The
Presidential $1 Coin Program is part of an
Act of
Congress, , which directs the United
States
Mint to produce
$1 coins with engravings of
relief portraits of
U.S. Presidents on the
obverse.
Legislative history
Senate Bill 1047 was introduced
on May 17, 2005, by Senator
John E.
Sununu with over 70 co-sponsors.It
was reported favorably out of the
U.S.
Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs without
amendment on July 29, 2005. The Senate passed it with a technical
amendment (S.AMDT.26760), by unanimous consent on November 18,
2005. The
House
of Representatives passed it (291-113) on December 13, 2005. (A
similar bill, H.R. 902, had previously passed in the House, but it
was the Senate bill which was passed by both chambers.) The
engrossed bill was presented to President Bush on December 15,
2005, and he signed it into law on December 22, 2005.
Program details
The program began on January 1, 2007, and is similar to the
State Quarter program in that it
will not end until every eligible subject is honored. The program
will issue coins featuring each of four presidents per year on the
obverse, issuing one for three months before moving on to the next
president in chronological order by term in office. The U.S. Mint
calls it the Presidential $1 Coin Program.
The
reverse of the coins bears the Statue of Liberty
, the inscription "$1" and the inscription "United
States of America". Inscribed along the edge of the coin is
the year of minting or issuance of the coin, the mint mark, 13
stars, and also the legends
E
Pluribus Unum and
In God We
Trust. The legend "
Liberty" is
absent from the coin altogether, since the decision was made that
the image of the Statue of Liberty on the reverse of the coin was
sufficient to convey the message of liberty. The text of the act
does not specify the color of the coins, but per the U.S. Mint "the
specifications will be identical to those used for the current
Golden dollar". The President Washington $1 Coin was first
available to the public on February 15, 2007, in honor of
Presidents' Day, which was
observed on February 19.
This marks the first time since the
St. Gaudens Double Eagle that the
United States has issued a
coin with edge
lettering for circulation. Edge lettered coins date back to the
1790s. The process was started to discourage the
shaving of gold coin edges, a practice which
was used to cheat payees. In December 2007, Congress passed ,
moving "In God We Trust" to either the obverse or reverse of the
coins.
This
is the same bill that created a program that will include quarters
for Washington,
D.C.
, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana
Islands
, Guam
, the
U.S.
Virgin Islands, and American Samoa
.
The act had been introduced because of the failure of the
Sacagawea $1 coin to gain widespread
circulation in the United States. The act sympathized with the need
of the nation's private sector for a $1 coin and expected that the
appeal of changing the design would increase the public demand for
new coins (as the public generally responded well to the State
Quarter program). The program will also educate the public about
the history of the nation's presidents. Should the coin not catch
on with the general public, the
Mint is hoping that
collectors will be as interested in the
dollars as they were with the State Quarters, which generated about
$4.6 billion in
seigniorage between
January 1999 and April 2005, according to a report by the
Congressional Budget
Office.
Stack showing writing on edge
Unlike the State Quarter program and the
Westward
Journey nickel series, which suspended the issuance of the
current design during those programs, the act directed the Mint to
continue to issue
Sacagawea dollar
coins during the Presidential series. The law states that at least
one in three issued dollars must be a Sacagawea dollar.
Furthermore, the Sacagawea design is required to continue after the
Presidential program ends.
These requirements were added at the behest
of the North
Dakota
congressional delegation to ensure that Sacagawea,
whom North Dakotans consider to be one of their own, ultimately
remains on the dollar coin.
However, Federal Reserve officials indicated to Congress that "if
the Presidential $1 Coin Program does not stimulate substantial
transactional demand for dollar coins, the requirement that the
Mint nonetheless produce Sacagawea dollars would result in costs to
the taxpayer without any offsetting benefits." In that event, the
Federal Reserve indicated that it would "strongly recommend that
Congress reassess the one-third requirement." The one-third
requirement was later changed to one-fifth by the
Native American $1 Coin Act,
passed on September 20, 2007, and Sacagawea dollars were only 0.8%
of the total dollar coins produced through November 2007.
