Presidential dollar coins

S. 1047, the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005, 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. 2676), by unanimous consent on November 18, 2005. The House of Representatives passed it (291–113)^[4] 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 enrolled bill was presented to president George W. Bush on December 15, 2005, and he signed it into law on December 22, 2005.^[5]

The program began on January 1, 2007, and, like the 50 State quarters program, was not scheduled to end until every eligible subject was honored. The program was to 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. To be eligible, a president must have been deceased for at least two years prior to the time of minting.^[6] The United States Mint called it the Presidential $1 Coin Program.^[7]

The reverse of the coins bears the Statue of Liberty (formally Liberty Enlightening the World), the inscription "$1" and the inscription "United States of America" in all caps, in the font ITC Benguiat. 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 legend E Pluribus Unum in the following arrangement: ★★★★★★★★★★  (mint year)  (mint mark)  ★★★  E PLURIBUS UNUM; before 2009, In God We Trust was also part of the edge lettering. 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".^[8] The George Washington $1 coin was first available to the public on February 15, 2007, in honor of Washington's Birthday, which was observed on February 19.

This marked the first time since the St. Gaudens Double Eagle (1907–1933) that the United States had 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 H.R. 2764, moving "In God We Trust" to either the obverse or reverse of the coins.^[9]This is the same bill that created a program that included 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 was also intended to help educate the public about the nation's presidents and their history. In case the coins did not catch on with the general public, then the Mint hoped that collectors would be as interested in the dollars as they were with the State Quarters,^[10] which generated about $6.3 billion in seigniorage (i.e., the difference between the face value of the coins and the cost to produce them) between January 1999 and December 2008.^[11]

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 was required to continue after the Presidential Coin program ended. 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."^[12] The one-third requirement was later changed to one-fifth by the Native American $1 Coin Act,^[13] passed on September 20, 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. The act required 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.^[14]

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. mottos, "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, estimated 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.^[15][16] 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".^[17] Fake "Godless dollars" have been produced with the edge lettering filed off.^[18]

Also, John Adams Presidential dollars have been discovered with plain edges. They are fewer 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.^[19] 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 which had not been struck with a die pair (missing the portrait of the president and the Statue of Liberty), but with edge lettering on the otherwise-blank planchet.^[20]

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 like eBay and Amazon for greater than their face value, though they represent roughly 50% of the minted population.^[21]

By 2011, 1.4 billion uncirculated $1 coins were stockpiled,^[22] which, if laid flat, could reach from Los Angeles to Chicago. By 2016, this number might have reached two billion if the minting had continued unchanged.^[23]

Rep. Jackie Speier of California circulated a "Dear Colleague" letter recommending that the U.S. not produce any dollar coins. She was planning to introduce legislation calling for the immediate halting of all dollar coin programs.^[24]

The United States Government Accountability Office has stated that discontinuing the dollar bill in favor of the dollar coin would save the U.S. government about $5.5 billion over 30 years.^[25]

On December 13, 2011, Vice President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced that the minting of Presidential $1 coins for circulation would be suspended.^[22] Future entries in the program, beginning with those of Chester A. Arthur, would be issued in reduced quantities, only for collectors.^[26]

By the end of 2022, the stockpile of $1 coins was reduced to 888 million. The inventory was estimated to last for nearly 16 more years (i.e. until 2038).^[27]

The act specifies that for a former president to be honored, they must have been deceased for at least two years before issue.^[28][29] Hence, former presidents George H. W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and then-current president Barack Obama were ineligible to have a dollar coin issued in their honor when the series ended in 2016, after honoring Ronald Reagan, the last president who was eligible.

