Letter to the Editor
The Wall Street Journal
via wsj.ltrs@wsj.com
RE: Reagan on Rushmore?
I concur with Michael Barone (?American Conservatism: The Presidents?
March 3, 2003) that Reagan isn?t Rushmore material, [and even if he
is, it?s questionable whether there is adequate granite to carve him
into the mountain [on the same scale as the four that are there now]].
However, I?m not opposed to Grover Norquist?s fight to honor both the
president and the currency by putting the Gipper on a bill (?Taste:
Tony & Tacky? February 16, 2001).
While some suggest that we [shouldn?t rush to judgment, even a
favorable one, but] wait for the perspective provided by the passage
of time [before proceeding with enshrinement, we?ve had a period of
over a decade to reflect.] let?s look at the placement of this
portrait from a different perspective. As well as considering when,
let?s look at which bill President Reagan should honor.]
In addition to the current denominations of Federal Reserve Notes,
[$1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100 [with the faces of Washington,
Jefferson, Lincoln, Hamilton, Jackson, Grant and Franklin,
[respectively]]], the US has had in circulation $500, $1,000, $5,000
and $10,000 bills [honoring McKinley, Cleveland, Madison and Chase ].
Those $500 and larger were discontinued by [action of the Board of
Governors of the] Federal Reserve [System] [on December 27] in 1945
due to ?insufficient demand. ? Possibly it was also to hamper illegal
cash movements [e.g. drug money].
Due to inflation, $100 [, the largest denomination in circulation,]
now has the purchasing power of only $9.77 back in 1945 [when the
printing of denominations of $500 and larger was discontinued].
Rather than bump the man who established the central bank [, the first
Secretary of the Treasury,] Alexander Hamilton, off of the $10 bill,
why don?t we put Ronald Wilson Reagan on a [new denomination of a]
$200 or $250 bill?
Word count: 309± including [optional cuts]
REFERENCES:
Fundamental Facts About United States Money? a publication of the
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, July 1979, pp. 4 & 6.
http://www.eh.net/hmit/ppowerusd/dollar_answer.php using CPI.
Now that you have the context, here is/are the questions:
*How safe would it be to claim in that final paragraph that it would
be unprecedented to replace one person with another on a bill?* [I
know that when the $100, etc. were redesigned the portraint of
Franklin was enlarged, but it was still Franklin--that doesn't count
as a replacement in my opinion].
Would the above statement be safe to assert if I qualified it within
some relevant range such as, "Within the last 100 years there is no
precedent of superseding a person on a bill with another"? or how
would I complete the following "The last time the US Treasury replaced
the featured face on a bill was in 1YYY when _______ replaced _____
because _______"? Ditto for coins, as in "The last time the US
Treasury replaced a featured face on a COIN was in 1YYY when ______
replaced _________ because _________."
If you look at http://www.moneyfactory.com/document.cfm/18/118 it
states "Frequently used portraits..." as if to imply that this is a
malleable list, or am I reading too much into that?
Thanks for you help with this challenging question. I think that
I've e-mailed the Bureau of Engraving a few minutes ago but obviously
haven't heard from them yet and I sense that time is of the essence in
attempting to get this published.
This is my first posting to Google Answers so please allow for that as
I learn the proper protocols and procedures. |
Request for Question Clarification by
justaskscott-ga
on
17 Jun 2004 10:47 PDT
I think that you can make a more straightforward argument by
restricting it to the past 90 years of Federal Reserve Notes, rather
than the past 100 of paper currency generally.
In 1914, Federal Reserve Notes were first issued, with today's
portraits. Prior to that, the situation is significantly more
complicated, with United States Notes, National Bank Notes, and Silver
Certificates. Even just looking at the first of these, there were
several changes to the persons depicted in 1914 Federal Reserve Notes
from those on the United States Notes. For example, Jackson was on
the $5 United States Notes.
But the picture is clear with the Federal Reserve Notes since 1914.
If you would be interested in an answer based on those notes, as well
as the coins for that time period (or even for 100 years), I would be
happy to provide it. I can provide background information on the
other paper currency as well, if you would like it.
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Clarification of Question by
jts007-ga
on
18 Jun 2004 01:30 PDT
On Thursday June 17, 12:25 I received the following from the BEP which
essentially answers my question adequately. Therefore I'm going to
cancel my question. Thanks for your interest. FYI. I've also submitted
my letter to the WSJ without modification.
Beginning in 1928, all paper currency was standardized. Prior to that
portriats changed all the time. So, to answer your question, no
precedent has been set. Attached below is the official statement from
the Department of Treasury regarding this issue.
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow would wait
for input from Congress and Ronald Reagan's family before considering
using the former president's image on any U.S. currency, a Treasury
spokesman said Monday.
Treasury has the authority to change the design of money without
congressional approval, but it would look to lawmakers and Reagan's
family before using the 40th president's image on currency, said
spokesman Rob Nichols.
Snow is "a huge admirer of the former president" and understands the
desire to honor him, Nichols said in response to a question at a
routine press briefing. "We would participate in that dialogue," he
said of any congressional proposal to change the currency following
Reagan's death June 5.
A group called the Ronald Reagan Legacy Project, chaired by tax-cut
advocate Grover Norquist, has called for adding the president's image
to the $10 bill, currently adorned by Alexander Hamilton.
BEP
Washington, DC
Moneyfactory.com
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Original Message
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Is there any precedent for bumping someone off a bill to replace them
with some one else? i.e. is there any precedent for bumping Hamilton
off of the $10 to put Reagan on it? RSVP.
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