What's Happening

From the desk of your Secretary

September 23/08 - Representative Frank Lucas, a Republican who represents Oklahoma’s 3rd District and a coin collector, introduced H.R. 6942 “to provide for the return of the half-dime as the new 5-cent circulating coin.”

The text of the bill is very simple, it calls for the removal of “Paragraph (5) of section 5112(a) of title 31, United States Code” (31 U.S.C. §5112(a)) that describes the current nickel as “a 5-cent coin that is 0.835 inch in diameter and weighs 5 grams.” In its place, the bill calls for “a clad half-dime that is based on the size and shape of the half-dime or 5-cent coin produced in the 1870s.”

If the bill is not buried in committee, more exacting standards will have to be added when it goes through mark-up.

The half-dime that Rep. Lucas refers to are the Liberty Seated half-dimes designed by Christian Gobrecht. Liberty Seated half-dimes were in production from 1837-1873. Those coins weighed 1.34 grams and were 15.5 millimeters (0.610 inch) in diameter with reeded edges. Half-dimes of that era were struck in .900 silver and .100 copper.

Shield Nickels, designed by James B. Longacre, were put into circulation in 1866 using the .750 copper and .250 nickel composition still in use today.

The purpose of the bill is aimed at lowering the price to strike 5-cent coins so that their production does not cost more than their face value. In this case, rather than a 5-gram coin that is .750 copper and .250 nickel whose metal values are approximately $0.0477 (based on the market close as of September 19), it would be a smaller coin made with .9167 copper and .0833 nickel—clad coinage is a .750 copper and .250 nickel cover around a pure copper core. The metal value of the new coin would be $0.0146, or approximately 70-percent less than the current coin in the cost of metals.

As with any change to our change, there will be resistance. Aside from the social impact, the most significant resistance could come from the vending machine operators who would have to worry about accepting the new coins. Banks and coin counting services could complain about the increased cost in handling a new coin type.

H.R. 6942 has little chance of passing, regardless of any merits. It was introduced on September 18, 2008, with no co-sponsors and referred to the House Financial Service Committee. The introduction came during a week that congress was asked to approve a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry.

Congress is scheduled to go into recess on September 26 so that members can conduct their campaigns. They will not return to Washington until after the November election. At that time, the lame duck congress will have to resolve any budget issues not passed before the fall recess. I doubt any “non-essential” bill will be considered before the final adjournment of the 110th Congress.
 
September 22/08 - If the Presidential dollars fail, it will not be because nobody is talking about them. The latest information coming from the Mint introduces the new 2009 obverse design template that includes the national motto, "In God We Trust." Originally, the Presidential dollar coins were designed to put the motto along with the date, mintmark and "E Pluribus Unum" on the edge.

After the uproar in 2007 when the Washington dollar made its appearance, some claimed the coins didn't have the motto on them at all, earning them a label in the popular media of "Godless dollars."

Congress passed a law mandating the relocation of the motto to the obverse. Congressional action did not occur in time to affect 2008-dated dollar coins. The first 2009 coin to bear the relocated motto will honor President William Henry Harrison, who died shortly after his 1841 inauguration.

This will change the edge inscriptions. The Mint says where there are single dots called delimiters between the inscriptions, on 2009 coins there will be three stars between "E Pluribus Unum" and the mintmark and 10 stars between the date and "E Pluribus Unum."

This edge lettering will be the same on the 2009 Native American $1 coin, which uses the Sacagawea obverse design with changing reverse designs.

~ The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Plaza was the backdrop today for the unveiling, by United States Mint Director Ed Moy, of four new designs for the circulating 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One Cent Coins. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission Co-Chairman Harold Holzer joined Director Moy for the unveiling.

Authorized by Public Law 109-145, the four new designs celebrate the bicentennial of President Abraham Lincoln’s birth, as well as the 100th anniversary of the production of the Lincoln cent (penny). The new designs will be issued in approximately three-month intervals throughout the year. The first redesigned penny, which will honor Lincoln’s birth and early childhood, will be put into circulation on February 12, 2009.

“This is a momentous occasion in the history of our Nation’s coinage because these designs represent the first change in the Lincoln cent in half a century,” said Director Moy. “These coins are a tribute to one of our greatest Presidents whose legacy has had a lasting impact on our country. He believed all men were created equal, and his life was a model for accomplishing the American dream through honesty, integrity, loyalty, and a lifetime of education.”

