Tag Archives: US Mint

The Jovita Idar quarter

Cool. As part of a series honoring women in history, the U.S. Mint will release a new quarter in mid-August depicting early 1900s South Texas journalist-activist Jovita Idar. Often associated with her early life in Laredo, she lived her last 25 … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The Jovita Idar quarter

Here are your Bush coins

For the Presidential numismatists out there. You know who you are. The U.S. Mint unveiled the design for coins honoring President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara Bush, on Tuesday. The presidential $1 coin for President Bush will bear … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Time for another COVID roundup

Let’s start with some good news, which comes wrapped in a warning. The number of coronavirus patients crowding hospital wards in the Houston area is now in its sixth week of steady decline, a welcome reversal of the virus’ alarming … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Coronavirus and coins

If you’re not using cash, you’re not circulating any coins. Stores around the U.S. are struggling with an unexpected shortage. (No, not toilet paper — sorry, we’ve already made that joke.) They’re running low on coins. Supermarkets and gas stations … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Bush coins

Feels like it’s been awhile since we’ve had a good dollar coin story. A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate would authorize the U.S. Treasury to mint $1 coins honoring former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, for … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Et tu, nickels?

I’ve blogged a few times before about pennies and the effort some people have made to eliminate them. Now it looks like we may need to add the nickel to the endangered coin list. The U.S. Mint has some good … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Et tu, nickels?

Don’t kill the penny, revalue it

Ryan Cooper proposes a big idea to make coins more useful so that people start spending them again instead of hoarding them in jars for months at a time. Here’s my solution: multiply the face value of every U.S. coin … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Is this the end for the dollar coin?

Fine by me if it is. The dollar wars have raged for years, with various sides battling over what a dollar should look like: Should it be a green piece of paper (cotton, actually) that you can slide in your … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The dollar coin is an idea that just won’t die

It keeps turning up like a bad penny, as it were. American consumers have shown about as much appetite for the $1 coin as kids do their spinach. They may not know what’s best for them either. Congressional auditors say … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Still trying to kill bills

Planet Money reports on the continuing efforts to eradicate the paper dollar bill and replace it with dollar coins. In its most recent report, the GAO recommends switching to coins, which could make $4.4 billion for the government over 30 … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

The case for keeping the penny

The Canadian penny is about to become a collector’s item. They clutter your dresser and cost too much to make. They’re a nuisance and have outlived their purpose. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty was talking about the Canadian penny and why … Continue reading

Posted in Around the world | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The case for keeping the penny

Coinis interruptis

No more Presidential dollar coins will be minted for general circulation. Have you ever seen a $1 presidential coin? Neither have we. Except that one time when we received seven of them in change from a MetroCard machine in the … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Slowdown at the Mint

They’re not making as many coins as they used to. As falls the economy, so falls the jingle of coinmaking at the U.S. Mint. Production at the federal government’s coin factory in Denver fell a sharp 26 percent in 2008 … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Slowdown at the Mint