Salon Money | Move over, Susan B. Anthony

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Does corporate character count? Discuss ethics and big business in the Business and Personal Finance area of Table Talk

R E C E N T L Y

Gluttons for a crash
By Heather Chaplin
Why so many investors are riding high on the new market lows
(09/11/98)
Separate checkbooks
By Hank Hyena and Carol Lloyd
Married but not sharing
(09/04/98)
How far will Wall Street fall?
By Jonathan Broder
Russia's economic turmoil may spread, says one stock analyst, but the fundamentals of the American economy are still strong
(08/28/98)
Dis Capital
By Heather Chaplin
Capitalism bashing or pedophilia: which is a greater taboo?
(08/28/98)
Bull marketing
By Anita Bartholomew
While Wade Cook rides high on lucrative investment seminars, its customers' portfolios take a tumble
(08/21/98)
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MOVE OVER, SUSAN B. ANTHONY | PAGE 1, 2
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As if that were not enough to upset the apple cart of U.S. currency, the Susan B. Anthony dollar -- an unqualified numismatic flop -- will soon be replaced altogether. The silvery dollar featuring the heroic but dowdy feminist never really caught on with the American public. Whether it's because the coin looked too much like a quarter or because the uncrazysexycool Anthony looks a lot like Mrs. Grundy is hard to say, but the Treasury is remedying both problem areas. The new dollar coin will feature a female representation of "Liberty," inspired by the much more coin-ogenic Native American heroine Sacajawea (the Shoshone Indian who helped Lewis and Clark find the Pacific passage) and, to distinguish itself from the 25-cent piece, will be "golden in color, with a distinctive edge." The Susan B. Anthony will officially be given the boot as soon as its inventory is depleted in the U.S. Mint -- as there are approximately 83 million Susan B.'s still left, a mint source expects Sacajawea to take over around 2000 or 2001.
Yes, we were weaned on the axiom money changes everything, but what to do when money changes itself? There are certainly good reasons for all of these money makeovers -- counter-counterfeiting, government profits on commemorative coins taken out of circulation -- but the fact that they're all happening at about the same time is very disconcerting. People have very personal relationships with money. Think of the film cliché featuring a character literally rolling around in money. It's hard to picture anyone rolling around with a large check or money order. (Checks have to overcompensate for this lack of personality -- whenever a charity or a prize-winner is presented with a check, the check is blown up to 30 times its actual size. Talk about insecurity.)
Fewer things are closer to our hearts -- or our privates -- than cash. Most pants-wearers keep their money below their belt, be it pocket change jingling provocatively in the front or the paper stuff ensconced demurely in a back-pocket wallet, right next to photos of the kids, for crying out loud. Thus our relationship with our money is an intimate one. (Did you ever notice that on the dime, quarter and 50-cent piece, FDR, George Washington and JFK, respectively, aren't wearing any clothes?) Is it any wonder that newcomers find difficulty breaking into the inner circle? The Susan B. Anthony dollar never took off because she was always seen as an outsider. Ditto Thomas Jefferson's $2 bill-come-lately. Familiar as he is on the nickel, we found little room in our hearts for old T.J., what with the one and the five already part of our regular routine.
Americans are a conservative lot when it comes to money, and we don't suffer changes gladly. As a people who don't like change -- even when it comes to, well, change -- we will be undergoing a fairly traumatic decade-long experiment as far as quarters are concerned. Quarters are a precious commodity, lauded in pop culture (they generate jukeboxes and pinball machines), hoarded in everyday service functions (laundry machines and pay phones). And what would the college drinking game of quarters be without the quarter? How will frat boys feel about drinking their cheap hops swill after it has been soiled by an eagle-less coin celebrating the statehood of Nebraska?
Delaware gets to go first in the statehood quarter-fest. In Delaware's winning design, the eagle will be replaced with a portrait of the not-really-famous Delawarean patriot Caesar Rodney on horseback, along with Delaware's self-conscious, "we belong too" inscription, "The First State." (Is it any coincidence that the original sponsor of signed Public Law 105-124, which authorized the Commemorative Quarter series, was Rep. Michael N. Castle, a Republican from Delaware?) The U.S. Mint -- the Treasury agency that "strikes" all U.S coins in Denver and Philadelphia -- hopes that the Commemorative Quarter series will give kids numismatic fever, perhaps making a 1999 Delaware Rodney the coin equivalent of a Mark McGwire rookie card.
Though not as disturbing to Americans (who couldn't care less about what happens outside of our borders), the advance of the Euro (it will be phased in between January 1999 and December 2002) seems certain to cause concern among nationals of the countries giving up their traditional currencies for the disco-y sounding new one. But travelers sojourning through Europe will also lose quite a bit of character once the Euro is in place. Worst affected of all will be border braggarts. You know, the people who like to tell you how many countries they've been to and, as if you needed proof, show you the currencies they've obtained from each one, as if life were an international scavenger hunt and crucial to completing your appointed rounds were obtaining krone, escudos and drachma.
If money makes the world go around, perhaps the reason for the recent global economic crisis is as plain as the enlarged nose on Ben Franklin's face. What with unfamiliar 100s and 50s already in circulation and a host of alien currencies soon to descend upon our stock indexes and global markets, no one recognizes a bloody thing.
SALON | Sept. 18, 1998
Lance Gould has written for the New York Times Book Review, the Boston Globe and the Philadelphia Inquirer.




