Battle of the special interests: Paper dollar vs. dollar coin

In the Congress, we are hearing passionate debate about whether the paper dollar should be replaced by the dollar coin .  Unfortunately, the passion is fake.  In reality, there is a battle between two special interests.  Please see my webpage for my cynical history of the United States dollar coin .

One one side are the preservationists, who seek to retain the paper dollar.  We expect the traditional conservatives.  Instead, we have Senator John Kerry and Senator Scott Brown, who wrote the currency Efficiency Act, which would substantially reduce the number of dollar coins.  The reduction of coinage of dollars would save the country money, because most of the dollars are returned to the treasury where they are simply stored.  It is not a coincidence that both are from Massachusetts, the home of Crane and Company, which currently holds a monopoly on the production of the special cotton and linen paper which comprise our paper money.

On the other side are the abolitionists, who have introduced a bill that would eliminate the dollar bill, thus forcing Americans to use the dollar coin. The main lobbying group for this bill is the Dollar Coin Alliance.  The Dollar Coin Alliance argues that the switch to the dollar coin will save the country money because dollar coins last longer than paper money.  Their silly arguments include the fact that cotton prices have increased dramatically (of course the value of the cotton in a dollar bill is close to nil).  The Dollar Coin Alliance is simply another special interest group comprised of those who will profit more with coin dollars.  The members include the Copper and Brass Fabricators Council, the Copper Development Association, Global Brass and Copper, and the National Mining Association.  Hint: They're not mining for cotton.  The group also includes MBI coin, which owns Danbury Mint.  The Danbury Mint sells dollar coins for a handsome profit.  If you hold your breath, you can check out the price below.

Why is there no Martin Luther King coin?

Recently I was asked why Martin Luther King has never appeared on a United States Coin.  He is the only person with a federal holiday to never appear on coinage. 

King’s best chance for a numismatic spot came was on a commemorative silver dollar .  In 1999, the Citizen’s Commemorative Coin Advisory board made the following recommendation: 

“Committee recommends issuance of a commemorative coin honoring the accomplishments and life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Committee recommends the issuance of 500,000 $1 silver coins with a $10 surcharge per coin. The Committee recommends the surcharges generated by the sales of these coins be used for the purposes of acquiring the personal papers of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the preservation of these papers, and the creation of wide public access to these documents and others related to the Civil Rights Movement.”

This led to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Commemorative Coin Act of 2004.  The bill was referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, which is the last we have heard of it.

In the meantime, the congress was criticized by the Citizen’s Commemorative Coin Advisory board for coming up with coins for the government’s own self aggrandizement. Perhaps the nadir of US commemorative coins was the Capitol Visitors Center Coin series.  A coin commemorating a visitor’s center -- holy cheese.  According to the committee: “Enactment of the Capitol Visitor Center program marks the fifth time in 11 years that the Congress has authorized commemorative coin programs benefiting the Capitol, the Congress, or affiliated institutions, such as the United States Botanic Gardens and the Library of Congress.”  But I digress.

While King did not make it onto a coin, commemorative coins were approved honoring Leif Erickson, Thomas Edison, Lewis & Clark, John Marshall (a chief justice -- which I am sure you all knew), Benjamin Franklin, and Louis Braille .

There has been a small movement to get Martin Luther King on the circulating one dollar coin, based on a petition  from 2008.

This is unlikely to occur in the near future since the mint is locked into the Presidential dollar coin series for the near future.  Sacagawea has strong support as the non-presidential figure (the North Dakota congressional delegation will not allow her removed).  Production was recently ceased on the one dollar circulating coin (other than small quantities for collectors)  so there is no demand for another design.  And so, King’s best chance will be to get on a commemorative coin in the future  -- unless he replaces Thomas Jefferson or Franklin Roosevelt on the nickel and dime.  Both of these historic figures are under fire. Texas removed Jefferson from their school curriculum recently, and politicians regularly criticize Roosevelt for alleged socialism.

Adding to the problem is the fact that King was not an elected official.  As a result, his relatives, who run the King Center, insist on royalties for the use of his image.

Martin Luther King was a leader for desegregation, the abolition of capital punishment , and the end of the Viet Nam war.  (Of course, his viewpoints on some issues have been sanitized for modern consumption).  Appearing on a coin was not one of King’s concerns.

1.38 million dollars for a chain cent

A superb example of the 1793 chain cent has just sold for 1.38 million dollars in Florida.  This is a new record for a copper coin.  You can read about the background on the 1793 chain cent here.