Previous versions of the act called for removing from circulation
dollar coins issued before the Sacagawea dollar, most notably the
Susan B. Anthony dollar, but the version of
the act which became law merely directs the
Secretary of the
Treasury to study the matter and report back to Congress.
However, the act does require federal government agencies
(including the
United
States Postal Service), businesses operating on federal
property, and federally funded transit systems to accept and
dispense dollar coins by January 2008, and to post signs indicating
that they do so.
The program's end
The act specifies that for a president to be honored, the former
president must have been deceased for at least two years before
issue. Even though it would take about 11 years to honor all the
eligible presidents (counting
Grover
Cleveland twice; the act allows for a coin for each of
Cleveland's two non-consecutive terms), the
series may not run that long. As currently planned, the series will
end in 2016 after honoring President
Ronald Reagan.Once the program has terminated,
continuation of the series for those presidents not honored will
require another
Act of
Congress.
Minting errors
On March 8, 2007, the United States Mint announced that, on
February 15, 2007, an unknown number of
George Washington Presidential $1 Coins
were released into circulation without their edge inscriptions (the
U.S. mottoes, "In God we trust" and "E pluribus unum", the coin's
mint mark, and its year of issuance; i.e.
E PLURIBUS
UNUM • IN GOD WE
TRUST • 2007 X
(where X is either P or D). Ron Guth, of the Professional Coin
Grading Service, estimates that at least 50,000 coins were released
without the edge inscriptions. The first such coin discovered was
sold on
eBay for $600, while later coins were
selling for $40–$60, as of late March 2007. Because one of the
inscriptions missing from the coins is the motto "In God we trust",
some articles on the subject have referred to them as "Godless
dollars." Counterfeit "Godless dollars" have been produced with the
edge lettering filed off. These specimens are worth face
value.
Also, John Adams Presidential Dollars have been discovered with
plain edges. They are lesser in quantity than George Washington
plain-edge dollars, making them rarer, thus more expensive. A more
frequently encountered edge lettering error for the John Adams
dollar is a coin with doubled edge lettering. This error occurs
when a coin passes through the edge lettering machine twice. Most
examples of the doubled-edge-letter John Adams dollar are from the
Philadelphia Mint (Denver Mint issues are comparatively scarce).
They are seen in two varieties: 1) with both edge lettering
inscriptions reading in the same direction, called "overlapped",
and 2) with the two inscriptions running in opposite
directions—i.e., inverted or upside-down relative to one
another—called "inverted".
In early March 2007, a Colorado couple found a dollar coin that was
not stamped on either side, missing the portrait of George
Washington and the Statue of Liberty.
Some of the coins have the words on the rim struck upside down
(president face up). These are not minting errors, but rather a
variation created by the minting process. Such upside-down coins
have been sold on auction websites for greater than their face
value, even though they represent roughly 50% of the minted
population.
Coin details
Dollar coins will be issued bearing the likenesses of Presidents,
as follows:
| Release # |
President # |
President |
Release date |
Denver Mintage |
Philadelphia Mintage |
Total Mintage |
Design |
In office |
| 1 |
1st |
George Washington |
February 15, 2007 |
163,680,000 |
176,680,000 |
340,360,000 |
 |
1789 – 1797 |
| 2 |
2nd |
John Adams |
May 17, 2007 |
112,140,000 |
112,420,000 |
224,560,000 |
 |
1797 – 1801 |
| 3 |
3rd |
Thomas Jefferson |
August 16, 2007 |
102,810,000 |
100,800,000 |
203,610,000 |
 |
1801 – 1809 |
| 4 |
4th |
James Madison |
November 15, 2007 |
87,780,000 |
84,560,000 |
172,340,000 |
 |
1809 – 1817 |
| 5 |
5th |
James Monroe |
February 14, 2008 |
60,230,000 |
64,260,000 |
124,490,000 |
 |
1817 – 1825 |
| 6 |
6th |
John Quincy Adams |
May 15, 2008 |
57,720,000 |
57,540,000 |
115,260,000 |
 |
1825 – 1829 |
| 7 |
7th |
