Photos courtesy of Legend Numismatics

Congressman Frank Lucas introduced House Resolution 6942 Thursday that would swap today’s Jefferson Nickel with a circulating half-dime of old.

H.R. 6942 is officially entitled the ‘5 cent Restoration Act of 2008.’ Interestingly, it is at the top of the brevity scale when it comes to coin legislation with fewer than a dozen sentences. At the bill’s core are three lines that state its intent:

(a) In General- Paragraph (5) of section 5112(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:`(5) a clad half-dime that is based on the size and shape of the half-dime or 5-cent coin produced in the 1870s.’.

(b) Effective Date- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply to coins issued after December 31, 2009.

Lucas told The New Yorker in March:

“I think we need to assess stepping back from the nickel, the five-cent piece, and consider readopting the traditional five-cent coin, the old half-dime.”

The half-dime saw the beginning of its demise with the minting of the heavier and larger nickel in 1866, which has kept its size and weight to this day. Should H.R. 6942 follow the half-dime specifications, a new 5-cent coin would be smaller than a Roosevelt dime, and weigh half as much. In the words of Owen, “not light enough to blow away in a strong breeze, though almost.”

Source: CoinNews.net