Mercanti Named 12th Chief Engraver

Buried within the hype of the Ultra High Relief Saint Gaudens Double Eagle and all of the other news of the day was that during the ceremony for the opening of the UHR exhibit at the Philadelphia Mint was the announcement that John Mercanti would be the 12th Chief Engraver of the US Mint.

Mercanti, who was previously the “Supervisory Design and Master Tooling Development Specialist,” has been working for the US Mint since 1974 and has been responsible for the design of some of the Mint’s most spectacular coins of the last 35 years. Mercanti worked under Chief Engravers Frank Gasparro and Elizabeth Jones.

After Jones retired in 1990, the US Mint abolished the position of Chief Engraver. After 19 years, Director Edmund C. Moy has decided to bring back the position and offer the job to the Mint’s most experienced and accomplished engraver. Mercanti deserves the honor to join this elite group:

Robert Scot	1793-1823
William Kneass	1824-1840
Christian Gobrecht	1835-1844
James Barton Longacre	1844-1869
William Barber	1869-1879
Charles Edward Barber	1879-1917
George T. Morgan	1917-1925
John R. (Ray) Sinnock	1925-1947
Gilroy Roberts	1948-1964
Frank Gasparro	1965-1981
Elizabeth Jones	1981-1990
John M. Mercanti	2009-present

Congratulation to John Mercanti!

Gold and the Coin Market

The big news of the week is that the gold spot price spiked over $1,000 this week before profit takers caused the price to back off to a close of $993.20. Gold has been on a steady rise since the week of January 12, when the markets were worried during the last week of the Bush administration with nothing concrete being offered by the incoming Obama administration. Markets continue to be skittish about the economy.

Recently, we have learned that the new openness of the Obama administration has a price. The administration and congress have pulled back the covers of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (TARP) revealing that the banks and brokerages were not using the money to open capital markets and were practicing “business as usual.” Recently, we learned that the nation’s two largest banks are not as healthy as initially reported. This is making everyone uneasy about the economy.

With the financial markets in turmoil, investors are running to the gold markets. Gold has been the traditional safe haven for the equity markets. Pundits have been reminding us how gold was used as the standard currency at the beginning of the Great Depression. With the markets failing, foreign trade partners were demanding payment in gold causing much of the United State’s wealth to be shipped overseas. This did not not leave enough gold to back circulating currency causing money to be a scarce resource. As Franklin D. Roosevelt began his presidency, he ordered a 4-day bank holiday and an embargo on the use of gold in overseas transaction. A month later, Roosevelt ordered a nationwide gold recall (Executive Order 6102).

The Gold Reserve Act of 1933 made Executive Order 6102 the law. Gold ownership and the restriction on the use of gold contracts started to ease in 1965 with full ownership granted in 1977. Under 31 U.S.C. §5118, gold contracts with the government are not permitted as well as issuing gold or silver as circulating currency. The United States was officially off the gold standard.

For us collectors, the economy may help keep the coin markets active. But which part of the coin market? Reports from the recent Long Beach Expo noted that there was strong business, especially in with gold coins. It was also pointed out that the auction at the Long Beach show held by Heritage Auction Galleries realized $13 million for a catalog that had a significant number of gold coins. I can understand why the people who manage the Long Beach Expo and Heritage Auction Galleries would want to show the bright side of the weekend, but I suspect that the reports are misleading to the overall state of numismatics.

There were no reports on silver or “common” and less expensive collectibles.

Silver, which is more abundant than gold and has significant industrial uses, is up 25-percent in 2009 while gold is only up 13-percent. It seems to be effecting the industrial market more than the coin market.

While gold may be the investment of choice for those leaving of other equity markets, other coins do not seem to be selling as well. The PCGS3000 Market Summary Index has been falling since last October. Other PCGS indices have moved lower with the exception of the Proof Gold Coin Index, which has remained flat.

