TRILLION-DOLLAR COIN SILLY SEASON AGAIN

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The E-Sylum: Volume 24, Number 40, October 3, 2021, Article 24

TRILLION-DOLLAR COIN SILLY SEASON AGAIN

Regarding the recurring theme of a billion or trillion dollar coin, Len Augsburger writes:

"We hear about this whenever the federal government approaches the debt ceiling. Perhaps a capable entrepreneur could produce a satirically related concept coin. The Zimbabwe trillion-dollar note comes to mind, though to be sure that issue was strictly related to inflation and not deficit spending."

Len passed along a recent CNN opinion article. -Editor

Due to a technicality in the law, the Treasury Department can print a platinum coin and assign a huge value to it -- say, $1 trillion -- and sell it to the Federal Reserve Board. This would get around the need to borrow.

Such a move would be ridiculous, of course, but the whole standoff on the debt is ridiculous. If Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Republicans insist on pushing it, Biden could well decide to get out the platinum coin.

To read the complete article, see:
Joe Biden could be tempted to reach for the platinum coin (https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/28/opinions/debt-ceiling-platinum-coin-biden-baker/index.html)

Dan Carr made this great satirical piece in 2013 (sorry, they're sold out). I'm sure there are others. Is anyone aware of any new ones? -Editor

Dan Carr Uncle Scan Trillion Dollar satirical coin

Stu Levine passed along a New York Times article on the topic. Thanks also to Dave Perkins who passed along a MarketWatch article. -Editor

As Congress continues to flirt with the idea of not raising or suspending the nation's debt limit, economists and scholars are once again considering whether creative escape hatches like a trillion dollar coin or the invocation of the 14th Amendment might help the United States avoid a self-inflicted economic calamity.

After leaving office, Mr. Obama acknowledged that he and Treasury officials considered several creative contingency plans, such as minting a $1 trillion coin to pay off some of the national debt. In a 2017 interview, he described the idea as wacky.

Stu adds:

"Would it bring a premium in the numismatic marketplace?"

To read the complete articles, see:
Explaining the U.S. Debt Limit and Why It Became a Bargaining Tool (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/27/us/politics/us-debt-ceiling.html)
Pelosi says Democrats discussing future debt-limit options — including trillion-dollar coin (https://www.marketwatch.com/story/pelosi-says-democrats-discussing-future-debt-limit-options-including-trillion-dollar-coin-11632851809)

Thanks, everyone! See the earlier articles for some other trillion-dollar coin concepts. -Editor

To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
INFLATION MONEY AND PROPOSED PLATINUM COIN DESIGNS (https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n02a23.html)
FIRM MARKETS FANTASY TRILLION DOLLAR COIN (https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n09a18.html)
MORE ON THAT TRILLION-DOLLAR COIN (https://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n04a33.html)

THE BOOK BAZARRE

AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS: Are your books carried by Wizard Coin Supply? If not, contact us via www.WizardCoinSupply.com with details.

Wayne Homren, Editor

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com

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