Comments on: A new back for the penny http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html Brain candy for Happy Mutants Thu, 23 May 2013 16:44:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: Thac0 http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716291 Thac0 Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716291 The shield quite frankly bothers me as it says quietly in the back of our minds that we are moving to a much more authoritarian state. Its a small symbol but one we see all the time and its a tiny piece of a bigger psychological attack on our subconscious . Thats just my view of it though. The shield quite frankly bothers me as it says quietly in the back of our minds that we are moving to a much more authoritarian state. Its a small symbol but one we see all the time and its a tiny piece of a bigger psychological attack on our subconscious .

Thats just my view of it though.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716547 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716547 i read an article a few years ago that they kept the penny (even though it costs 1.3 cents to mint) because they were afraid that rounding would confuse people. i was living in australia at the time. they don't have 'pennies', and people handle the rounding just fine. good thing we still use the imperial system of measurement, too. i read an article a few years ago that they kept the penny (even though it costs 1.3 cents to mint) because they were afraid that rounding would confuse people.

i was living in australia at the time. they don’t have ‘pennies’, and people handle the rounding just fine.

good thing we still use the imperial system of measurement, too.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716549 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716549 I can't stand the new coin designs. I liked the front of the Sacagewa dollar, but never understood why they changed the reverse design so it no longer showed the Apollo 11 seal (like it did on the Eisenhower and Susan B. Anthony dollars). The later Sac. dollar reverse was not as nice. The new "presidential" dollars are ugly on the obverse and silly on the reverse. The new nickels are silly on the obverse (I don't think the reverse has changed, except for the special issue for the Lewis & Clark bicentennial). And this design for the reverse of the penny ... uck. I've seen video game arcade coins with more sincerity. I can’t stand the new coin designs. I liked the front of the Sacagewa dollar, but never understood why they changed the reverse design so it no longer showed the Apollo 11 seal (like it did on the Eisenhower and Susan B. Anthony dollars). The later Sac. dollar reverse was not as nice. The new “presidential” dollars are ugly on the obverse and silly on the reverse. The new nickels are silly on the obverse (I don’t think the reverse has changed, except for the special issue for the Lewis & Clark bicentennial). And this design for the reverse of the penny … uck. I’ve seen video game arcade coins with more sincerity.

]]> By: Stefan Jones http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716295 Stefan Jones Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716295 That wasn't Abe in there. It was a reptoid. It will be back on the Five Amero coin. @ethancoop: "Why go through all the trouble to change it? Makes no sense to me." They're trying to deter counterfeiters, <I>duh!</I> That wasn’t Abe in there. It was a reptoid.

It will be back on the Five Amero coin.

@ethancoop: “Why go through all the trouble to change it? Makes no sense to me.”

They’re trying to deter counterfeiters, duh!

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-717064 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-717064 I think it's boring. The US Mint needs to hire some steampunkers already! But it isn't the penny that needs to be discontinued, it's the paper dollar bill. It's pointless and expensive. I love the barber dimes myself. I think it’s boring. The US Mint needs to hire some steampunkers already!

But it isn’t the penny that needs to be discontinued, it’s the paper dollar bill. It’s pointless and expensive.

I love the barber dimes myself.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716555 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716555 E PLURIBUS UNUM FTW! E PLURIBUS UNUM FTW!

]]> By: James http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716300 James Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716300 The penny exist for one reason alone, sales tax. Other reasons are peripheral. Pennies make the calculation and collection of sales tax much easier. The penny exist for one reason alone, sales tax. Other reasons are peripheral. Pennies make the calculation and collection of sales tax much easier.

]]> By: AirPillo http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-717582 AirPillo Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-717582 Lovely! This coin allows <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mouse_and_the_Motorcycle">Ralph the mouse</a> to pick it up and pretend to be Captain America. Lovely! This coin allows Ralph the mouse to pick it up and pretend to be Captain America.