Downward pressure on the coin market observed by PCGS can be traced to the news of bad economics event. With the flow of money and seizing of capital markets, buyers have less discretionary funds to purchase coins. As a result, there maybe a higher supply from people wanting to sell in order to convert their coins into spendable currency. The basics of the Law of Supply and Demand dictates that when the supply is high but the demand is low, the downward pressure caused by the lower demand will force the prices down. For those still in the market, the elasticity of demand in the overall market, which takes into consideration lowered incomes, may continue to put downward pressure on prices creating bargains for some formerly higher priced coins.

Since numismatics is an industry that relies on its customers to have discretionary income to purchase its products and since economic indicators say that people now have less discretionary income, I wonder if the positive press from Long Beach may be the result of investors entering the market looking for safe havens. The markets have seen this before in 1980 and in 1990 where the 1980 market was because of manipulation and 1990 increases was because of economic factors.

Before you run out and buy gold or gold-based investments, understand that following the two biggest gold spikes in history, gold had dipped to the lowest levels of the year within a few months months. After reaching $850.00 on January 21, 1980, ($2,178.05 adjusted for inflation), gold dropped to $481.50 on February 18, a 43-percent decline. Following the February 7, 1990 closing price of $423.75 ($684.56 adjust for inflation), gold closed 20-percent lower at $345.85 on June 14, 1980. The PCGS3000 also notes similar drops in their index during the same period.

There are quite a few analysts who are predicting that gold prices could surpass $1,500 and $2,000 per ounce. It is conceivable to think that if gold reaches $2,000 per ounce without market manipulation, we would be in a depression that could eventually make the 1930s look like a picnic in comparison.

Please remember that I am not an investment advisor or analyst. I am collector with a background in public policy trying to read the tea leaves to understand if it is time to sell my gold leaf!

In the mean time, I have cut back on my numismatic purchases. This year, I will be looking to fill the holes in the modern sections of my albums before buying higher priced coins. I will probably not purchase any coins for my registry sets and limit the number of coins I send off to be graded. I might purchase a bulk package of cents to fill up the Whitman coin board I purchased last year.

Are you limiting your collecting activities this year? Let me know by posting your comment here.


Gold chart courtesy of Kitco.com.
Image of The New York Times front page from March 6, 1933 courtesy of Charleston Voice.

Mongolia's Coin of the Year

There was a lot written on other sites about the of the Coin of the Year award going to Mongolia. The award was presented at the World Money Fair this month in Berlin.

I was curious about the coin and searched for an image. The coin is a 2007 silver 500-tugrik (33-cents US) coin depicting a wolverine. A unique feature is that the eyes are made of diamonds. Even with the limits of the online images, I can understand why David Harper, editor of World Coin News, said, “The judges had to be drawn to the eyes of the wolverine. They are quite compelling.”

This coin was also the winner of the best silver coin in this year’s competition.

While the US Mint produces some nice coins, I wish they were given the opportunity to do something different with non-circulating collectible coins. There was only one bi-metalic commemorative coin and no coins that used elements other than engraving to enhance the coins. I am not suggesting that the US Mint produces colorized coins like the Royal Canadian Mint, but the use of diamonds for eyes on the Mongolian coin was a brilliant idea. I hope the Mint learns from this for the future.

Image courtesy of the Wolverine Foundation.

Ganz On A New Mint Director

Last November, I wrote an open letter to then President-elect Barack Obama about his choice to be Director of the US Mint. In that letter, I asked for someone more qualified than the current director.

Earlier this month, David Ganz wrote an article describing his experiences with Mint directors and his suggestion as to the qualifications for the next Mint director. According to Ganz, the successful Mint directors in recent history has had the following qualifications (quoting from his article):

• Are political, most typically on a national level (consistent with the President’s policies)
• Have a working relationship with either the Treasury secretary, the President or both
• Are good listeners
• Hear their own bureaucracy but reach out to other sectors
• Don’t necessarily have technical knowledge but are quick studies
• Have an entrepreneur’s spirit
• Aren’t lemmings
• Speak enthusiastically to the various segments of the Mint’s constituency
• Come from various segments of society
• Work well with members of Congress (both sides of the aisle)
• Understands what staff’s role actually is.
• Know were the buck stops

Ganz concludes that, “[none] of this definitely says who should be the next Mint director. But this list surely defines who is unlikely to be successful by type and experience.”