Andrew Jackson |
August 14, 2008 |
61,070,000 |
61,180,000 |
122,250,000 |
 |
1829 – 1837 |
| 8 |
8th |
Martin Van Buren |
November 13, 2008 |
51,520,000 |
50,960,000 |
102,480,000 |
 |
1837 – 1841 |
| 9 |
9th |
William Henry
Harrison |
February 19, 2009 |
43,260,000 |
55,160,000 |
98,420,000 |
 |
1841 |
| 10 |
10th |
John Tyler |
May 21, 2009 |
43,540,000 |
45,220,000 |
88,760,000 |
 |
1841 – 1845 |
| 11 |
11th |
James K. Polk |
August 20, 2009 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
 |
1845 – 1849 |
| 12 |
12th |
Zachary Taylor |
November 19, 2009 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
 |
1849 – 1850 |
| 13 |
13th |
Millard Fillmore |
2010 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
 |
1850 – 1853 |
| 14 |
14th |
Franklin Pierce |
2010 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
 |
1853 – 1857 |
| 15 |
15th |
James Buchanan |
2010 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
 |
1857 – 1861 |
| 16 |
16th |
Abraham Lincoln |
2010 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
 |
1861 – 1865 |
| 17 |
17th |
Andrew Johnson |
2011 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1865 – 1869 |
| 18 |
18th |
Ulysses S. Grant |
2011 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1869 – 1877 |
| 19 |
19th |
Rutherford B. Hayes |
2011 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1877 – 1881 |
| 20 |
20th |
James A. Garfield |
2011 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1881 |
| 21 |
21st |
Chester A. Arthur |
2012 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1881 – 1885 |
| 22 |
22nd |
Grover Cleveland |
2012 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1885 – 1889 |
| 23 |
23rd |
Benjamin Harrison |
2012 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1889 – 1893 |
| 24 |
24th |
Grover Cleveland |
2012 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1893 – 1897 |
| 25 |
25th |
William McKinley |
2013 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1897 – 1901 |
| 26 |
26th |
Theodore Roosevelt |
2013 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1901 – 1909 |
| 27 |
27th |
William Howard Taft |
2013 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1909 – 1913 |
| 28 |
28th |
Woodrow Wilson |
2013 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1913 – 1921 |
| 29 |
29th |
Warren G. Harding |
2014 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1921 – 1923 |
| 30 |
30th |
Calvin Coolidge |
2014 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1923 – 1929 |
| 31 |
31st |
Herbert Hoover |
2014 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1929 – 1933 |
| 32 |
32nd |
Franklin D. Roosevelt |
2014 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1933 – 1945 |
| 33 |
33rd |
Harry S. Truman |
2015 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1945 – 1953 |
| 34 |
34th |
Dwight D. Eisenhower |
2015 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1953 – 1961 |
| 35 |
35th |
John F. Kennedy |
2015 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1961 – 1963 |
| 36 |
36th |
Lyndon B. Johnson |
2015 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1963 – 1969 |
| 37 |
37th |
Richard Nixon |
2016 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1969 – 1974 |
| 38 |
38th |
Gerald Ford |
2016 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1974 – 1977 |
| † |
39th |
Jimmy Carter |
|
1977 – 1981 |
| 39 (tentative) |
40th |
Ronald Reagan |
2016 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1981 – 1989 |
| † |
41st |
George H. W. Bush |
|
1989 – 1993 |
| † |
42nd |
Bill Clinton |
|
1993 – 2001 |
| † |
43rd |
George W. Bush |
|
2001 – 2009 |
| † |
44th |
Barack Obama |
|
2009 – |
† — The act specifies that for a president to be honored he must
have been deceased for no less than two years. (
See above.)
First Spouse Program
The United States is honoring the spouses of each of the Presidents
honored by the Presidential $1 Coin Act by issuing half-ounce $10
gold coins featuring their images, in the order that they served as
First Spouse, beginning in 2007. To date, all first spouses have
been women (often called
First Ladies), but the law
uses the term "First Spouse" because that could change before the
end of the program.
