| Author |
 Replies: 14 / Views: 1,707 |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2200 Posts |
Does anyone know of the general public reaction to the new Lincoln reverse of 1959? Positive, negative, mixed? Did people start pining away for the wheat stalks, or were they happy to see them go?
|
|
|
|
Moderator
 United States
187702 Posts |
I seem to recall my mother telling me about the general excitement for them when she was in grade school. I want to say this was around the US bicentennial, because my school had told us about the special coins and she was relating.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
I was a young teen then, and personally I was thrilled - not with the new design, but because my treasured wheat series was finally being closed at a time when mintages were starting to soar. It was a new era and change was needed.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
149 Posts |
There was an article in Coinweek awhile ago that said the numismatist community, at least, was very excited. Here are a few quotes, but read the full article here: https://coinweek.com/featured-news/...-wheat-cent/Quote:"Because the redesign of the reverse in 1959 came as such a surprise to the public, I feel there was probably more excitement and anticipation when the 1959 Memorial cent was released." Quote:In October 1955, the ANA passed a resolution during its annual convention in Omaha requesting the one-cent coin be redesigned, because "people were tiring of seeing the same old penny." Quote:
Cent expert Harker says demand for the new pennies was fervid. "The public and collectors were very excited to have a newly designed cent, and the banks ended up having to impose limits of two to five coins per customer." |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2270 Posts |
There was a lot of excitement but one like the new coin. It was called the trolley car cent.
Time don't fly, it bounds and leaps.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
19931 Posts |
Lots of excitement, accompanied by hoarding. That's why 1959 OBW rolls and plenty of MS coins exist still today.
|
|
Rest in Peace
10197 Posts |
1959 was the year I began collecting with my father, at 8 years old, it was a "new thang", nothing we thought of as special, remember Dad saying it was like the hype of going to the Jefferson from the Buffalo, strong at first, but, it spent and that's what really mattered. The LMC's bought me my candy and gum, paid for milk at school and if you were a weenie, it paid off the bullies. We were more interested in finding D and S mint LWC's pre-1939 at that point. It was nice to not have all these shiny new jail-looking cents in our rolls! |
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
2200 Posts |
I wonder if kids today still take change with them to school to pay for milk at lunch.
Perhaps that may be why kids from earlier generations got interested in coin collecting--they were forced to carry, handle and look at change.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
5464 Posts |
I don't know, I wasn't around. Maybe the same way they reacted to the Shield Cent. Or maybe I should say, the way "I" reacted to the Shield Cent.  Although, I'm sure it does (I never bothered looking it up), the Shield doesn't even look American to me. At least the Memorial has an obvious, immediate American connection. |
|
Moderator
United States
187702 Posts |
Quote:
the Shield doesn't even look American to me. I disagree. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4085 Posts |
Quote:
I wonder if kids today still take change with them to school to pay for milk at lunch.
Perhaps that may be why kids from earlier generations got interested in coin collecting--they were forced to carry, handle and look at change. Pretty sure it's not 8 cents a carton like it was when I went to school. I think they use payment cards now - at least my kids did. I remember for awhile in school we could get orange drink before some do-gooder did away with that around 4th grade. Then I could only stomach it when it was ice cold. To this day, if I want a glass of milk I put the glass in the freezer first. I do have a aluminum ring encased 1959 Memorial with something about the future on it, so I think the reaction was positive. It was an exciting time for the country even including the fact that I wasn't born yet! |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4233 Posts |
Milk was 4 cents when I was a kid. It didn't really inspire coin collecting that I can recall. We went to school with our sack lunch and exactly 4 cents, and that was the extent of it. By the time I was aware of the concept of money it was probably 1965, and I don't recall any strong opinions about the design change. I don't see why there would be - the quarter changed in 1932, nickel in 1938, dime in 1946 and half in 1948. Seems like people would have been ready for the cent to change.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4395 Posts |
Quote:
I wonder if kids today still take change with them to school to pay for milk at lunch. My school offers free lunch, but we do have a "snack line" in the high school and the middle school where I live. No payment cards, $0.50-$1 for snacks and drinks. Milk is 50¢ now. |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
What? There are no longer Wheat Cents? Guess I didn't notice. And when I was in grade school I lived across the street so just went home for lunch. It was free at my house or at least I thought so.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
19931 Posts |
Quote:
What? There are no longer Wheat Cents? Guess I didn't notice. And when I was in grade school I lived across the street so just went home for lunch. It was free at my house or at least I thought so. Weren't you using IHC's when you were a kid?  Lincoln Cent Lover!VERDI-CARE™ INVENTOR https://verdi.care/
|
| |
Replies: 14 / Views: 1,707 |
|
Posted 03/23/2018 3:37 pm
