2016 Mark Twain Gold Half Eagle

It's been a while. I'm delving more into coin collecting info as this is the last year of the Presidential dollars, which means my current collection is ending and I'll be looking to getting something different. I thought I'd chime in then...

My thought on the "In God we Trust" motto issue: I'm pretty sure Twain is no longer an atheist (and doesn't mind anymore). ;-)

Thanks for the pics, BTW. I hadn't realized these were so small! I am thinking of getting a silver one when they're available. It is indeed odd that Tom Sawyer isn't there, but the jumping frog is... :-/

Any news when the silver version goes on sale. I will need to put some money aside. I think the design is fantastic. Can someone please explain the differences between the 2 silver versions, to this Canuck please.

commems is right on, of course.

Fortunately these, while certainly nowhere near spot, won't break the bank at $45 and $46.

commems - do you know when the US Mint started doing satin/matte finish on the silver UNC dollars? I just picked up an UNC 1987 Constitution and it definitely has a different surface than some more recent UNC silver dollars that I have.

Our nation's de facto motto was E Pluribus Unum from 1782 (when it was adopted by an Act of Congress for the Seal of the United States) until 1956. It was post- civil war religious zealots and cold war anti-communist fervor that led to IGWT's initial placement on coinage and its establishment as our motto, respectively.

Really, all propagandist agenda:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_God_we_trust

I suggest folks educate themselves thoroughly before accepting the status quo.

To your point on religious people vs. atheists, this recent survey identifies that approximately one out of three Americans (i.e., not just Californians) identify as non-religious: http://www.pewforum.org/files/2013/...-relig-3.png

And this should shed some light on the overall legality of IGWT in light of the First Amendment
[from http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org...plays-mottos]:




Really, this was the court's only option, because otherwise, I believe they would have had no choice but to rule IGWT as unconstitutional!

As a coin collector, I appreciate the meaning and symbolism of the images and words that appear on our coins. My point was that the US Mint has a duty to consider historical context and design implications, and the fact that Twain was opposed to IGWT should have certainly been considered in the design of this coin. As I said, IGWT did not have to be placed in his face.



Here is some further food for thought, as people may want to better understand why he was opposed to the motto:
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/19...motto-in-god

I personally like the Twain half eagle, a lot. Recently, I think the US Mint has been doing a (better) job in designing elegant and timeless $5 gold commemoratives. I think the silver $1 designs could be better, but at least our mint has yet to enter the bugs bunny and superman coin business like some other mints have.

Hmmmm.... looks like the topic is coming up again in Federal Court:

http://www.coinworld.com/news/us-co...urrency.html

The article even mentions the Twain coin:

ofd.. are you an atheist?

stmpvrgn - my personal spiritual views are just that, personal, and they are really irrelevant to this discussion here. I'm not here asking CCF members what God means to them. It seems you likely missed the entire point.