The obverse of these coins will feature portraits of the Nation’s
First Spouses, their names, the dates and order of their terms as
first spouse, as well as the year of minting or issuance, and the
words "In God We Trust" and "Liberty." The United States Mint will
mint and issue First Spouse Gold Coins on the same schedule as the
Presidential $1 Coins issued honoring the Presidents. Each coin
will have a unique reverse design featuring an image emblematic of
that spouse’s life and work, as well as the words "The United
States of America," "E Pluribus Unum," "$10," "1/2 oz.," and ".9999
Fine Gold."
When a President served without a First Spouse, as Thomas Jefferson
did, a gold coin will be issued bearing an obverse image emblematic
of Liberty as depicted on a circulating coin of that era, and
bearing a reverse image emblematic of themes of that President. One
exception will be the coin depicting
suffragette Alice Paul
representing the era of the
Chester
A. Arthur presidency, as
Arthur was a widower. However, it should be noted that other
widowed Presidents are not treated in this same fashion.
The act, as written, explicitly states that the first spouse coins
will be released at the same time as their respective $1 President
coins.
The United States Mint launched the first spouse coins officially
at 12pm EDT on June 19, 2007.They provided two versions of the
coin: a
proof version for
$429.95 and an
uncirculated version for
$410.95.
The United States Mint will also produce and make available to the
public bronze medal duplicates of the First Spouse Gold Coins which
are not legal tender. In February 2009
Coin World reported that some 2007 Abigail
Adams medals were struck using the reverse from the 2008 Louisa
Adams medal. These pieces, called
mule,
were contained within the 2007 First Spouse medal set.
A full listing of the coins is as follows:
* Due to volatility in the gold market, the U.S. Mint lowered the
price to $549.95 on November 12, 2008 to more accurately reflect
the current spot price of gold.
† Chester A. Arthur's wife died before he succeeded to the
presidency. Since there was no First Lady during his presidency,
the act explicitly states that Alice Paul, who was born during his
term, will appear on this coin. Since Paul was never First Lady,
then the coin will not have a served date.
‡ For this spouse to be honored, the respective president must
qualify for a coin (see above).
Other provisions
The act also has two other provisions, for:
In 2009,
numismatic cents which have the
metallic copper content of cents minted in 1909 will be issued for
collectors.
After
2009, another redesigned reverse for the Lincoln cent will be
minted; this "shall bear an image emblematic of President Lincoln's
preservation of the United States of America as a single and united
country," and will replace the Lincoln Memorial
reverse in use from 1959 to 2008.
See also
References
- The United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin
Program
- PRESIDENTIAL DOLLAR COIN SERIES BEING
DEVELOPED, UNITED STATES MINT NEWS & VIEWS, DAVID A.
LEBRYK, ACTING DIRECTOR, APRIL 2006
- ( ) amends to remove "In God We Trust" from the edge and adds
it to the obverse or reverse (signed December 27, 2007 by
President
Bush and effective as soon as practical by the Secretary of the
Treasury):
-
http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/testimony/2006/20060719/default.htm
- Public Law 110-82
- Production Figures, United States Mint.
- The United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin
Program
- :
- :
- U.S. Mint Produces 'Godless' Dollar Coins
- Canadian Press: U.S. Mint goof: Unknown
number of new dollar coins missing 'In God We Trust'
- U.S. Mint Press Release. (March 7, 2007)
- CBS News: "Godless" Dollar Coins Slip Through
Mint
- Associated Press: Dollar Coins Missing 'In God We
Trust', By David S Morgan, (Mar. 7, 2007), CBS News
- Numismatic Guaranty Corporation: Presidential $1
Error Coins: John Adams
- Washington Dollar Errors discusses a variety of actual
and rumored minting errors.
- The United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin
Program
- US Mint Circulating Presidential $1 Coin Production
Figures by President
- John Tyler Presidential Mintage
- says:
- U.S. Mint: First Spouse Program. Accessed 2008-06-27. "The United
States Mint also produces and make available to the public bronze
medal duplicates of the First Spouse Gold Coins."
- Alice Paul is explicitly specified in
- Numismatist Magazine, February 2007, Volume 120, Number 2,
Presidential Spouses, p. 29, Editor-in-Chief, Barbara J.
Gregory
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