(plural paradigm shifts) 1  A radical change in thinking from an accepted point of view to a new one, necessitated when new scientific discoveries produce anomalies in the current paradigm. ( US) A radical change in thinking from an accepted point of view to a new belief.
The use of IN GOD WE TRUST has not been uninterrupted. The motto disappeared from the five-cent coin in 1883, and did not reappear until production of the Jefferson nickel began in 1938. Since 1938, all United States coins bear the inscription.
Silver dollars, the first dollar coin issue, were minted beginning in 1794. Gold dollars and gold-colored dollars have also been produced by the United States. Dollar coins have never been very popular in the United States since the removal of specie coins from circulation.