What other second half 20th Century Presidents deserve to be comemorated in coins and bills later after they die? Here’s some pros and cons, though the pros are shockingly low in number:
TRUMAN
Pro- Ended WW2
Con- Ended it by microwaving 200,000 Japs; Korean War debacle
LBJ
Pro- Championed civil rights; “Great Society” programs
Con- Vietnam War; Great Society turned into projects and welfare fraud; guy was a sunuvabitch who lifted his dog up by the ears
NIXON
Pro- Opened relations with China; great foreign policy accomplishments; would make perfect candidate for $3 bill
Cons- Did not understand the concept of an “erase” button.
FORD
Next.
CARTER
Pro- After leaving Presidency, was great ambassador for the US and human rights; work with Habitat for Humanity
Con- One of the worst Presidents of the 20th Century; smile worse than Baba Booey’s
REAGAN
Pro- 2 terms; Beloved by many; restored pride in America; presided over one of biggest economic booms in history
Con- Iran-Contra; record deficits; re-introduced white middle class anger into America
BUSH
Pro- Persian Gulf War victory
Con- President with the distinction of having one of the worst free falls in approval ratings in history
CLINTON
Pro- 2 terms; introduced many bills that appealed to middle class centrist compassionism; viewed by many as a true world leader and a friend of peace
Con- Draft dodger; penchant for penetrating college interns with cigars, then smelling them
GORE
Pro- Intellectual moderate
Con- Stole 2000 election from George Bush
BUSH
Pro- Easy going style appealed to many populist Americans
Con- Stole 2000 election from Al Gore
Other Americans that might be comemorated on coin:
Dr. Martin Luther King; Henry Kissinger; Muhammad Ali; Chuck Yeager; Douglas MacArthur; Bill Gates; Jesse Jackson; John Lennon; Elvis
His claim to greatness was his philosophy that the president’s job was to make sure that nothing happened. His brilliance at inaction should be a role model for all presidents.
I like Coolidge too, but the OP specifies the second half of this century.
I might suggest George Marshall, progenitor of his eponymous Plan.
But I hesitate to nominate anyone until, say, twenty years have elapsed, and we have a more informed and less partisan view of things. In the meanwhile, we have postage stamps. Put all these guys on them.
If you’re going to restrict yourself to the late 20th century, the first candidate for being on a coin or bill has to be Dr. Martin Luther King, arguably the most positively influential American since 1950. Franklin and Hamilton are on money and they aren’t Presidents, so there’s no reason King can’t be honoured.
The only other particularly good non-Presidential candidate I can think of is Gen. Marshall.
Dr. King would be a courageous choice, but would meet with a lot of opposition from various idiot groups in the US. Others would point out some of his personal flaws, which, since he was a 20th Century figure, count for more than the personal flaws of people like Jefferson and Hamilton.
I’ve never figured that out.
However, this is all a hypothetical debate. No one is likely to get booted off of any currency in the near future. The only likely candidate to get the boot would be Grant.
I dunno. Several folks are “doubly-honored” at present. Washington on both the quarter and the dollar. Jefferson on both the nickel and the two dollar bill. Lincoln on both the penny and the five dollar bill.
Furthermore, there is a vocal lobby of numismatists who would like to see some more new coin designs. We’ve had our current set of coins longer than any others in our nation’s history.
I’ll ignore the OP to some extent (sorry) and not limit myself to the latter half of the 20th century or to Presidents:
I agree with the previous nominations of George Marshall, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Thomas Edison. All are worthy of the honor.
Other potential nominees:[li]Frederick Douglas. (sp?)[/li][li]Lewis and Clark.[/li][li]John Marshall. The Supreme Court justice most responsible for shaping the institution.[/li][li]Clarence Darrow. Why not? Lawyers get a lot of bad press, but here’s one who put his talents to good use.[/li][li]Elvis. He’s the King, right? Kings belong on currency.[/li][li]Chief Joseph. As a reminder.[/li][li]Rachel Carson. The mother of the environmental movement.[/li][/list]
Other nations celebrate famous writers, composers, and painters on their money, as well as former rulers. In that spirit, I humbly suggest that we add the following:
[ul]
[li]Willliam Faulkner[/li][li]George Gershwin[/li][li]Ernest Hemingway[/li][li]Martha Graham[/li][li]Louis Armstrong[/li][li]Isaac Asimov[/li][li]Carl Sagan[/li][li]Duke Ellington[/li][li]Jackson Pollock[/li][li]Irving Berlin[/li][li]Walt Disney[/li][li]Jimi Hendrix[/li][/ul]
Speaking of symbols on coinage, isn’t it kind of ironic that during the latter half of the 19th century, when we were most ardently pursuing a policy of pacifying (read: taking the land from) Indians, our pennies were adorned with an Indian in a war bonnet?
“Here is a proud symbol of our nation! Now let’s wipe it out!”