I hope the president and his staff has read these comments and finds a proper director for the US Mint.

TR Could Appear on the Quarter

It is being reported that the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee is considering changing the obverse of the America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coins (Public Law Number 110-456 [GPO: Text or PDF]). My source pointed that that the law does not specify what is to be on the obverse of the coin only that the 1998 George Washington design. Rather than recommend a design with Washington on the reverse, the CCAC is considering honoring Theodore Roosevelt on the obverse.

Theodore Roosevelt is credited with starting a modern renaissance of US coinage. When Roosevelt became president in 1901, he expressed his disdain for the sameness of the coinage designed by then chief engraver Charles E. Barber. Roosevelt want our coinage to reflect the greatness of the nation. He wanted a more modern classical design. Roosevelt enlisted the help of the greatest sculpture of the time, Augustus Saint Gaudens, to execute what Roosevelt called his “pet crime.”

Duriung Roosevelt’s presidency, he was directly involved with the redesign of the gold coinage using the designs of Saint Gaudens on the eagle ($10) and double eagle ($20), Bela Lyon Pratt’s incuse design for the half-eagle ($5) and quarter eagle ($2.50) coins, and Victor David Brenner’s Lincoln Cent. The other Barber designs coin were retired by 1916.

In addition to Roosevelt’s influence on coinage, he was instrumental in growing the number of national parks and protected areas in the United States. Roosevelt, who spent a lot of time in the Badlands in the Dakota Territory influenced his view by setting aside 42 million acres of national forests, 53 national wildlife refuges, and other areas including the Grand Canyon.

Roosevelt started the program that lead to the National Wildlife Refuge system and established the US Forest Service to help maintain these natural resources.

To honor Theodore Roosevelt’s conservation work and preservation of many national parks and refuges and his “pet crime” for his redesign of US coinage, it would be fitting to honor him on the National Park Quarters. As a fan of our 28th president and his work, I have advocated that Theodore Roosevelt be honored on US coinage. If the CCAC follows through with this recommendation, it would make the National Parks Quaters more palatable.

Image of Theodore Roosevelt is from the White House website.

CFA Meets on Thursday

Anyone interested in attending the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) meeting on February 19, 2009, can attend the 10:00 AM meeting at the National Building Museum, Suite 312, 401 F Street, NW., Washington, DC 20001-2728. CFA meetings are open to the public, but the public does not participate in the discussions.

The CFA is part of the sausage making process coin and medal designs must go through before they are struck.

On the agenda for this meeting are the final design decisions on the Congressional Gold Medals for Edward William Brooke III and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Design decisions will be for a gold medal and bronze duplicates.

Harrison Dollar and History

William Henry Harrison was elected the 9th President of the United States in 1840. A retired Major General of the United States Army, Harrison was famous for the Battle of Tippecanoe where he defeated the Shawnee Indians and lead by the brothers of Chief Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa The Prophet preserving the Indiana territory from further attack.

When Harrison won the Whig Party nomination for president, Harrison and his running mate, John Tyler adopted the campaign slogan, Tippecanoe and Tyler too to promote Harrison’s military record and reputation as a battle hero.

Harrison was inaugurated on very cold and wet day in Washington on March 4, 1841, without wearing an overcoat or hat in order to continue to show his toughness. His inaugural speech was the longest in American history, lasting nearly two hours. And this was the short version of the speech after it was edited by Daniel Webster for length.

President Harrison became ill with a cold on March 26 presumably as a result from the inauguration. The illness progressed to pneumonia, pleurisy and other symptoms not understood by the doctors of the period. Harrison died on April 4, 1841, after 32 days in office.

