"It isn't a silly smile or a smirk, but a sense of optimism..."

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

OBVIOUSLY testing the waters for a "Smirking George W. Bush nickel" someday...

:tinfoilhat:

:evilgrin:

http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8D1FEOO0.html

New Nickel Features Cheerful Jefferson

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By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer

October 04,2005 | WASHINGTON -- After nearly 100 years of depicting presidents in somber profiles on the nation's coins, the Mint is trying something different: The new nickel features Thomas Jefferson, facing forward, with the hint of a smile.

"It isn't a silly smile or a smirk, but a sense of optimism that I was trying to convey with the expression," says Jamie Franki, an associate professor of art at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. His drawing was chosen out of 147 entries.

In unveiling the design Tuesday, Mint officials said they believed the new image of Jefferson was an appropriate way to commemorate his support for expanding the country through the Louisiana Purchase and sending Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the territory in 1804-05.

"The image of a forward-looking Jefferson is a fitting tribute to that vision," said David Lebryk, the acting director of the Mint.