T A B L E__T A L K Does corporate character count? Discuss ethics and big business in the Business and Personal Finance area of Table Talk R E C E N T L Y Gluttons for a crash By Heather Chaplin Why so many investors are riding high on the new market lows (09/11/98) Separate checkbooks By Hank Hyena and Carol Lloyd Married but not sharing (09/04/98) How far will Wall Street fall? By Jonathan Broder Russia's economic turmoil may spread, says one stock analyst, but the fundamentals of the American economy are still strong (08/28/98) Dis Capital By Heather Chaplin Capitalism bashing or pedophilia: which is a greater taboo? (08/28/98) Bull marketing By Anita Bartholomew While Wade Cook rides high on lucrative investment seminars, its customers' portfolios take a tumble (08/21/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Money feature archives		MOVE OVER, SUSAN B. ANTHONY \| PAGE 1, 2 - - - - - - - - - - As if that were not enough to upset the apple cart of U.S. currency, the Susan B. Anthony dollar -- an unqualified numismatic flop -- will soon be replaced altogether. The silvery dollar featuring the heroic but dowdy feminist never really caught on with the American public. Whether it's because the coin looked too much like a quarter or because the uncrazysexycool Anthony looks a lot like Mrs. Grundy is hard to say, but the Treasury is remedying both problem areas. The new dollar coin will feature a female representation of "Liberty," inspired by the much more coin-ogenic Native American heroine Sacajawea (the Shoshone Indian who helped Lewis and Clark find the Pacific passage) and, to distinguish itself from the 25-cent piece, will be "golden in color, with a distinctive edge." The Susan B. Anthony will officially be given the boot as soon as its inventory is depleted in the U.S. Mint -- as there are approximately 83 million Susan B.'s still left, a mint source expects Sacajawea to take over around 2000 or 2001. Yes, we were weaned on the axiom money changes everything, but what to do when money changes itself? There are certainly good reasons for all of these money makeovers -- counter-counterfeiting, government profits on commemorative coins taken out of circulation -- but the fact that they're all happening at about the same time is very disconcerting. People have very personal relationships with money. Think of the film cliché featuring a character literally rolling around in money. It's hard to picture anyone rolling around with a large check or money order. (Checks have to overcompensate for this lack of personality -- whenever a charity or a prize-winner is presented with a check, the check is blown up to 30 times its actual size. Talk about insecurity.) Fewer things are closer to our hearts -- or our privates -- than cash. Most pants-wearers keep their money below their belt, be it pocket change jingling provocatively in the front or the paper stuff ensconced demurely in a back-pocket wallet, right next to photos of the kids, for crying out loud. Thus our relationship with our money is an intimate one. (Did you ever notice that on the dime, quarter and 50-cent piece, FDR, George Washington and JFK, respectively, aren't wearing any clothes?) Is it any wonder that newcomers find difficulty breaking into the inner circle? The Susan B. Anthony dollar never took off because she was always seen as an outsider. Ditto Thomas Jefferson's $2 bill-come-lately. Familiar as he is on the nickel, we found little room in our hearts for old T.J., what with the one and the five already part of our regular routine. Americans are a conservative lot when it comes to money, and we don't suffer changes gladly. As a people who don't like change -- even when it comes to, well, change -- we will be undergoing a fairly traumatic decade-long experiment as far as quarters are concerned. Quarters are a precious commodity, lauded in pop culture (they generate jukeboxes and pinball machines), hoarded in everyday service functions (laundry machines and pay phones). And what would the college drinking game of quarters be without the quarter? How will frat boys feel about drinking their cheap hops swill after it has been soiled by an eagle-less coin celebrating the statehood of Nebraska? Delaware gets to go first in the statehood quarter-fest. In Delaware's winning design, the eagle will be replaced with a portrait of the not-really-famous Delawarean patriot Caesar Rodney on horseback, along with Delaware's self-conscious, "we belong too" inscription, "The First State." (Is it any coincidence that the original sponsor of signed Public Law 105-124, which authorized the Commemorative Quarter series, was Rep. Michael N. Castle, a Republican from Delaware?) The U.S. Mint -- the Treasury agency that "strikes" all U.S coins in Denver and Philadelphia -- hopes that the Commemorative Quarter series will give kids numismatic fever, perhaps making a 1999 Delaware Rodney the coin equivalent of a Mark McGwire rookie card. Though not as disturbing to Americans (who couldn't care less about what happens outside of our borders), the advance of the Euro (it will be phased in between January 1999 and December 2002) seems certain to cause concern among nationals of the countries giving up their traditional currencies for the disco-y sounding new one. But travelers sojourning through Europe will also lose quite a bit of character once the Euro is in place. Worst affected of all will be border braggarts. You know, the people who like to tell you how many countries they've been to and, as if you needed proof, show you the currencies they've obtained from each one, as if life were an international scavenger hunt and crucial to completing your appointed rounds were obtaining krone, escudos and drachma. If money makes the world go around, perhaps the reason for the recent global economic crisis is as plain as the enlarged nose on Ben Franklin's face. What with unfamiliar 100s and 50s already in circulation and a host of alien currencies soon to descend upon our stock indexes and global markets, no one recognizes a bloody thing. SALON \| Sept. 18, 1998 Lance Gould has written for the New York Times Book Review, the Boston Globe and the Philadelphia Inquirer.