Monday, March 12, 2007
My Conspiracy Theory
By now you likely have heard about the new Presidential Dollar Coin program. Every three months, the U.S. Mint will issue a new dollar coin depicting a U.S. president on the front, with each president appearing in the order they held office. The idea is essentially the same as the very popular State Quarters program. There is one big difference, however: People like quarters, but they hate dollar coins -- so much so that they seem to be trying to force them into use by having the Post Office use dollar coins for change in stamp machines.
You may also know that some of the George Washington dollar coins were released with the lettering on the edge missing. Someone on eBay (foolishly, it turns out) paid something like $600 for one such coin, as "error" coins are usually quite valuable. It turns out that about 60,000 of the "atheist coins" were minted and distributed, so their value has come down. However, they are still expected to trade for $40 to $60, and people are looking over their dollar coins very closely now.
All of which leads me to this question: Did the Mint deliberately make this "error" to encourage people to ask for the coins and get them into circulation?
This theory isn't quite along the lines of wearing an aluminum foil hat so the government can't read your mind. Minting of coins is a lot more sophisticated than it was in 1937, when the three-legged buffalo got out, and I'm sure there are a lot of computer safeguards in place. So not only is it less likely that such a big mistake could occur in the first place, but it is even more unlikely that nobody wouldn't catch this before tens of thousands of coins were circulated.
By the way, most of us don't really think about the edges of coins, but to the blind they are very important in helping to identify coins, and I think most of us also do so subconciously when we reach in our pockets. Pennies, nickels, and dollars (starting with Sacajawea) are smooth-edged, dimes, quarters and half-dollars have grooves on the edge.
You may also know that some of the George Washington dollar coins were released with the lettering on the edge missing. Someone on eBay (foolishly, it turns out) paid something like $600 for one such coin, as "error" coins are usually quite valuable. It turns out that about 60,000 of the "atheist coins" were minted and distributed, so their value has come down. However, they are still expected to trade for $40 to $60, and people are looking over their dollar coins very closely now.
All of which leads me to this question: Did the Mint deliberately make this "error" to encourage people to ask for the coins and get them into circulation?
This theory isn't quite along the lines of wearing an aluminum foil hat so the government can't read your mind. Minting of coins is a lot more sophisticated than it was in 1937, when the three-legged buffalo got out, and I'm sure there are a lot of computer safeguards in place. So not only is it less likely that such a big mistake could occur in the first place, but it is even more unlikely that nobody wouldn't catch this before tens of thousands of coins were circulated.
By the way, most of us don't really think about the edges of coins, but to the blind they are very important in helping to identify coins, and I think most of us also do so subconciously when we reach in our pockets. Pennies, nickels, and dollars (starting with Sacajawea) are smooth-edged, dimes, quarters and half-dollars have grooves on the edge.
Labels: coins, conspiracy, money
Comments:
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Don't get me started on the whole "in god we trust" B.S. on our currency...
Actually, if the mint released non-god currency, and offered it for sale at a few cents above face value, I wonder if fellow atheists (like me) would buy some...
Actually, if the mint released non-god currency, and offered it for sale at a few cents above face value, I wonder if fellow atheists (like me) would buy some...
# posted by 
: 3:07 AM
: 3:07 AM
Depends on the how much they want to make a statement and how much they could afford it -- not to mention your willingness to go to the bank and stand in line to get it. I don't think even you would be willing to stand in line at various stores while the cashier hunts down the godless money and adds on another charge for it.
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