you beat me to it!

[jdj]

13. they are just doing Barbara Bush to save money.

they can use all the molds of Washington, Franklin et al and they won't have to change them that much.

[Reverend_Smitty]

15. I wouldn't mind seeing Jackie Kennedy...

Elenore Roosevelt or even Dolly Madison on a coin, but thats about it

[LdyGuique]

16. Ya'll are mixing up two different coins

The dollar coin will have presidents; the $10 gold coin will have first ladies. I find it especially ironic that Eleanor Roosevelt might end up on a gold coin, since it was FDR who eliminated it :)

But, it wouldn't bother me to see first ladies on these coins, although I'd rather see some notables who never served as President but were Speaker of the House, or U.N. Ambassador, etc. There is no list of famous people that would be agreed upon by all -- as many had feet of clay and/or were highly partisan.

[Lorien]

18. They'll never get it

it's not the FACE on the coin that makes it unpopular or popular-it's the damned design of the coin itself! Both the Susan B. And the Sacagawea would have been a spectacular success-if they weren't the same size and weight as a f*cking quarter!!! Have these people NEVER seen foreign currency? What about the bloody pound?? I swear-I think they fuck it up on purpose just so they can say "see-we tried a woman on currency and it just didn't work". :grr:

[elehhhhna]

21. Aruba has square quarters and dimes. They are cool! Look:

[Doc Bottom]

29. Women on currency

I'm inclined to agree, they don't want it to work.

Though the Susan Bs. and Sacajawea and Pompey coins are just absurd with their lack of distinquishing size and shape, probably any dollar coin will be 'unpopular' because coins are heavy. Nobody was spectactually happy with the Canadian "loony" dollar coins. They just had to get over it, because the bills were taken out of circulation over the next few years.

[Fenris]

19. Oooh! Something to deface! Or spend at porno theaters!

[tjwash]

22. Also written in to the plan they are not talking about...

...the first 94 billion of the coins printed will go straight to Halliburton in Iraq for "field testing"

[CatholicEdHead]

25. Backdoor to Reagan coins

expect the Ronnie coins to be heavily promoted.

Nancy cannot be on them yet.

[enid602]

27. Gannon

Better yet, why not put Gannon's mug on US currency . . . perhaps the two dollar bill?

[Stinky The Clown]

28. There's one exception to this ......

Babs' will be wood .... and denominated as five cents