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| 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(guó)計(jì)劃發(fā)行歷屆總統(tǒng)紀(jì)念幣
美國(guó)國(guó)會(huì)正在考慮一個(gè)鑄造紀(jì)念幣的計(jì)劃，以紀(jì)念歷屆美國(guó)總統(tǒng)。不久以后，美國(guó)人口袋里叮當(dāng)作響的1美元硬幣上將出現(xiàn)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(jì)念幣（25美分）”風(fēng)靡之機(jī)繼續(xù)賺一筆的愿望，美國(guó)眾議院開(kāi)始討論是否應(yīng)通過(guò)一項(xiàng)法案，使1美元硬幣也變成收藏品。現(xiàn)在流通的1美元硬幣最早出現(xiàn)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(dān)任過(guò)劉易斯和克拉克探險(xiǎn)隊(duì)的向?qū)А！?0州紀(jì)念幣項(xiàng)目”創(chuàng)造了50億美元的收益，促使大約1.4億美國(guó)人變成了錢(qián)幣收藏愛(ài)好者。
新的總統(tǒng)頭像硬幣將以每年四位總統(tǒng)的速度推出，從美國(guó)“國(guó)父”喬治·華盛頓總統(tǒng)開(kāi)始，之后按時(shí)間順序逐漸推到現(xiàn)代。如果這項(xiàng)提案變成法律，那么每一位前總統(tǒng)，不論在世與否，都將在1美元硬幣上“露臉”。不過(guò)現(xiàn)任總統(tǒng)除外。支持者們希望這一新舉措能使市面上對(duì)1美元的需求上漲，現(xiàn)在這些硬幣多半被丟在裝襪子的抽屜或錢(qián)幣收藏者的柜子里，積滿了灰塵。
“這種硬幣需要某些推動(dòng)措施，使它更好地流通起來(lái)。問(wèn)題是，年輕人真的會(huì)走進(jìn)麥當(dāng)勞，對(duì)收銀員說(shuō)‘我想換1美元的零錢(qián)’嗎？”邁克爾·卡索說(shuō)。他是“50州紀(jì)念幣項(xiàng)目”和“歷屆總統(tǒng)紀(jì)念幣”法案的積極支持者。
美國(guó)國(guó)家審計(jì)總署2002年發(fā)布的一份報(bào)告指出，因?yàn)橛矌疟燃垘鸥湍p，如果1美元硬幣能夠受到公眾歡迎的話，政府每年可以節(jié)省5億美元的印刷費(fèi)用。去年美國(guó)政府僅鑄造了670萬(wàn)枚薩卡加維亞1美元硬幣，其中絕大部分都落到了私人錢(qián)幣收藏家手里。
除了50州紀(jì)念幣，造幣廠還大量生產(chǎn)了一系列5美分紀(jì)念幣（鎳幣），以慶祝“劉易斯和克拉克探險(xiǎn)隊(duì)”的光輝歷程。
“過(guò)去幾年中，我們確實(shí)看到了硬幣風(fēng)尚的重新興起。”美國(guó)造幣廠負(fù)責(zé)人亨麗埃塔·侯斯曼·芙爾說(shuō)，“硬幣講述了美利堅(jiān)民族的故事。它們能幫助我們重溫歷史。”
關(guān)于1美元硬幣的法案預(yù)計(jì)在參議院和眾議院都將獲得通過(guò)。但要真正地付諸實(shí)施，卡索還要成功說(shuō)服北達(dá)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(jì)念幣和歷屆總統(tǒng)紀(jì)念幣同時(shí)發(fā)行，并且將“總統(tǒng)幣”的首發(fā)儀式推后到2008年“劉易斯和克拉克探險(xiǎn)隊(duì)”周年慶典結(jié)束后。
（中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站譯） |
Updated: 2005-04-29 10:15