Harrison’s presidency and death was as historic as it was a test of the Constitution. Harrison was the oldest elected president at 68 until the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. As the first president elected from the Whig Party, his two hour inaugural speech is the longest of any president and his term of 32 days is the shortest in United States history. Harrison was the only president to never appoint a federal judge.

Harrison was the first president to die in office. While we understand the rules of succession today, Harrison’s death caused a constitutional crisis in the young nation. The debate surrounded the interpretation of Article II of the Constitution:

In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

The vague wording caused a debate as to wether Vice President Tyler would take the oath of office as President or would he become an “acting president.” After debate in congress and by the cabinet, Chief Justice Roger Taney was consulted. Chief Justice Taney said that he thought the constitution meant for Tyler to take the oath of office as president. Based on Taney’s opinion, Tyler was given the oath on April 6, 1841.

As a historical note, Chief Justice Taney was presiding when the Supreme Court ruled on the infamous Dred Scott v. Sanford case in 1857.

This precedence was used in the transitions following the death of seven presidents. The 20th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified on January 23, 1933, codified the line of succession as well as change the inauguration date to noon on January 20th. Rules of succession was strengthened with the 25th Amendment that was ratified on February 10, 1967.

On February 16, the US Mint used 2009 President’s Day to pre-release the Harrison Dollar Coin to an audience in Charles City, Virginia. The coin officially goes into circulation on February 19. The reverse was designed and engraved by Mint Sculptor-Engraver Joseph Menna.

As Harrison was the cause of a number of firsts, the coin honoring his short presidency is the first of the Presidential Dollars to feature the motto In G-D We Trust on the obverse rather than the rim as mandated by law.

Image of William Henry Harrison from the White House website.
Image of the Harrison Dollar obverse courtesy of the US Mint.

Happy 200th Birthday Mr. Lincoln

The US Mint will introduce the first in a series of redesigned Lincoln Cents honoring our 16th President’s 200th birthday at the Abraham Lincoln Brithplace in Hodgenville, Kentucky. Unveiling will occur at 10:00 AM during The Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration to be held at LaRue County High School in Hodgenville, Kentucky.

Billed as the first redesign of the Lincoln Cent in over 50 years, the first coin issued will honor his birth and early childhood in what is now known as Hodgenville, Kentucky. Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in a log cabin to Thomas and Nancy Hank Lincoln. While the log cabin where Lincoln lived has been lost to history, a replica of common design for the era was used as a model for the coin. The reverse was design by Artistic Infusion Program (AIP) Master Designer Richard Masters and sculpted by Sculptor-Engraver Jim Licaretz

However, it may be a while before the new coin will be seen in change. Susan Headley points out that the way coins are distributed through the Federal Reserve system, there may be a backlog of coins in stock that will prevent the new cents from reaching the public. Susan explains that the bad economy has caused more coins being returned to the Fed than being distributed. Since the Fed buys only what it needs from the US Mint, it may be a while before the inventory is depleted enough for the Fed to order coins.

Susan reported that when she visited the Philadelphia Mint last week, she found that three of the lines striking cents were not running. When I visited the Philadelphia Mint in the summer of 2007, we were told that the machines that strike cents run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To hear that the Mint has reduced production of cents is very worrisome for the economy and those who work at the Mint. I hope their superintendent has the chutzpa that Mae Biester showed in the 1950s.

Image courtesy of the US Mint.

Commemorating Abraham Lincoln

Starting at 12:00 Noon Eastern Time, the US Mint will begin to sell the 2009 Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Silver Dollar. The commemorative is limited to a production of 500,000 coins by law and will be available in proof and uncirculated versions. Coins will be struck in 90-percent silver and will have a face value of one dollar.

The obverse of the coin was created by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program Master Designer Justin Kunz and sculpted by Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart. The image was inspired by Daniel Chester French’s famous sculpture of the President that sits inside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.