The four designs to be featured on the reverse of the Lincoln pennies represent four major aspects of President Lincoln’s life: his birth and childhood in Kentucky, his formative years in Indiana, his professional life in Illinois and his Presidency in Washington, D.C. The inscriptions on the reverse of the coins will be “United States of America,” “E Pluribus Unum” and “One Cent.”

The obverse (heads side) of the one-cent coins will continue to bear Victor David Brenner’s likeness of President Lincoln, introduced in 1909, and the motto “In God We Trust.” At the end of the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One Cent Coin Program, the reverse of the penny will feature a design emblematic of President Lincoln’s preservation of the United States of America as a single and united country.

September 11/07 - Alan Herbert ECI # 182 of Belle Fourche, S.D., was installed as a member of the ANA Board of Governors during a teleconference Board meeting on Sept. 11. At the request of ANA President Barry Stuppler, Herbert was installed by Past President Adna G. Wilde, Jr. following a moment of silence for Dr. Radford Stearns, who passed away Aug. 31.

In accordance with ANA bylaws, any vacancy on the Board of Governors is offered to the person who failed to be elected as a Governor by the least number of votes in the most recent election. Herbert received 2,243 votes in the 2007 election, the most votes of any unsuccessful candidate. Stuppler contacted Herbert on Sept. 2 to confirm his acceptance. Herbert joins Cliff Misher ECI # 189 on the Board.

September 8/08 - During the Canadian Numismatic Association's (CNA) annual convention, a funny thing happened, the association decided to change its name.

At the CNA's annual general meeting, the membership decided by over two-thirds majority (earlier in the week) that the name should be changed. Only around seven people in the room opposed the motion for the change. As a result, the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association (RCNA) was established, and the emblem for the association will now change.

To help cover much of the unusual costs of the name change, an anonymous member has come forward with a handsome donation. The RCNA's website will be www.rcna.ca, however, it is not yet online.

September 4/08 - Dr. Charles Radford Stearns, a member of the ANA Board of Governors, died on Aug. 31 after a long illness. He was 67 years old.

August 20/08 - A new type of Internet-based attack is spreading in which Flash-based ads seize control of a Web surfer's clipboard and paste in a link to a malicious site in the hopes that it will be spread from there into e-mails, blogs, and instant messages.

The ads have been spotted on MSNBC.com, Newsweek.com, and Digg.com, and victims have reported on numerous forums and blogs that they appear to be fake alerts that a virus has been detected on the computer and offer to clean it up, according to antivirus vendor Sophos.

The malicious link, which includes "xp-vista-update" in the URL, is copied into the clipboard and can not be over-written by copying new text to the clipboard. Users must reboot the computer to remove the link, The Register reports.

The malware appears to affect Mac, Windows, and Linux machines and Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari browsers, according to ZD Net's Zero Day blog.

Chris Thornton, who created the "ClipMate" clipboard extender for Windows, gave an interesting description of the situation on his Clipboard Extender Dot Com blog:

"Someone wrote a little piece of Adobe Flash code to copy text to the clipboard. Then they put it in a loop, to do it once a second. Then they put it in an innocent-looking flash-based banner ad, with their harmful URL as the payload. Then they signed up for some advertising networks, and submitted their bad ad, presumably paying considerable $$$ to get it featured on sites that you and I visit regularly, such as MSNBC and Digg. And when someone has this ad loaded, they can copy all they want, but everything they paste will be just that URL. So if you are writing an e-mail to Aunt Millie, telling her to look at your eBay auction located at (paste), or to download Picasa to organize her photos - download here (paste), she's going to get the virus when she visits the bad site."

August 04/08 - The Andrew Jackson Presidential $1 Coin goes into circulation across the country on August 14, 2008, and an event at The Hermitage, President Jackson’s home near Nashville, Tenn. will introduce the coin to the Nation. United States Mint Deputy Director Andrew Brunhart will join Richard Cowart, the past regent of The Hermitage Board of Directors, on the front lawn of the historic mansion in a ceremonial “pour” of thousands of Andrew Jackson Presidential $1 Coins. The public is invited and may exchange their dollar bills for Andrew Jackson Presidential $1 Coins.

There will be free admission to the grounds (only). Each child under 18 years old attending will receive a free Andrew Jackson Presidential $1 Coin.