]]> By: Brainspore http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716559 Brainspore Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716559 And just imagine the extra expense of having to use nickels to cover the eyes of your dead! That's an extra 8 cents per funeral, pal. And just imagine the extra expense of having to use nickels to cover the eyes of your dead! That’s an extra 8 cents per funeral, pal.

]]> By: Wingo http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716305 Wingo Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716305 I'm assuming our great government shelled out a lot of money having this designed, approved, implemented, etc. Fantastic. Hopefully they paid the designer his fee all in sacks of the old pennies. I’m assuming our great government shelled out a lot of money having this designed, approved, implemented, etc. Fantastic. Hopefully they paid the designer his fee all in sacks of the old pennies.

]]> By: t3knomanser http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716306 t3knomanser Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716306 I like it. I never cared for the Lincoln Memorial; as a child, I always thought it was a poorly rendered trolley. This is nice- bold, simple, clear. Everything currency designs should be. I like it. I never cared for the Lincoln Memorial; as a child, I always thought it was a poorly rendered trolley. This is nice- bold, simple, clear. Everything currency designs should be.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716822 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716822 Amen. The design is hideous. But I'd expect nothing else from an organization that gave us the vile new designs on the bills. Amen. The design is hideous. But I’d expect nothing else from an organization that gave us the vile new designs on the bills.

]]> By: kc0bbq http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716568 kc0bbq Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716568 That's not really a reasonable comparison. Looking even further into it the federal shield has been on a large amount of coins since they replaced the mangy looking eagle from the original dollar coin design in 1798. It is in no way similar to bastardizing an existing motto. You have to completely ignore all context to take it as a sign that the government is just using it to taunt us about the fact that they are just that totalitarian. (OMG HITLER) It doesn't bother me to see a swastika on a buddhist temple. That’s not really a reasonable comparison. Looking even further into it the federal shield has been on a large amount of coins since they replaced the mangy looking eagle from the original dollar coin design in 1798. It is in no way similar to bastardizing an existing motto. You have to completely ignore all context to take it as a sign that the government is just using it to taunt us about the fact that they are just that totalitarian.

(OMG HITLER) It doesn’t bother me to see a swastika on a buddhist temple.

]]> By: nutbastard http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716314 nutbastard Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716314 it just blows me away the frivolous shit our government does. fiddling while Rome burns. i find my reaction to this sort of unnecessary bullcrap is similar to seeing a multimillion dollar church erected that then proceeds to solicit donations to help feed the poor. it just blows me away the frivolous shit our government does. fiddling while Rome burns.

i find my reaction to this sort of unnecessary bullcrap is similar to seeing a multimillion dollar church erected that then proceeds to solicit donations to help feed the poor.

]]> By: kc0bbq http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716317 kc0bbq Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716317 That shield, in one form or another, has been on US coins for almost 200 years. Normally it showed up strapped to an eagle or filling the gap at the top of a wreath. If that's the meaning behind it they had to have built a time machine and planted the idea in the mint engravers in the 1820s or before. Then again, if you listen to the tinfoil hat types long enough, the conspiracy started an awful long time ago. :) The only real difference is the motto on the crown instead of horizontal bars. That shield, in one form or another, has been on US coins for almost 200 years. Normally it showed up strapped to an eagle or filling the gap at the top of a wreath. If that’s the meaning behind it they had to have built a time machine and planted the idea in the mint engravers in the 1820s or before. Then again, if you listen to the tinfoil hat types long enough, the conspiracy started an awful long time ago. :)

The only real difference is the motto on the crown instead of horizontal bars.

]]> By: LILemming http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716575 LILemming Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716575 Ah, a year late but still close to the tradition of a resdesign every 50 years. It's, okay. Not as nice as the Shield Nickel. OTOH it sure beats the change to Washington hair on the quarter back in the 90s. Pedantry Warning! It's called a "cent". The English have "pennies". Ah, a year late but still close to the tradition of a resdesign every 50 years. It’s, okay. Not as nice as the Shield Nickel. OTOH it sure beats the change to Washington hair on the quarter back in the 90s.

