‘Bold’ not the word for my replies

Am I in favor of the abolition of the U.S. cent?

I was asked a form of that question in a second email from a Washington correspondent of a world news organization.

I brought it on myself. It is the numismatic equivalent of “when did you stop beating your wife?”

I had answered a prior email that informed me that the correspondent was working on a story about whether the United States and the United Kingdom should follow Canada’s example and abolish the cent. Would the end of the cent be good or bad from a hobby point of view?

I was eager to help another journalist and typed a reply as rapidly as my fingers would move:

“Abolishing the cent would give coin collecting a big boost. Whenever there is a significant change that the public will notice, it leads to more people collecting coins,” I wrote.

I threw in something that I hoped would tie the present situation with something of relevance to a British audience.

“I, myself, bought the British Royal Mint’s last pre-decimal proof set as the United Kingdom made the transition to decimal coinage. It felt like holding onto a slice of the past before it disappeared forever. That’s how Americans would view the disappearance of the cent.”
Does it sound like I am being a cheerleader for the cent abolition cause?

My remarks continued, “However, many collectors feel that to say that is somehow disloyal to numismatics. To advocate abolition of a denomination is somehow denying future collectors the pleasure of collecting it. This overlooks the fact that we have had many denominations, like the half cent, 2 cents, 3 cents, (and) 20 cents, that were abolished and they are still being collected.”

House your entire Canadian small cent collection in one folder!

What do you think so far? Nothing like my trying to be helpful, is there?

A little while later, I received a reply to my email that inquired if I supported the abolition of the cent and also asked whether I could be quoted.

Uh-oh. Just what I need, an international audience informed that an American numismatic editor hates the cent. After all, if I want to see it abolished, I must hate it, right?

I wrote another quick reply.

“I am not advocating the cent’s abolition, though that does not make me a blind defender either, nor does it prevent me from stating the pro-abolition case in my weekly column or daily Buzz blog.

“I have written that the financial case for dropping the cent is a strong one and that abolition will happen one day, but that Congress likely will simply change the composition this time because it will not want to cause a public uproar by abolishing it.”

Have I reached the safe high ground yet in my flood of words, or do I sound mealy-mouthed?

It looks like this will be a topic of discussion for at least another year and readers have expressed their views both pro and coin in their letters. It also looks like I have “boldly” straddled the issue.