 |
| the Lewis and
Clark expedition received help from
Sacagawea | |
Before long, American pockets could be jingling with dollar coins engraved with the faces
of Ronald Reagan, Millard Fillmore and Bill Clinton, as Congress considers
a plan to begin minting dollar coins to commemorate all the past
presidents.
Hoping to cash in on the
popularity of the state
quarter program - which has generated $5 billion in
revenue and turned an estimated 140 million Americans into coin collectors
- the House of Representatives began debate Tuesday on legislation that
could turn the dollar coin into a collectable. The current dollar coin,
which made its debut in 1998, features Sacagawea, the young Shoshone
interpreter who guided the Lewis and Clark
expedition. It has yet to come into widespread use.
The presidential coins would be minted at a rate of four presidents a
year, starting with George Washington and working up to the modern day. Every
former president, living and deceased, would be on a dollar coin if the
bill becomes law. Sitting
presidents would be excluded. Supporters hope the new twist would drive up
demand for dollar coins that are now gathering dust in sock drawers and
coin collections.
"That coin needs some sort of boost to do better," said Michael Castle,
who sponsored both the state quarter and the presidential dollar
legislation. "The question is, will there be enough demand for a young
person to walk into McDonald's and tell the cashier, 'I want a $1 coin in
change.' "
Because coins are more durable than bills, the government could save as
much as $500 million a year on printing costs if the public embraced the
dollar coin, according to a 2002 report by the Government Accountability
Office. The government minted just 6.7 million Sacagawea dollars last
year, most of them destined for private coin collections.
In addition to the state quarters, the mint is rolling out a series of
commemorative nickel designs celebrating the Lewis and Clark expedition.
"We've really seen a coin renaissance in the past few years," said
Henrietta Holsman Fore, director of the U.S. Mint. "Coins tell the story
of our nation. They help us reconnect with our history."
The dollar coin legislation is expected to win approval in both the
House and Senate. But to get to the floor, Castle had to persuade North
Dakota, which did not want to have one of its most famous residents,
Sacagawea, booted off the dollar coin. The compromise calls for Sacagawea
dollars to be minted with the presidential coins - and for the
presidential coin rollout to wait until after the Lewis and Clark
anniversary celebration ends in 2008.
(Agencies) |
美國計劃發行歷屆總統紀念幣
美國國會正在考慮一個鑄造紀念幣的計劃，以紀念歷屆美國總統。不久以后，美國人口袋里叮當作響的1美元硬幣上將出現羅納德·里根、米勒德·菲爾莫爾和比爾·克林頓的頭像。
本周二（4月26日），抱著乘“50州紀念幣（25美分）”風靡之機繼續賺一筆的愿望，美國眾議院開始討論是否應通過一項法案，使1美元硬幣也變成收藏品。現在流通的1美元硬幣最早出現在1998年，上面印著薩卡加維亞的頭像，面世后很快被廣泛使用。薩卡加維亞是一位年輕的肖松尼族翻譯，曾擔任過劉易斯和克拉克探險隊的向導。“50州紀念幣項目”創造了50億美元的收益，促使大約1.4億美國人變成了錢幣收藏愛好者。
新的總統頭像硬幣將以每年四位總統的速度推出，從美國“國父”喬治·華盛頓總統開始，之后按時間順序逐漸推到現代。如果這項提案變成法律，那么每一位前總統，不論在世與否，都將在1美元硬幣上“露臉”。不過現任總統除外。支持者們希望這一新舉措能使市面上對1美元的需求上漲，現在這些硬幣多半被丟在裝襪子的抽屜或錢幣收藏者的柜子里，積滿了灰塵。
“這種硬幣需要某些推動措施，使它更好地流通起來。問題是，年輕人真的會走進麥當勞，對收銀員說‘我想換1美元的零錢’嗎？”邁克爾·卡索說。他是“50州紀念幣項目”和“歷屆總統紀念幣”法案的積極支持者。
美國國家審計總署2002年發布的一份報告指出，因為硬幣比紙幣更耐磨損，如果1美元硬幣能夠受到公眾歡迎的話，政府每年可以節省5億美元的印刷費用。去年美國政府僅鑄造了670萬枚薩卡加維亞1美元硬幣，其中絕大部分都落到了私人錢幣收藏家手里。
除了50州紀念幣，造幣廠還大量生產了一系列5美分紀念幣（鎳幣），以慶祝“劉易斯和克拉克探險隊”的光輝歷程。
“過去幾年中，我們確實看到了硬幣風尚的重新興起。”美國造幣廠負責人亨麗埃塔·侯斯曼·芙爾說，“硬幣講述了美利堅民族的故事。它們能幫助我們重溫歷史。”
關于1美元硬幣的法案預計在參議院和眾議院都將獲得通過。但要真正地付諸實施，卡索還要成功說服北達科他州，他們可不想眼看著薩卡加維亞——自己土地上最著名的公民之一——就這樣從1美元硬幣上消失。一種折衷的辦法是讓薩卡加維亞紀念幣和歷屆總統紀念幣同時發行，并且將“總統幣”的首發儀式推后到2008年“劉易斯和克拉克探險隊”周年慶典結束后。
（中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2005-04-29 10:15