Pedantry Warning! It’s called a “cent”. The English have “pennies”.

]]> By: jsmill http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716832 jsmill Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716832 Pennies are extremely valuable in aggregate. If I gave you the option to earn one penny off the sales price of every item sold in every Walmart, would you take it? So no, to an individual, pennies are not that useful. But to corporations and governments they very important. Pennies are extremely valuable in aggregate. If I gave you the option to earn one penny off the sales price of every item sold in every Walmart, would you take it?

So no, to an individual, pennies are not that useful. But to corporations and governments they very important.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716578 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716578 Australia killed off their penny long ago. New Zealand killed their penny and five cent piece. There is no reason for U.S. or Canada to have a penny, any longer. And the U.S. should also go to $1 coins, and even $5 could become a coin. But, just imagine the field day Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, and Sarah Palin would have if these changes were announced! Australia killed off their penny long ago. New Zealand killed their penny and five cent piece. There is no reason for U.S. or Canada to have a penny, any longer. And the U.S. should also go to $1 coins, and even $5 could become a coin.

But, just imagine the field day Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, and Sarah Palin would have if these changes were announced!

]]> By: guavajellyfish http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-717352 guavajellyfish Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-717352 That's the ugliest effing coin I have ever seen. That’s the ugliest effing coin I have ever seen.

]]> By: Brainspore http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716329 Brainspore Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716329 Finally Abe is put in his place! As far as I know he's the only U.S. President who ever tried to hog both sides of the currency. He still has the fiver though... Finally Abe is put in his place! As far as I know he’s the only U.S. President who ever tried to hog both sides of the currency. He still has the fiver though…

]]> By: bodenski http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716586 bodenski Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716586 We should quit using pennies in these tough economic times! Frugal shoppers with careful totals (ending in 2s or 7s) can save 2 cents per purchase after rounding down, subsidized by the well off/haphazard total-ers. We should quit using pennies in these tough economic times!
Frugal shoppers with careful totals (ending in 2s or 7s) can save 2 cents per purchase after rounding down, subsidized by the well off/haphazard total-ers.

]]> By: Ito Kagehisa http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716333 Ito Kagehisa Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716333 Maggie, we still have the penny because copper washers cost more than a penny each. I can make a whole stack on my drill press at once and save a bundle! Well, anyway, that's why <i>I'm</i> in favor of pennies. They are quite useful. Maggie, we still have the penny because copper washers cost more than a penny each. I can make a whole stack on my drill press at once and save a bundle!

Well, anyway, that’s why I’m in favor of pennies. They are quite useful.

]]> By: Kurt http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716336 Kurt Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716336 Obviously the reason we still have the penny is to provide jobs at the US Mint. And the reason we have this re-design is to provide more jobs! Think of how many people were likely involved in this redesign: several artists of course, to sketch up preliminary designs, a committee to select which design to use, and provide feedback to the artists, engravers to test-mint a few samples, more engravers to make all the stamps for doing the full year's minting, plus the building and maintenance staff to support all those people. Seriously, I can't think of a good reason that the mint made this change other than to justify continued employment of a number of people who can point at this to prove that they were working. It's not to stop counterfeiting. It's not to help blind people. It's not to reduce penny production cost (which when metal values spiked, was over 1 cent). Anyone have a *good* reason to make this change? Obviously the reason we still have the penny is to provide jobs at the US Mint. And the reason we have this re-design is to provide more jobs! Think of how many people were likely involved in this redesign: several artists of course, to sketch up preliminary designs, a committee to select which design to use, and provide feedback to the artists, engravers to test-mint a few samples, more engravers to make all the stamps for doing the full year’s minting, plus the building and maintenance staff to support all those people.