The reverse was designed and sculpted by Sculptor-Engraver Phebe Hemphill. The design features the an inscription of the last 43 words of the Gettysburg Address:

WE HERE HIGHLY RESOLVE THAT THESE DEAD SHALL NOT HAVE DIED IN VAIN–THAT THIS NATION, UNDER GOD, SHALL HAVE A NEW BIRTH OF FREEDOM—AND THAT GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE, SHALL NOT PERISH FROM THE EARTH.

These words are encircled by a laurel wreath with Lincoln’s signature incuse into a banner at the bottom of the design.

From the first availability until 5:00 PM on March 16, 2009, the Mint will sell these coins at a reduced price. According to the Mint’s press release pricing has been set as follows:

Product Code	Description	Introductory Price	Regular Price
LN7	Proof Silver Dollar	$37.95	$41.95
LN8	Uncirculated Silver Dollar	$31.95	$33.95
LN6	Special Set	—	—

The special set will contain a proof silver dollar and proof versions of the four 2009 Lincoln Cents. The set will be available in the spring and will be limited to 50,000 units. The special set sounds interesting and worth waiting to see how the Mint will price this option.

Images courtesy of the US Mint.

US Mint Changes Return Policy

Apparently, the management at the US Mint has blog posts like mine that talks about the cost of precious metal products and the their liberal return policy. Today, following a week where the prices were adjusted upward, the Mint announced a new return policy. The return policy has been reduced from 30-days to seven days.

Considering that the Mint’s pricing policy for precious metals changes weekly, it makes business sense to change the return policy to match. The seven day period starts from the day your package is delivered, which can be obtained from the package tracking information from the carrier used. Returned items must be postmarked within seven days of delivery.

So how can the Mint get a policy right and wrong at the same time? When the bureaucrats change the policy for all collectibles and not just bullion. According to the press release:

Rather than have two separate return policies - seven days for numismatic products containing gold and platinum coins and 30 days for other numismatic products - the United States Mint elected to implement a uniform seven-day policy for all numismatic products. This gives customers consistency and clarity when purchasing its products.

BULL FEATHERS! (I have to keep it clean!)

We live in a world where merchants have different return policies. Go into any big-box electronics store and look at their return policy—14 days for computers, 21 days for other electronics, and don’t open that software or music if you want to return it. Other stores have special sales that are not returnable and then there others who will take anything back.

Coin and metals dealers also have separate return policies for bullion and numismatic products. In fact, some dealers have different policies for graded and non-graded numismatic products.

By saying that the new policy “gives customers consistency and clarity” the US Mint is either patronizing, covering up for their own deficiencies, or showing disrespect for their fine employees telling them that they cannot handle a variable policy. If the Mint believes that the public cannot understand a variable return policy, then they are underestimating their buying public. And considering that Deputy Director Andrew Brunhart has a history of employee discontent from when he was General Manager of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), it is possible he does not trust the Mint workers.

A more plausible explanation is that the US Mint may not be able to implement a variable return policy because of technology and contractual issues. Since the US Mint entered into a contract with a new fulfillment provider, the order management system may not be able to handle the new requirement. After all, the contract was negotiated with the requirement of the one 30-day return policy. It is possible that the contract and the technology used by the contractor cannot implement the requirement. Rather than issuing a change request so that the tools meet the requirement, the US Mint is allowing the tool to dictate the requirement.

While I do not expect the US Mint to tell the truth, even though the administration it serves has declared a policy of transparency, I did not expect the US Mint to issue a press release with a shallow and patronizing statement as part of its policy driver.

I know that President Obama has serious issues to deal with, but the US Mint is a profitable enterprise that may be on the brink of imploding and needs attention. The president’s team must consider leadership change very soon before the implosion.

Gold Minting Video

As an avid collector and purveyor of the “neat” things in numismatics, I find it difficult to pass up a “how it’s done” video. A friend who knows this, saw the video I posted about Rae Biester, Superintendent of the Philadelphia Mint, appearing on the game show What’s My Line, and sent along a link to another interesting video.

