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 Replies: 58 / Views: 3,821 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2734 Posts |
http://www.enidnews.com/localnews/l...3234434.htmlQuote:
U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas has introduced House Resolution 6942, which would replace the nickel with the original 5 cent coin used in the United States.
The 5 Cent Restoration Act would return to use of the half-dime. The half-dime is smaller in size and requires less metal to produce, lowering its cost and potentially saving the federal government millions of dollars, Lucas said.
"Fiscal irresponsibility seems to go hand-in-hand with the federal government," Lucas said. "It's time that we to find ways to decrease the amount of taxpayer money we spend each year. At a cost of 9.5 cents to produce and ship, there is a $58.5 million loss passed on to the taxpayers each year.
"This is one more example of irresponsible spending by the federal government and one more reason why our national deficit has risen to over $9 trillion. It costs the federal government almost twice as much to make the nickel as it is worth, and we cannot continue to spend that money."
The half-dime, introduced in 1792, was one of the original coins used in the United States. In 1873, pressured by powerful nickel lobbyists, Lucas said, Congress did away with the half-dime and replaced it with the nickel-based 5 cent piece we use today.
H.R. 6942 will be referred to the House Financial Services Committee for consideration.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2443 Posts |
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  |
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Valued Member
United States
76 Posts |
I always had an affection for the half-dime. Too bad the new one would be made of something less. Are there many who are fond of our present nickle?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1713 Posts |
Might be ok if they had a better design on the half-dime than on a nickel.
You know, I'll bet that even if we did change to a half-dime, everyone would still call it a nickel.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2734 Posts |
Quote:
Are there many who are fond of our present nickel?
Yeah, me for one. The 5¢ Nickel is our last circulating coin that has the same size, weight and composition as it did 100+ years ago (back to 1866, to be exact!). So even today's Nickel (in that sense) is a bit of history in your hand.  At this rate, I may even buy myself a P+D pair of BU rolls of those ugly obverse 2006 "Return To Monticello" Nickels  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2443 Posts |
I like the nickel. I wish the current design looked better. Maybe if the mint could redesign it and not have 90 different designs and maybe put lady liberty on it.
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Valued Member
United States
419 Posts |
I think having a half-dime again would be a nice change. I am pretty partial to the old half-dime and the "one" I have is one of the prizes of my collection. Plus if it would potentially help our budget it is worth a try. God Bless, Brad  |
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Valued Member
United States
74 Posts |
It has got to be a better idea than copying the cent.. imagine a nickel plated zinc core "nickel".. ick
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
I would assume since they are discussing a " Half Dime" and not another type of nickel(five cent coin) then they would be the same diameter as the original Half Cents. That idea will sink like a lead balloon when people realize that the Half Dime is a dinky little thing 2mm smaller than a dime and 3mm smaller than a cent and would only weight about 1 gram. I see a nickel-plated steel five cent coin in the future(think Canada) and that would certainly be feasible. Edited by biokemist6
09/29/2008 12:38 pm
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Moderator
 United States
187446 Posts |
Hmmm...  Not sure how I really feel about this one. I love the Jefferson nickel that existed from 1938 to 2003. I enjoyed the Westward Journey series. However, the current obverse is, well, just not good, IMHO. I am kind of excited about the idea of having the half-dime again, but then again, is this another case of too little, too late? Would nickel-plated steel be just as or almost as cost effective? I will have to listen to more arguments on this one.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
580 Posts |
I think the new design of this Half Dime should show the JP Morgan Chase symbol on one side and the Bank of America symbol on the other. Those will be the only 2 banks left by the time this new coin is released, anyway. It would be a nice way to commemorate the shrinking public fiscal outlets in our country! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3294 Posts |
Not true, Bank of America has bad customer service, prolly Wells Fargo will outlast them.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
580 Posts |
Whichever, it's all subjective. The customer service I received from the previously mentioned company (the stagecoach folks) on my mortgage about 8 years ago was abysmal. Tuh-MAY-toe tuh-MAH-toe.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
790 Posts |
I think that a major change of any kind would stimulate more interest in coins in general which is always a good thing for our hobby.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
580 Posts |
Exactamundo, Jays Dad. Look what happened back in '99 when the whole State Quarter extravaganza began. |
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Valued Member
United States
296 Posts |
If they made it the same size as the originals, I could see it causing a lot of grief with a lot of segments of modern society. There would definitely be some complaining from a lot of special interest groups. Personally, I think it would be kind of cool. If the U.S. is going to continue issuing a 5¢ piece and not take a loss doing so, the practical thing would be to do what Canada did, plated steel.  |
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Replies: 58 / Views: 3,821 |
Posted 09/28/2008 9:03 pm
