It's a Girl!

The Boy Scouts of America Commemorative silver dollar has been released by the mint.  Many Boy Scouts were surprised to see that the most prominent figure on the obverse is a girl! Girls are allowed on the  Venturer program, but are not permitted in the Boy Scouts themselves.

The law authorizing the production of the Boy Scout commemorative dollar states that the coin design must be emblematic of the 100 year history of the organization. Some web bloggers have complained that the presence of a girl and the absence of Caucasian boys on the coin is inconsistent with the law.

For more on information on the Boy Scout coin, please see my webpage at www.peterplanchet.com/boy_scout_dollar.html

Mint Rolls out the National Park Quarters

The mint unveiled the first five design of the "America the Beautiful" quarter series.  In my opinion, the designs are much better than the "state quarters," The State Quarter series had no coherent design.  Some showed maps of states, others showed unrelated state mementos, while one design featured a hanging  astronaut (sorry Ohio).

The first five quarters in the national park series are all scenic.  Note the consistency in the designs.  They will look good together as a collection.  They feature Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas; Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming; Yosemite National Park in California, Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona; and Mount National Forest in Oregon.

US mint Trying to release more 2001 Sacagewea Dollars

As we begin 2010, I read about the US mint releasing more of its 2001 Sacagewea dollars.  I assumed it was simple dyslexia.  But no, the mint has still not been able to place all of the 2001 coins into circulation.  The coins are being offered under the mint’s "circulating $1 coin direct ship program." I hate to sound like a broken record, but the problem is that Americans do not like dollar coins.  And yet the mint continues to make more.  The 2001’s might be an especially tough sell, since there is likely to be more interest in the presidential dollars or the newer native American series.