~ Collectors of United States Mint dollar coins should mark their calendars for the release of the 2008 United States Mint Annual Uncirculated Dollar Coin Set^TM on August 7, 2008, at 12:00 Noon (ET).  The set, priced at $37.95, includes uncirculated versions of four Presidential $1 Coins, a Golden Dollar featuring Sacagawea and an American Eagle Uncirculated Silver Dollar.   

July 30/08 -  Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson announced that pursuant to Public Law: 31 U.S.C. § 5112(i)(4) the United States Mint will issue a one-ounce ultra-high relief 24-karat gold coin, creating a 2009 version of what many have called the most beautiful gold piece ever made: the Ultra High Relief Saint-Gaudens $20 Double Eagle.

July 24/08 - Twenty-eight satin-finished coins, in beautiful packaging, priced at $22.95. Who could ask for more? Customers can purchase the 2008 United States Mint Uncirculated Set beginning July 30, 2008, at noon Eastern Time.

The 2008 United States Mint Uncirculated Coin Set is composed of two folders of 14 coins bearing the “P” and “D” mint marks of the United States Mint facilities at Philadelphia and Denver. Each folder includes uncirculated versions of the four Presidential $1 Coins honoring James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren; the final five commemorative quarter-dollar coins in the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarters® Program, honoring Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii; and the Lincoln cent (penny), Jefferson 5-cent coin (nickel), Roosevelt dime, Kennedy half-dollar, and Golden Dollar featuring Sacagawea.

July 18/08 -  U. S. Mint production schedule for the remainder of 2008:

July 1 American Eagle Platinum Uncirculated Coins
July 8 United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin Historical Signature Set™ - James Madison
July 22 American Buffalo Gold Proof Coins
July 22 American Buffalo Gold Uncirculated Coins
July 24 2008 Presidential $1 Coin Uncirculated Set™
July 30 United States Mint Uncirculated Coin Set®
July/August United States Mint Annual Uncirculated Dollar Coin Set™
August 14 Andrew Jackson $1 Coin Bags and Rolls
August 25 Alaska Quarter Bags and Two-Roll Sets
August 26 United States Mint Silver Proof Set™
August 28 First Spouse Series One-Half Ounce Gold Proof Coin - Jackson's Liberty
August 28 First Spouse Series One-Half Ounce Gold Uncirculated Coin - Jackson's Liberty
August 28 Jackson's Liberty Bronze Medal 1 5/16"
August 28 United States Mint Presidential $1 Coins - Individual Proof Coin – Andrew Jackson
September American Presidency $1 Coin Cover Series - Andrew Jackson
September Alaska Official First Day Coin Cover
October American Presidency $1 Coin Cover Series - Martin Van Buren
November Hawaii Quarter Bags and Two-Roll Sets
November Martin Van Buren $1 Coin Bags and Rolls
November First Spouse Series One-Half Ounce Gold Proof Coin - Van Buren's Liberty
November First Spouse Series One-Half Ounce Gold Uncirculated Coin - Van Buren's Liberty
November Van Buren's Liberty Bronze Medal 1 5/16"
November United States Mint Presidential $1 Coins - Individual Proof Coin – Martin Van Buren
 

July 14/08 - The 2008 CNA Convention will take place this week starting on Thursday the 17th and running through Sunday the 21st. The annual event will take place at the  Crowne Plaza Hotel 101 Lyon Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1R 5T9

July 05/08 - United States Mint Director Ed Moy unveiled the design for the 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar at the National Federation of the Blind’s annual convention in Dallas, Texas, during the March for Independence on July 2, 2008. “The United States Mint is proud to present the 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar coin design. It will be the first coin ever minted in the history of our country to contain readable Braille characters,” said Director Moy. “I am looking forward to presenting the design for this unprecedented coin, and I am pleased that the United States Mint is playing a role in the cause of bringing literacy to all blind and visually impaired Americans.”

July 01/08 - It could double as a shot put, but it’s worth a little too much to chuck in the dirt. A 22-pound gold coin commemorating the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing is waiting in Burnsville for someone to plunk down $1 million for a piece of history. Now, if you’re a big fan of the Olympics, you could fly to Beijing, stay for a week, watch the Games live and buy a T-shirt for considerably less. But a million dollars for a coin that isn’t even old?