1yseYzQ

A14 • Friday, January 16, 2015
Villager Newspapers
Grant excited for opportunity to join Commission on Children
GRANT
continued from page A1
What exactly is a type coin While the
word “type” is used in several different
contexts in numismatics, generally a
type coin refers to an odd denomination
of circulating copper and silver coins,
such as half cents, 2-cent pieces, both silver
and nickel 3-cent pieces, and 20-cent
pieces.
These were also minted to serve a
specific purpose, and were usually not
minted for a long period. There are also
a few odd denomination gold pieces,
such as the $3 and $4
coins, but they are not
referred to as “type”
coins.
Type coins were
often the product of
both political motivation
and economic
necessity. Let’s take a
quick look at the causes
of some of these
coins…
Treasures • Half Cents: One
of our first Congress’
in Your priorities was to promote
business and
Home
PAUL JOSEPH
commercial trade.
The smallest coin
required by the original
Coinage Act of
1792 was the half-cent.
At that time, a dollar was a considerable
amount of money. Therefore, the
half-cent had widespread buying power,
despite its value of only 1/200th of a
dollar. The U.S. dollar was based on the
broadly accepted Spanish milled dollar.
It was actually cut into as many as
on that Commission.
Established in 1985, the Connecticut Commission
on Children was assembled to promote public policies
in the best interest of the state’s children and to study
national trends in child health and welfare as well as
assess state and national programs for efficiency and
effectiveness. According to Grant, the Commission is
completely separate from DCF and is one of the state’s
governing bodies to help better address the needs of
children and their relationships and wellbeing with
their families.
“It actually looks at a lot of the trends in child health
and welfare,” she said. “It looks at policies around
the nation and in our state to be sure that we are
providing the best practice and they often make recommendations
to the department that influence the
department’s agenda on what they’re looking for in
the Legislature in regards to the law and statutes that
govern the way we manage child welfare in the state
of Connecticut.”
Grant said this new opportunity will be an add-on
to her responsibilities at TEEG and stresses she is not
going anywhere in terms of that position. As a former
employee of Day Kimball Hospital in the labor department
who helped single parents with paternity issues
at a time where state laws were changing on that
front, Grant chose to leave her nursing aspirations
behind to pursue social work, a path that brought her
to where she is today. She said that this new honor is
just one more thing she has become involved with to
help guide the state and the nation in the right direction.
“Being a part of the Commission on Children is really
about being at the table as we look to bring new evidence-based
practice to improve the work that we’re
doing on child welfare,” she said. “In my perspective
from my work at TEEG and my lifelong work at 4H
and other organizations where I’ve dealt exclusively
with youth development and programming, one of the
most important things to focus on is prevention. What
can we be doing better earlier and in a more holistic
way for families and put them in a place where they’re
not liable to be vulnerable to needing intervention
that DCF can offer.”
Grant said part of the Commission’s responsibilities
is to look at trends and help the state progress with
the times and evolving practices. She explained that
few families have intent to neglect their children and
there needs to be a certain amount of understanding to
really work with them and come to a solution for the
problems children and families may face, especially in
Type coins
eight pieces, each worth one eighth of a
dollar, or 12 1/2 cents. It was, therefore,
when using the new American decimal
system, necessary to give change in half
a cent.
Half cents were minted for more than
60 years; but they were the first of many
coins that were basically “unwanted.”
Many remained in storage in Mint
vaults, waiting for orders to be received
by fledgling banks. Shortage of copper
and lack of demand kept mintages low.
In our egalitarian society it was thought
that the lower class would have much
use for half cents; thus, encouraging
them to buy more. Such demand was
never realized. Of the 33,354 half cents
struck in the first year (1793), about 550
are known to exist today.
• 2-Cent pieces: One of the greatest
failures in U.S. Mint history, the 2-cent
pieces were only minted for 10 years
(1864-1873). Mintages decreased each
successive year. In its last year, it was
only minted in proof examples. Despite
its brief history, the 2-cent piece holds a
sacred place in U.S. numismatic history.
It was the first coin, in 1864 to bear the
motto, “IN GOD WE TRUST.” The decision
to put this motto on a U.S. coin was
a result of collaboration between a minister
and President Abraham Lincoln
to remind all U.S. citizens of the importance
of remembering their common
belief at a time when the Union and the
Confederacy were waging the Civil War.
By the end of 1862, after over a year
and a half of war, virtually all U.S.
coinage had disappeared into “safety
for the future” hoards. Merchants, needing
something to use in trade, contracted
with private companies to produce
1-cent token replacements that they
would accept in their businesses. These
Civil War Tokens (CWT’s to today’s collectors)
became a staple of many local
and regional economies. The U.S. government,
in its infinite “wisdom” figured
that a coin worth twice the value of
CWTs, would help the economy recover
twice as fast. Once again, the government’s
simple mathematical reasoning
failed to take into consideration other,
more significant factors, such as public
confidence and trust. While the public
eagerly accepted the new coin, interest
and demand dropped dramatically
when the war ended in 1865.
In our next column we’ll take a look
at the other type coins’ history, and perhaps
talk a bit about the attractiveness
FLEXER
SWORN IN
HARTFORD — State Sen.
Mae Flexer (D-Danielson) takes
the state Senate oath of office
on Wednesday, Jan. 7, in the
Senate Chamber of the State
Capitol; flanking Flexer are
state Senators Clark Chapin (R-New
Milford) and Tony Hwang (R-Fairfield).
“I am honored to have been given
this trust by the more than 100,000
people in the 29th State Senate District,
and I promise to do my best for them,”
a situation where a couple had not planned on starting
a family just yet. “I felt like the answer is not after a
child is conceived by a child who didn’t intend to conceive
it to document dad’s name on the bottom line,”
said Grant about her decision to pursue social work
after working on paternity cases. “Someone needs to
be doing something a whole lot earlier so what can we
do to help people get into a better place so they’re only
having families when they’re ready to do so.”
Grant said that positive youth development has
been the core of her belief system for much of her life
in the field and that she hopes to bring that perspective
to the Commission to build on what they have
already accomplished. She called the opportunity a
privilege — and an exciting one at that.
“I’m honored to have been asked. I’m looking forward
to the opportunity to work with colleagues from
around the state,” she said. “Mostly, I’m excited about
bringing work that’s been done in other places back to
northeastern Connecticut. This is where I live, this is
where I work and this is where I love and I’m excited
to do an even better job for kids and families right
here in northeastern Connecticut.”
Jason Bleau may be reached at 508-909-4129, or by
e-mail at jason@stonebridgepress.com.
Courtesy photo
The 2-cent piece — one of the greatest failures
in U.S. Mint history.
of onsite estate sales held during New
England’s typically cold winter months.
Until then, keep those questions coming.
Contact us! Paul, CAI, GPPA: Grey
Ghost Auctions & Appraisals, 508-
943-6570, pwogie@charter.net; www.
greyghostcorp.com; The author conducts
certified coin and antique/collectible
appraisals, on site estate sales, auctions,
and cleanouts.
Courtesy photo
Flexer said.
She represents the residents of
Brooklyn, Canterbury, Killingly,
Mansfield, Putnam, Scotland,
Thompson and Windham.