Reagan on the $50? Probably not.
Look, Ronald Reagan鈥檚 face is not going to be on the $50 bill, OK? It just won鈥檛 happen, at least not soon.
Yes, a congressman from North Carolina, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R), has filed a bill to kick Ulysses S. Grant off the currency in question and replace him with a visage of the Gipper. (No, Decoder did not make up the 鈥淧atrick McHenry鈥� part. That鈥檚 the guy鈥檚 real name.)
The news media have played this as a kind of ex-presidents鈥� smackdown. Grant supporters say their man helped win the Civil War. Reagan supporters say their man helped win the Cold War. And so on, as they fight for prominence on the nation鈥檚 cash.
Lost in all this is that the legislation would have to actually pass the Democratic-controlled House and Senate and be signed into law by Democrat President Obama before this honor for a Republican president would take effect.
Do you see that happening? We don鈥檛 either.
And GOP gains in the fall elections probably wouldn鈥檛 make a difference. In 2005, a similar proposal went nowhere, though Republicans controlled Congress and the White House at the time.
But here鈥檚 the kicker: Reagan will be engraved on US money anyway. The US Mint is issuing four presidential $1 coins every year, featuring images of deceased chief executives in the order in which they served.
This year, it鈥檚 Presidents Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, and Lincoln. Next year, it will be Presidents Johnson, Grant, Hayes, and Garfield. Reagan鈥檚 turn for the $1 coin issue will almost certainly come in 2016.
Reagan fans who don鈥檛 want to wait that long to honor the 40th president might want to visit the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif., and buy something in the gift shop.
We recommend the magnifying glass engraved with Reagan鈥檚 signature and the phrase 鈥淭rust but Verify.鈥� It鈥檚 $24.95.
Presidential dollars accepted.
