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A new presidential
dollar coin began appearing in circulation on February 15,
2007. The leadoff coin carried the likeness of George Washington,
the first United States President.
The dollars are being produced because of the Presidential
$1 Coin Act of 2005, which obliges the Mint to strike the dollar
coins to commemorate the service of former U.S. Presidents, in the
order in which they held the nation's highest office.
Four presidential dollar coins are to be released every year until the
conclusion of the program. The 2011 dollar coins commemorate the
presidencies of Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, and James Garfield.
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| The key provisions of the presidential dollar coin law include: |
| Image placement of four U.S.
presidents on the dollar coin each year, in the order of their service,
until all are commemorated. |
| The Statue of Liberty is
featured on the reverse side of every presidential coin. |
| Inscriptions located on the
edge of the coin, such as date, mintmark, and the motto "IN GOD WE
TRUST". [Update: The law was amended in December 2007, to relocate "IN
GOD WE TRUST" from the edge to either the front or back. This was in
response to public outrage over what many perceived as the "Godless"
dollar. The change appeared beginning on the 2009 presidential dollars,
on the front side.] |
| Continuation of the Sacagawea
Dollar during the life of the Presidential Coin Program. [Update: The Native American $1 Coin Act specifies that during
the life of the Presidential Dollar program, the Sacagawea Dollar
reverse will bear a new design each year, starting in 2009, to
recognize Native Americans for their contributions to the history and
development of the United States.] |
| The federal government is
required to use the presidential dollar coin in all of its retail
operations. |
| The dollar coins must be
readily available to commerce, by producing sufficient quantities of
rolls and bank bags. |
| A new pure-gold bullion coin to
honor presidential
spouses will be created, designed to appeal to collectors and
investors alike. |
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| A ground view looking up at
the Statue of Liberty appears on the reverse side of all presidential
dollar coins. United States Mint image. |
The front side of each coin depicts the image of
a former President, his years served in office, and the IN GOD WE TRUST
motto. The reverse shows a view of the Statue of Liberty that is
common to all presidential dollar coins, along with inscriptions "The
United States of America" and "$1."
The presidential coin set is modeled after the popular
50 State Quarter Program created by Congress in 1997. That program
has attracted many new individuals to the coin collecting hobby, while
renewing interest in our nation's history and the contribution of each
state.
What's more, Uncle Sam has enjoyed a profit of $0.20 or so for every
quarter released into circulation, reflecting the difference between
the cost of producing the coin and its face value in commerce, bringing
in more than $4 billion extra dollars to the Treasury due to the public
demand for State Quarters.
A
study commissioned by
the Mint showed
that about half of all Americans are interested in collecting the
presidential dollar coins. In a manner similar to the State
Quarters, a fully circulating dollar coin would net perhaps as much as
$500 million for the government annually, because for each presidential
dollar coin distributed to the public, somewhere between $0.85 and
$0.90 profit returns to the Treasury. [Update: Expectations raised by
the study proved to be unfounded, as the presidential dollar coin
failed to circulate as hoped].
The table below lists all U.S. presidents in chronological order of
service, and the year their presidential dollar coin will be issued.
According to the new law, a president must be deceased a minimum of two
years before being honored on a presidential dollar coin.
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| Presidential Dollar
Coins Release Schedule |
| Issue Date |
President, Term of Office |
| Feb 15, 2007 |
1. George
Washington 1789-1797 |
| May 17, 2007 |
2. John
Adams, 1797-1801 |
| Aug 16, 2007 |
3. Thomas
Jefferson, 1801-1809 |
| Nov 15, 2007 |
4. James
Madison, 1809-1817 |
| Feb 14, 2008 |
5. James
Monroe, 1817-1825 |
| May 15, 2008 |
6. John
Quincy Adams, 1825-1829 |
| Aug 14, 2008 |
7. Andrew
Jackson, 1829-1837 |
| Nov 13, 2008 |
8. Martin
Van Buren, 1837-1841 |
| Feb 19, 2009 |
9. William
Henry Harrison, 1841 |
| May 21, 2009 |
10. John
Tyler, 1841-1845 |
| Aug 20, 2009 |
11. James
K. Polk, 1845-1849 |
| Nov 19, 2009 |
12. Zachary
Taylor, 1849-1850 |
| Feb 18, 2010 |
13. Millard
Fillmore, 1850-1853 |
| May 20, 2010 |
14. Franklin
Pierce, 1853-1857 |
| Aug 19, 2010 |
15. James
Buchanan, 1857-1861 |
| Dec 02 2010 |
16. Abraham
Lincoln, 1861-1865 |
| Feb 23, 2011 |
17. Andrew Johnson, 1865-1869 |
| May 19, 2011 |
18. Ulysses S. Grant,
1869-1877 |
| Aug 18, 2011 |
19. Rutherford Hayes,
1877-1881 |
| Nov 17, 2011 |
20. James A. Garfield, 1881 |
| 2012 |
21. Chester A, Arthur,
1881-1885 |
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22. Grover Cleveland,
1885-1889 |
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23. Benjamin Harrison,
1889-1893 |
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24. Grover Cleveland,
1893-1897 |
| 2013 |
25. William McKinley,
1897-1901 |
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26. Theodore Roosevelt,
1901-1909 |
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27. William H. Taft, 1909-1913 |
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28. Woodrow Wilson, 1913-1921 |
| 2014 |
29. Warren G. Harding,
1921-1923 |
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30. Calvin Coolidge, 1923-1929 |
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31. Herbert C. Hoover,
1929-1933 |
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32. Franklin D.
Roosevelt,1933-1945 |
| 2015 |
33. Harry S. Truman, 1945-1953 |
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34. Dwight Eisenhower,
1953-1961 |
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35. John F. Kennedy, 1961-1963 |
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36. Lyndon B. Johnson,
1963-1969 |
| 2016 |
37. Richard M. Nixon,
1969-1974 |
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38. Gerald R. Ford, 1974-1977 |
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39. James E. Carter, Jr.,
1977-1981 |
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40. Ronald W. Reagan,
1981-1989 |
| 2017 |
41. George H. W. Bush,
1989-1993 |
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42. William J. Clinton,
1993-2001 |
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43. George W. Bush, 2001-2009 |
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44. Barack H. Obama, 2009- |
The issuance dates for the first 38 presidential
dollar coins are certain, carrying us until the year 2016. How many new
presidential coins are minted beyond that is dependent on the number of
living former presidents who die prior to 2014. Jimmy Carter and George
H. W. both turn 90 that year. Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, both
born in 1946, would be 68 in 2014, so the odds are good they won't
qualify for their presidential coins by then. And what of the 2008
winner, Barack Obama, and the person elected president in 2012 and
2016? New legislation will probably be written to address this touchy
issue.
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