My 1956 Mint Set
Private
Updated:
2/11/2026
Views: 88
The fellow to the left is the author of the Declaration of Independence, owner and builder of Monticello, the Third President of United States, and the founder of the University of Virginia, among other things. 1956 was the bicentinennial of his birth. Hence it seems to me, his image should be included with this set. Thomas Jefferson is nearly as mythical a being as George Washington, and it should be noted that both still adorn our coinage.
Perhaps I'm being a little reactionary, but with the Mint ceasing production of the penny, we are are left with just three coins in wide circulation, Jefferson's nickel, FDR's dime and Washington's quarter -- the half dollar seems to have lost its allure among the coin carrying public. Two of three survivors are chief among King George's protagonists. As such, perhaps it is fitting that Jefferson and Washington join Roosevelt as the last Presidents to grace our coinage, but somehow I got used to having Abe among them. I do sometimes wonder if there is not a romantic dimension to coin collecting, and that certain coins earned their place in our money supply by who those coins honor. If so, then Lincoln should remain in our pockets too! Ah, but alas, I often wonder if our policy makers aren't a quart low on romance.
I know, I'm editorializing, but Lincoln and his eloquence are not here, and so all you get is a poor farm kid from Indiana trying to make his case; albeit certainly not with his style or grace.
On a more pragmatic level, these are the coins that comprise this set. There are but nine, no San Francisco coins were struck for circulation so we have two each of the penny, nickel, dime and quarter; with a Philadelphia struck half dollar rounding out the set.
I would be remiss not to mention that 1956 was also my wife's birth year and Lord knows of the beings to grace this earth, she is the most important in my life and if for no other reason deserves a mint set in her honor.
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