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Observations on the world today.

Friday, September 17, 2004

 
Profiles in History 

Yahoo! News - U.S. Mint Unveils New Designs for Nickel
A new likeness of Jefferson will be on the front of the two revamped coins, giving the third president a "fresh, contemporary look," Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore said. The "tails" side also gets updated.

With the makeover, Jefferson will move from the center of the coin to the side, where he gazes in a close-up profile that shows more detailed features of his face.

"I wanted an image that was large enough so that you could see the determination and intelligence in his eyes. The kindness of his mouth. His sense of humor. The main thing that was guiding me ... I wanted you to get a sense of the character of the person," said artist Joe Fitzgerald, who created the design for the front of the new nickel.

Also on the front of both new coins: The word "liberty" will appear in script — as Jefferson once had written in his own hand. The phrase "In God We Trust" remains as well as the year.


Okay, first off, love the coins. These are a true improvement, unlike the lame handshake and sailboat versions we got last year supposedly representing the Louisiana purchase and the Lewis and Clarke expeditions. But I still don't get it.

Okay, they redesigned the $10 and the $50 and the $100 dollar bills. I'm clear on the reasoning for that. I can even sort of see why they re-did the $5 spot. And the state quarters are kind of cool too. Actually they are sort of a cottage industry. Hell, you can even buy your quarters wholesale. But I just don't get all this effort into redesigning nickels. Did I miss something? Is there a big racket in counterfeiting nickels?

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