CoinNews

It's no secret. The currency of choice is not change, and it's no longer paper money. For many Americans, both forms have become annoyances — especially in high value purchases. Coin usage is declining, and trending toward extinction. These days, it's about plastic with the convenience of credit and debit cards.

While the U.S. Mint is spending money on mandated marketing and a doomed promotion of Presidential $1 coins, or announcing the exciting four new 2009 Lincoln penny design images, the reality is Americans dislike to receive or use these coins more than any other pocket change. And how a coin looks or feels is mostly inconsequential to anyone but collectors. But it goes beyond the penny and dollar $1 coin, as the outlook for every circulating coin further declines.

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

In an article Friday, details were scarce because the Government Printing Office had not yet published the bill's text. That is no longer the case.

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:

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