Thomas Who? New Dollar Coin Might Help

[question everything]

Thomas Who? New Dollar Coin Might Help

By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Most folks can correctly name George Washington as the nation's first president. After that, things get tricky. The U.S. Mint is hoping its new dollar coin series will help refresh some hazy memories of Adams, Jefferson and all the rest. That could be a tall order, however, given the results of a poll the Mint commissioned to find out just how much knowledge Americans have about their presidents.

According to the telephone poll, conducted by the Gallup Organization last month, nearly all those questioned knew that Washington was the first president. However, only 30 percent could name Thomas Jefferson as the nation's third president, and memories of the other presidents and where they fit in was even more limited. Only 7 percent could name the first four presidents -- Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison -- in the correct order. While 94 percent knew that Washington was first, only 8 percent knew that James Madison was fourth.

And when it came to the next four presidents -- James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren -- only 16 percent of those surveyed could name any president in that group and only 2 percent could name them all.

(snip)

The Jefferson dollar follows the Washington coin, which was introduced in February, and the John Adams coin, introduced in May. The coin honoring James Madison will go into circulation in November, and four more of the nation's presidents will be honored every year in the order they served in the White House.

By having a rotating design on the new dollar coins, the Mint is hoping to keep interest high and avoid the famous flops of two previous dollar coins -- the Susan B. Anthony, introduced in 1979, and the Sacagawea, introduced in 2000. The presidential coins are the same size as the Sacagawea, slightly larger than a quarter, and also golden in color.

(snip)

U.S. Mint: http://www.usmint.gov

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070815/jefferson_dollar.html?.v=3

[Fran Kubelik]

1. Ok, maybe they don't know that he's the third president.

But you can't tell me that 2/3 of Americans don't know who he is.

I think the wording on that (and I know it's not your wording) is misleading.

[Virginia Dare]

2. I weep for this country...

I bet 99% of them could tell you who won American Idol last year, who came in 2nd, 3rd and 4th, etc.

[sallyseven]

5. I can't I haven't a clue who won american idol

[liberal N proud]

3. So where are these coins being distributed?

The only place I ever saw the Sacajawea coin was at National Parks. But I have been to a couple of National Park/Monument sites this summer and have not even seen those let alone the Jefferson or Adams dollars.

[question everything]

6. I go to local bansk and exchange

a $5 dollar bill for coins. Some of the meters downtown are super expensive and it is easier to use the dollar coins than a bunch of quarters.

There are some commuter train stations in Southern California where, when you purchase a ticket from a vending machine your change will be in dollar coins.

[Phx_Dem]

8. coin store or US mint web site

http://catalog.usmint.gov/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/TopCategoriesDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001

If you want to collect them I would not bother with un-circulated ones, buy the proofs. The first ladies are being offered in 24 caret gold half-eagle.

http://catalog.usmint.gov/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&identifier=8500

[EstimatedProphet]

20. I'm putting away a roll of each

[EstimatedProphet]

19. Most banks are carrying them, or can get them

I get a couple rolls every few weeks for spending money. One tip though - the US mint sells them at a premium. $32.50 for a roll of 25.

[Sanctified]

4. Damn do people not look at their nickels. n/t

[rasputin1952]

12. Or their $2 Bills...

:D

[1monster]

7. Let's see, from memory: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison,

Monroe, (oops! I left out JQ Adams) Jackson, Van Buren, WH Harrison, Tyler, (get a little messed up here with the lesser guys Polk, Taylor. Fillmore, Pierce) Buchanan, Lincoln, A Johnson, Grant, (and hazy again on the next few, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, B Harrison, McKinley, T Roosevelt, Taft ... until) Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, LB Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, GHW Bush, Clinton, GW Bush.

So I can't name in exact order 13 of them, but I can get them near or in their decade.

How's that?

http://www.usconstitution.com/presidentsinorder.htm

[Johonny]

9. I refuse

to accept anything with * face on it as legal tendor.

[rasputin1952]

13. If he's still alive, it wouldn't be legal tender...they have to be dead...

and dead for a while, unless there is an act of Congress, like for the Kennedy Half Dollar.

No living person is to be on legal tender.

AFAIC, Reagan would not be such a hot idea either, nor would Nixon, Andrew Johnson, Calvin Coolidge, or a few others. I bet Andy Jackson will go over real big on the Reservations, and Grant will be popular around Vicksburg and the rest of the South....:eyes:

[question everything]

17. I thought that for a while they were going to put Reagan on a dime

but I guess this idea came and gone.

Also, it used to be that airports and other places were not named after live persons, see what happens now with Stevens airport at Anchorage..

[rasputin1952]

18. It gathered some steam, but blew out when Nancy Reagan said it was a

"poor idea".

The whole thing was an attempt to replace FDR w/Reagan, but FDR was on the dime specifically because of the "March of Dimes" fighting paralysis. They could have replaced anyone, but Mercury was easy, and the "March of Dimes" tie-in was so obvious.

The whole "Reagan Worship" thing is finally dying off, and there was some static about renaming so many things after Reagan, pushed by a small group of Congress-critters. There has been some small talk about taking Regan's name off of a few things, and there was a time when some in NYC were talking about naming a Homeless Shelter after Reagan, which seems appropriate...:evilgrin:

Some things, like airports, streets and buildings can be named after living individuals, and the Navy began, in the 80's, the practice of naming capital ships after living individuals, USS George HW Bush being one of the latest, (still under construction I believe).

On a personal level, I find naming things after the living somewhat appalling, and the thought that a living president, (or other individual), on currency is particularly disturbing. QEII, Hitler, Mussolini, and many lesser individuals are/were on some national currencies, and I find that as a form of "worship".....just doesn't sit well w/me and many others...:(

[bleedingheart]

10. the reason people don't know is because they don't care

it doesn't matter if they had it jammed into their heads as kids...if they don't care about a subject...they won't remember anything about it.

[supernova]

11. Messrs Washington and Madison

look like mirror images of each other on these things.

[melody]

14. To be honest, I knew the first four but only three out of the following four

And I have a college degree.

Can ANY national name ALL the heads of state of their country? Maybe 2%.

I think these questions are poised to create an appearance, not to get to any real truth.

[hootinholler]

15. The images didn't cause the dollar coin to fail...

The size and shape too close to a quarter did. Make it thick and heavy so it can be instantly identified in the hand and then you have a shot at a good coin.

-Hoot

[H2O Man]

23. Exactly.

I agree 100%.

[hootinholler]

24. It's so freakin obvious. n/t

[DCKit]

16. Yet another scam to take $$$ out of circulation by making them collectable. n/t

[EstimatedProphet]

21. With the value of the dollar today, we should have only $1 and $5 coins

The velocity of the $1 and $5 bills are so high, they only end up in circulation for a few weeks. We'd save money in the production costs to use coins for both.

[DangerDave921]

22. Public Education

History gets erased as more and more gets taken out of the modern curriculum.

Also, statistics like the one above are what make me disregard just about any public opinion poll that is done. Why? Because the public -- at large -- is a mass of freaking idiots. People can't name the VP half the time, and yet we're supposed to accept their opinion on a variety of complex political and social issues. I don't mean to sound snobby, but I swear -- sometimes I wish the country was run by a small group of intelligent, intellectual, educated people who actually know something so we didn't have to worry about the votes of millions of idiots.