I’m wondering if it is time to make a $5 coin suitable for tipping essential workers. The U.S. has a history going back to 1795 with $5 coins; just over 100 years ago, a $5 coin had a quarter ounce of gold in it, which today would be worth $430. The $5 coin wouldn’t blow away if left on the outdoor restaurant tables that are now mandatory. It could also be left on a front step for an Amazon delivery contractor.
What to put on the new coin? With Americans fatter than ever thanks to coronapanic shutdowns (see “How Much Weight Did We Gain During Lockdowns? 2 Pounds a Month, Study Hints” (NYT)), how about Jon Brower Minnoch, an American who was literally great, for the obverse? At 1,400 lbs., Minnoch was the heaviest human ever recorded.
That leaves the reverse. Our greatest scientist (Dr. Fauci) is the obvious choice, but an 1866 law prevents the living from taking up space on U.S. currency. Perhaps a scene of struggle for racial equity. Here’s a recent quarter design:
The U.S. government says the Tuskegee Airmen “fought two wars” (one of which was against racism). (This is the opposite of what Charles McGee said at Oshkosh back in 2019; asked “What was it like to be black in 1940 when segregation prevailed?” he answered “I went to high school in the North and we didn’t have segregation.”)
How about a series with scenes of a modern-day hero? The double-masked soldier for social justice sits at a desk eating Doritos. After looking both ways to make sure nobody is within 100′, the N95-masked hero takes a break from Zoom to add a #StopAsianHate sign in among the rainbow flag, BLM banner, and “In this house we believe…” sign in his/her/zir/their yard. The concerned citizen updates his/her/zir/their Facebook profile picture from #StopAsianHate (a week for this cause is enough) back to #StayHomeSaveLives. He/she/ze/they rolls up his/her/zir/their sleeve to accept the sacrament of investigational non-FDA approved vaccine. As in A Rake’s Progress, the story ends in tragedy. Our Mask and Shutdown Karen, now fully vaccinated, decides to attend a rally demanding justice for the BIPOC and stands closer than 6′ from his/her/zir/their brothers/sisters/binary-resisters in arms. The final scene for the reverse shows the felled-by-a-variant social justice warrior dying in the ICU, attended by a BIPOC physician and BIPOC nurse, an immigrant via the DREAM Act.
Separately, another potential advantage for the $5 coin is that if the $trillions of additional government spending generate inflation, it will be the right denomination for purchasing a drink from a vending machine (already at $3 at the Atlanta Zoo, April 2021; see photo below).
Related:
I think by the time a $5 coin comes to fruition, most vending machines will not accept coins or cash, only Apple/Google/etc Pay.
My vote, if this is up for a vote, would be for Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors, who though her shrewd business acumen has managed to create a little real estate empire out of nothing — all in the midst of the corona panic & much to the consternation of the bigots and deplorables. That is the daring can-do American spirit that made our country great & should be celebrated. https://nypost.com/2021/04/16/blm-co-founder-patrisse-khan-cullors-defends-real-estate-holdings/
@Jack, isn’t that the irony of it all. A lot of the leaders, black or not, who are suppose to be the voices for their followers, once they reach the top of the ladder, they no longer see what’s below them. Even worse, they use their followers to build the ladder. And if that’s not enough, when we idealize them, we do our best to hide all of their crimes.
@George.. well… that assumes the leaders cared about their followers to start with. As anything other than sheep to be fleeced, of course.
Tuskegee Airmen that is dangerous stuff, it might trigger someone to recall the Tuskegee Experiment. I wonder if the promotion of Tuskegee Airmen is to take internet searches and consciousness away from the Tuskegee Experiment. Especially in times of emergency approved never seen before medical magic.
Hey Abbot, who’s on First, him or her?
They’re on First.
They can’t both be on first!
They’re on First, he’s on Second.
How can he be on Second if he’s also on First?
He’s not on first. There’s only one person on First, and that’s them.
