Ideas for new faces for U.S. currency

Dear editor:

While the U.S. Mint has done a great job with the new President coins, I believe we need to go farther, and revamp our entire coinage and currency. I also believe that to promote our history and heritage, we need to issue more sets of dollar coins in the future. After the presidential coin set is completed, the Mint should do one on the first ladies; following that, one on the vice presidents. How many people can even name five U.S. first ladies or five U.S. vice presidents? The coins can educate, as well as promote our history.

It is time we got the old faces off our coins and currency, and replace them with new ones. For a permanent one dollar coin, I believe that Martin Luther King Jr., would make an excellent subject. For the half dollar, how about Ronald Reagan, the most popular President of our time? Our Hispanic heritage could be celebrated with the labor leader Caesar Chavez on the quarter. Our Native American heritage could be observed with someone like Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce on the dime. A Revolutionary War hero like Paul Revere or John Hancock could grace the nickel. A cultural icon like Walt Disney or John Wayne could serve on the penny. These would probably be hoarded, so we might have to go with another great American for the penny, like Dr. Jonas Salk or George Washington Carver, the scientist.

Our currency needs new faces also. For the dollar bill, how about Dwight Eisenhower or Gerald R. Ford? For the $5 bill, someone like Rosa Parks. For the $10 bill, someone like Harry S. Truman or Hubert H. Humphrey. For the $20 bill, a refreshing face would be Booker T. Washington, the educator. For the $50 bill, we could have someone like Jane Addams, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and social activist, or Helen Keller, the writer and advocate for the disabled. For the $100 bill, a good face would be someone like Alan Shepherd or Dr. Werner Von Braun, both space pioneers.

These are just a few ideas. We definitely need new coins, and we definitely need faces that reflect what America looks like. There is no better place to do this than on the money that we handle daily.

David Shipp

Nevada