Seriously, I can’t think of a good reason that the mint made this change other than to justify continued employment of a number of people who can point at this to prove that they were working. It’s not to stop counterfeiting. It’s not to help blind people. It’s not to reduce penny production cost (which when metal values spiked, was over 1 cent). Anyone have a *good* reason to make this change?

]]> By: Teller http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716593 Teller Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716593 Thac0: The stripes in the shield represent the six leather straps that Bush and Cheney used to tie down terrorists for questioning. Four for the wrists and ankles, one over the mouth and you can guess where #6 went. But it's an homage, you see, not necessarily a portent. Thac0: The stripes in the shield represent the six leather straps that Bush and Cheney used to tie down terrorists for questioning. Four for the wrists and ankles, one over the mouth and you can guess where #6 went. But it’s an homage, you see, not necessarily a portent.

]]> By: wsst1000 http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-717106 wsst1000 Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-717106 Using cash instead of plastic is a basic method of frugality. But if you don't want to think about the time wasted to earn money wasted then plastic is the way to go. Using cash instead of plastic is a basic method of frugality. But if you don’t want to think about the time wasted to earn money wasted then plastic is the way to go.

]]> By: Kerov http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716343 Kerov Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716343 Meanwhile, the wingnuts are probably livid that the Barack <b>Hussein</b> Obama administration used the inclusivist secular motto of our Founding Fathers -- <i>"E Pluribus Unum"</i> -- instead of our McCarthy-era <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_God_We_Trust">new, improved national motto.</a> Meanwhile, the wingnuts are probably livid that the Barack Hussein Obama administration used the inclusivist secular motto of our Founding Fathers — “E Pluribus Unum” — instead of our McCarthy-era new, improved national motto.

]]> By: Brainspore http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716855 Brainspore Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716855 <em>If I gave you the option to earn one penny off the sales price of every item sold in every Walmart, would you take it?</em> You confuse "penny" (a near-worthless coin) with "cent" (a small unit of currency). Corporations and governments love aggregating large amounts of income through small individual sums, but they HATE dealing with pennies. Hell, most vending machines don't even accept the damn things. If you had the option to be paid in pennies versus some other form of currency, would you take it? If I gave you the option to earn one penny off the sales price of every item sold in every Walmart, would you take it?

You confuse “penny” (a near-worthless coin) with “cent” (a small unit of currency). Corporations and governments love aggregating large amounts of income through small individual sums, but they HATE dealing with pennies. Hell, most vending machines don’t even accept the damn things.

If you had the option to be paid in pennies versus some other form of currency, would you take it?

]]> By: poppasoda http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716349 poppasoda Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716349 In defense of the penny... They are magic. If you find one, it brings you luck. You can also buy wishes with them if you throw them into a fountain. In defense of the penny… They are magic. If you find one, it brings you luck. You can also buy wishes with them if you throw them into a fountain.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-832062 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-832062 I have a penny (2009) showing Lincoln on the reverse side He is sitting on a log, reading a book. Is this real or fake? I have a penny (2009) showing Lincoln on the reverse side He is sitting on a log, reading a book.
Is this real or fake?

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/a-new-back-for-the-p.html#comment-716351 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-716351 Look at your money: I just checked mine and found 2 different 2009 pennies, neither with the shield. One looks like the Capital building under construction, the other (I'm guessing) Thomas Jefferson showing off his own memorial? Anyway as a coin guy I guess some change (heh) is OK (though I prefer the Lincoln Memorial or the old double palm frond) . . .and as to 'they're trying to defer counterfeiters. . .': Huh? Are you mad sir? Counterfeit a PENNY??? Look at your money: I just checked mine and found 2 different 2009 pennies, neither with the shield. One looks like the Capital building under construction, the other (I’m guessing) Thomas Jefferson showing off his own memorial? Anyway as a coin guy I guess some change (heh) is OK (though I prefer the Lincoln Memorial or the old double palm frond) . . .and as to ‘they’re trying to defer counterfeiters. . .’: Huh? Are you mad sir? Counterfeit a PENNY???

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