Oooh Abbot, you’re making me mad,
Btw, wouldn’t Bitcoins be a better option? You can digitally change the image on Bitcoins to whatever #Trending of the day or hour is and boom everyone is happy — as long as FB approves the #Trending!
I’ve been thinking about gold a lot myself, after all, printing $12T in 13 months just in US is bound to leave a mark. A lot of prices have went up 20-50% in all categories of goods, of course the media helpfully attributes it a “chip shortage,” not recognizing inflation or the lunatic money printing.
Toucan Sam does not care about black lives! He does care about the Tuskegee airmen! He has a theory that oppressed people make the best fighter pilots. That’s why most of the great fighter pilots are black or jews.
Sam, you sound ironic, so here it is:
1. This list includes top fly by wire jet fighter ace of ace with shot down opponents being in newer jet fighters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Israeli_flying_aces
2. 60 combat missions (out of standard 25) over Pacific, sank an enemy ship during the Battle of the Coral Sea, some other ships, died in 1943 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meyer_Levin_(military)
3. 52 combat missions (out of standard 25) over Europe, sot down over Berlin in last weeks of WWII, survived https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Rosenthal_(USAAF_officer)
4. Claimed by resources to be Jewish, similar sounding last name,, first woman ace, shot down 2 ME-109s in first encounter.
5.In Soviet air force during WWII there were several Jewish fighter aces with 20 – 40 confirmed kills,
6. Soviet night bomber Jewish women pilots, commanders and aircrew, including one who downed a Nazi flying ace from an ope cabin tail defense machine gun. One of so-called “night witches”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polina_Gelman with 857 (short to medium range) combat missions, Hero of Soviet Union.
7…
…
999…
Link for item enumerated 4 in my comment above. https://www.warhistoryonline.com/guest-bloggers/the-white-lily-lydia-litvyak.html And pardon my spelling, too many windows are open on my screens.
about the Night Witches:
Soviet Chuck Yeager, first broke speed barrier behind the iron curtain and trained first astronaut.
Mark Lazarevich Gallay https://news.myseldon.com/en/news/index/210246880
More background but with mistranslated last name https://persona.rin.ru/eng/view/f/0/30422/galland-mark-lazarevic
First to be awarded Hero of Soviet Union twice, fighter and striker pilot, creator of soviet ground and vehicle air assault tactics, flying ace of aces, head and organizer of Soviet Airforce, established Moscow Air Defense district in early years of WWII that proved to be unbreakable for Luftwaffe in 1941 Yakov Smushkevich. Very sketchy bio at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakov_Smushkevich Killed by Stalin’s NKVD.
Sam you sound ironic and I sent a reply but it was stopped by this blog’s “spam” filter.
There are scores of Jewish aces, ace of aces and bomber pilots with highest records from WWI through jet fighter age, google and library are your friends.
From Kaiser Germany through American, Allied and Soviet WWII air forces (including female Hero of Soviet Union) to today Israeli and American air forces.
I am actually surprised that Phil did not post about Robert Rosenthal ans Meyer Levin, maybe they did not like New York Times or something.
Let’s not forget the Jews who bravely served the Kaiser when bravery was required just for a simple takeoff and landing. http://daytonholocaust.org/resourcesexhibits/jewish-knights-of-the-air/ (World War I pilots)
Boy Scouts of America Personal Fitness Merit Badge. And you didn’t get a $5 coin for earning one!
Of course, Merit doesn’t exist, as Lawrence Lessig knows, and the Boy Scouts of America are the enemy of civilization.
https://www.boyscouttrail.com/boy-scouts/meritbadges/personal-fitness-merit-badge.asp
Just give them a $5 Amazon Gift card instead.
And actually, Amazon could build the tip feature into the Ring camera system for their delivery workers. When the driver drops the packages, flash a badge with a QR code that hits the order and lets the customer auto-tip, with all the money transfer done through Amazon so they get a cut. Easily extendable to every other place that accepts Amazon payment or point of sale, including the new automated grocery stores. People can tip the workers that aren’t there any more.