This video is from the Mayer Mint, a private mint in Germany, and sponsored by the Gold Refining Forum. It shows the making of a 2002 non-circulating legal tender gold coin honoring the Year of the Horse. It is part of the Bhutan Lunar Series. The coins struck in the video are 5 ounces of 999.9 gold proofs with the denomination of 20,000 Ngultrum issued by the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan.

I love videos like this!

Coin specification image courtesy of the Mayer Mint GmbH

What Was Her Line in 1958

On July 20, 1958, Mrs. Rae V. Biester, Superintendent of the US Mint in Philadelphia was a contestant on the the CBS game show, What’s My Line. Watch as Mrs. Biester stumps the pannel:

While looking for biographical information about Rae Biester, I was surprised to learn that she was instrumental in the promotion of proof coin sets in the 1950s.

According to Tom DeLorey in The Three Major Eras of Modern Proof Sets, following the passage of legislation that allowed the US Mint to produce proof sets in 1950, sales started slowly as the public was getting used to the program and paying a small premium over face value for the “special handling.” The newly appointed Biester did what she could to help increase sales of proof sets, especially during a recession, in order to prevent layoffs. DeLorey writes:

Sales increased slowly over the first few years, and finally began to climb in 1954 under the personal care and promotion of the new Philadelphia Mint Superintendent Rae Biester, who sought to avoid a threatened round of layoffs by increasing Mint output via Proofs. Biester went so far as to write personal notes thanking buyers of the 1953 Proof sets, and inviting them and their friends to buy the 1954 and subsequent sets.

Under Biester’s administration the packaging was improved by placing the coins between two sheets of plastic divided into pockets via a simple pressure bonding, which allowed the coins to be viewed and displayed without removing them from their original holders. These &ldlquo;flat packs” appeared in mid-1955, and this is the only year which is collected by holder variations (other than by product variations).

By the time Mrs. Biester appeared on What’s My Line, she had saved the proof program and protected the employment of many US Mint employees.

Top 10 Historical Quarter Designs

After I posted a review of the DC quarter, I remembered that I had not posted what I consider the 10 State Quarter designs that best represents history and teaches us something about the state and our nation. These quarters may not be the best designs, but they represent a unique story about the state that makes it unique and contributes to the nation. Every one of the designs told a story of accomplishment and a proud heritage for the state it represents. I also learned something after each of these quarters were released.

#1 Delaware
Engraver: William Cousins
On the very first coin, I learned who Caesar Rodney was and why is he riding a horse on the back of the Delaware quarter. Rodney was one of Delaware’s representative to the Continental Congress. He was in Dover attending to other business when he learned that Thomas McKean and George Read were deadlocked on the vote of independence. Rodney rode 80 miles from Dover to Philadelphia to vote with McKean to allow Delaware join eleven other colonies voting in favor of independence. Rodney’s signature appears on the document representing Delaware and on the Declaration of Independence. Now that’s history!

#2 New Jersey
Engraver: Alfred Maletsky
We learned in our history classes that General George Washington lead the revolutionary troops across the Delaware River in the middle of the night to surprise the English at the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776. In addition to George Washington, future presidents James Madison and James Monroe was part of the contingent. Rivals Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr along with future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Marshall were soldiers serving under Gen. Washington. The Battle of Trenton was a key battle that helped change the outcome of the war for independence.

#3 Connecticut
Engraver: T. James Ferrell
Although the Charter Oak appeared on the reverse of the 1935 Connecticut Tercentenary Commemorative Half Dollar, younger collectors probably have not seen the coin. Adding it to the Connecticut state quarter had me looking up the history of this tree. It was said that the colony’s charter was hidden in a cavity within the tree when James II sent a new governor to Connecticut to reclaim the document. One of the first “battles’ against the authority of the British monarchy.

#4 Virginia
Engraver: Edgar Z. Steever
Jamestown, Virginia was the first permanent European settlement in the New World and would celebrate its quadricentennial in 2007. The design features the three ships that brought the first settlers to the new colony: Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery. We are reminded of the beginning of this nation and how they came to the new land. Having visited Jamestown, I thought the design was exciting.

