| Basic facts on the presidential
dollar coin program: |
| In compliance with the
Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005, the U.S. Mint is commemorating the
service of former Presidents with a series of circulating one dollar
coins. Every presidential dollar design is being produced as regular
business strikes and in proof. |
| Patterned after the Mint's
50 State Quarters Program, the new dollar coins present changing
designs to portray an image of each president in the order that they
served. |
| A stated purpose of the coins
is to educate and inspire interest in United States history and its
heritage. |
| The first Presidential dollar
coin, honoring President
George Washington, was released to the public on February 15, 2007.
The presidents to have their coins issued in 2009 are William Harrison,
John Tyler, James Polk, and Zachary Taylor. |
| Four Presidential dollar coins
will come out every year through at least 2016. The release
schedule is based on the order the Presidents held the office. |
| Each President will be seen
only on a single dollar coin, no matter how many consecutive terms they
served. The lone exception is Grover Cleveland, who held two
non-consecutive presidential terms. He will appear on two coins. |
| The reverse side of the
Presidential Dollar coins will feature the Statue of Liberty. |
| The Act mandates that the coin
designs are bold and dramatic, with traditional inscriptions inscribed
on the edge, to make room for larger images. The inscriptions that are
incused on the edge are "E Pluribus Unum", "In God We Trust", and the
year and mintmark ("In God We Trust" was moved to front in 2009 due to
public demand). |
| The coins are the exact same
color and size as the Sacagawea Golden Dollars, and have an identical
rim and tactile characteristics to help the visually impaired. |
| The new dollar coins have the
same electromagnetic "signature" as do the Sacagawea and Susan B.
Anthony dollar coins, indicating that any vending machine currently
accepting dollar coins should have no problem with the new coins. |
| The Presidential dollar coins
will first ship to financial institutions, such as banks, credit
unions, and thrifts. Retailers and consumers can obtain circulating
coins at these locations. |
| The Presidential $1 Coin Act
requires all Federal government agencies, the U.S. military, the U.S.
Postal Service, any federally funded transit systems, and any business
operating on Federal government property, to be ready to fully accept
and dispense the new dollar coins by the first day of January, 2008. |
| For a six-week period during
each Presidential Dollar coin release cycle, financial institutions can
obtain unmixed quantities of the latest design to distribute to
customers. |
| The coins will be included in
the U.S. Mint's annual coin sets. New packaging concepts were developed
to display the edge lettering. |
| The nation is also honoring
presidential spouses. The
First Spouse Program will run concurrently with the Presidential
Dollar Program. First Spouse coins contain one-half ounce of gold and
carry a face value of ten dollars. |
