When members of Congress adopted the strategy of refusing to raise the debt ceiling to gain political leverage, the idea of minting trillion dollar platinum coins to finance government was suggested (see Mint the Coin).
And so the Ronald Reagan One Trillion Dollar ($1,000,000,000,000) National Debt Token was born. Wooden nickels, often redeemable for a beverage, were popular during the Great Depression, though they tended to have an expiration date. These do not, and will easily outlast the plastic card or paltry paper note in your pocket.
The obverse features the bust of President Ronald Reagan, whose contribution to increasing the debt both ideologically and substantially should not be overlooked – along with the motto E Pluribus Debitum (For many, debt). The reverse displays the recognizable beast from the U.S. Buffalo and wooden nickels.
Engraving on wooden flan. Shown at Fl!ght Gallery.