#5 North Carolina
Engraver: Don Everhart
On a cold, wind swept day on December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first powered, controlled, sustained airplane flight from the sands outside of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina—now the town of Kill Devil Hills. For three years, the Wright brothers lived in Kitty Hawk testing and perfecting their design that culminated in four successful flights on December 17. We may take flying for granted today, but this one event significantly changed history.

#6 Missouri
Engraver: John Mercanti
The Corps of Discovery headed by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark that explored the Louisiana Purchase was an significant event that lead to the country’s western expansion across the continent. The trip ended in what is Oregon today. Amongst his party was his Indian guide Sacagawea and her baby Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau. The design shows Lewis and Clark’s return to St. Louis from their venture.

#7 Iowa
Engraver: John Mercanti
It would have been easier for Iowa to create a quarter design based on its agricultural heritage. Instead, they chose to celebrate their education values demonstrated in their history. Basing the design on Grant Wood’s “Arbor Day,” the quarter shows a one-room school house with a teacher helping students plant a tree. When you learn that Iowa was one of the first states to organize their schools in county-based districts. Along with being amongst the first to form high schools, their experiences were adopted in other states. A subtle, yet important, historical note.

#8 Utah
Engraver: Joseph Menna
On May 10, 1869, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads officially completed the first transcontinental railroad. The completion was celebrated at Promontory Summit, Utah with the driving of the Golden Spike. Although there was one segment in California that was completed later, the transcontinental railroad provided significant economic development for the newly expanded areas of the country.

#9 California
Engraver: Don Everhart
When Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that the design for the California quarter would honor John Muir, I had to go beyond my basic education as the who Muir was. I knew Muir was a naturalist and the founder of the Sierra Club. What I did not know was that Muir was instrumental in saving Yosemite Valley and Sequoia National Park. I also learned that Muir was widely published about ecology and proposed ecological programs that began to gain favor in the 1970s, more than 60 years following his death. Although he generated a lot of controversy, his concepts show benefits today. For teaching me about Muir, California’s quarter makes this list.

#10 Illinois
Engraver: Donna Weaver
Anyone who was educated in the United States knows the basic story of Abraham Lincoln. We know that he was the 16th president and issued the Emancipation Proclamation. We know he was the president throughout the Civil War and delivered the most remembered speech at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Lincoln was born in a log cabin in Kentucky and was assassinated at Ford’s Theater in Washington, DC. But I learned that Lincoln interested in the river and railroads. He holds a patent related to the buoying of vessels. I knew that he was the first Republican elected president but I did not know he was one of the party’s founders. There is so much more fascinating information that I learned about Lincoln that was never taught in school, but this is supposed to be a short paragraph. You should read some of the books about Lincoln. He is a fascinating person and what he did as president is the reason why he is considered our greatest president.

I Found Another 2009 Coin

In the same manner as I acquired my first 2009 coin, I was able to obtain four DC quarters. Although I wish DC would have picked another topic, the design is not bad looking in hand.

Last year, I found my first 2008 coin in May. I am glad it did not take that long, even if it is cheating. Too bad the coin machines in the US Mint headquarters only dispense quarters and dollars!

More Coin Legislation Introduced

Since Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) introduced H.R. 255, NASA 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act, there has been two more coin-related bills introduced in congress.

Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA) introduced H.R. 406, Alice Paul Women&rsqou;s Suffrage Congressional Gold Medal Act. The bill authorizes “The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration of Alice Paul, in recognition of her role in the women's suffrage movement and in advancing equal rights for women.” The US Mint would be authorized to “sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal.”

The other bill, H.R. 621, Girl Scouts USA Centennial Commemorative Coin Act, was introduced by Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA). It calls for the minting of $1 silver uncirculated and proof coins “in commemoration of the centennial of the Girl Scouts of the USA” in 2011.

All three bills have been referred to the House Financial Services Committee. With the current fiscal crisis, they may be be on hold in that committee for a while.