Since the program has terminated, producing coins for those presidents not yet honored would require another Act of Congress.^[30] On February 12, 2019, Senator John Cornyn introduced a bill to authorize a Presidential dollar honoring George H. W. Bush and an accompanying First Spouse gold coin for Barbara Bush,^[2] which was signed into law by President Donald Trump on January 28, 2020.^[31]

Despite not seeing widespread use in circulation,^[32] the series has seen a few lower-mintage issues, mostly in specially marketed sets. Reverse Proof issues were made for the coins depicting Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush between 2015 and 2020. These issues had mintages between 16,000 and 48,000, depending on the issue.^[33]

Dollar coins were issued bearing the likenesses of presidents, as follows:^[34]

Release number	President number	President name	Release date	Denver Mintage	Philadelphia Mintage	Total Mintage[35]	Design	In office
1	1st	George Washington	February 15, 2007[36]	163,680,000	176,680,000	340,360,000		1789–1797
2	2nd	John Adams	May 17, 2007[36]	112,140,000	112,420,000	224,560,000		1797–1801
3	3rd	Thomas Jefferson	August 16, 2007[36]	102,810,000	100,800,000	203,610,000		1801–1809
4	4th	James Madison	November 15, 2007[36]	87,780,000	84,560,000	172,340,000		1809–1817
5	5th	James Monroe	February 14, 2008[36]	60,230,000	64,260,000	124,490,000		1817–1825
6	6th	John Quincy Adams	May 15, 2008[36]	57,720,000	57,540,000	115,260,000		1825–1829
7	7th	Andrew Jackson	August 14, 2008[36]	61,070,000	61,180,000	122,250,000		1829–1837
8	8th	Martin Van Buren	November 13, 2008[36]	50,960,000	51,520,000	102,480,000		1837–1841
9	9th	William Henry Harrison	February 19, 2009[36]	55,160,000	43,260,000	98,420,000		1841
10	10th	John Tyler	May 21, 2009[36]	43,540,000	43,540,000	87,080,000		1841–1845
11	11th	James K. Polk	August 20, 2009[36]	41,720,000	46,620,000	88,340,000		1845–1849
12	12th	Zachary Taylor	November 19, 2009[36]	36,680,000	41,580,000	78,260,000		1849–1850
13	13th	Millard Fillmore	February 18, 2010[36]	36,960,000	37,520,000	74,480,000		1850–1853
14	14th	Franklin Pierce	May 20, 2010[36]	38,360,000	38,220,000	76,580,000		1853–1857
15	15th	James Buchanan	August 19, 2010[36]	36,540,000	36,820,000	73,360,000		1857–1861
16	16th	Abraham Lincoln	November 18, 2010[36]	48,020,000	49,000,000	97,020,000		1861–1865
17	17th	Andrew Johnson	February 17, 2011[37]	37,100,000	35,560,000	72,660,000		1865–1869
18	18th	Ulysses S. Grant	May 19, 2011[37]	37,940,000	38,080,000	76,020,000		1869–1877
19	19th	Rutherford B. Hayes	August 18, 2011[37]	36,820,000	37,660,000	74,480,000		1877–1881
20	20th	James A. Garfield	November 17, 2011[37]	37,100,000	37,100,000	74,200,000		1881
21	21st	Chester A. Arthur	February 5, 2012[37]	4,060,000	6,020,000	10,080,000		1881–1885
22	22nd	Grover Cleveland	May 25, 2012[37]	4,060,000	5,460,000	9,520,000		1885–1889
23	23rd	Benjamin Harrison	August 16, 2012[37]	4,200,000	5,640,001	9,840,001		1889–1893
24	24th	Grover Cleveland	November 15, 2012[37]	3,920,000	10,680,001	14,600,001		1893–1897
25	25th	William McKinley	February 19, 2013[38]	3,365,100	4,760,000	8,125,100		1897–1901
26	26th	Theodore Roosevelt	April 11, 2013[39]	3,920,000	5,310,700	9,230,700		1901–1909
27	27th	William Howard Taft	July 9, 2013[40]	3,360,000	4,760,000	8,120,000		1909–1913
28	28th	Woodrow Wilson	October 17, 2013[41]	3,360,000	4,620,000	7,980,000		1913–1921
29	29th	Warren G. Harding	February 6, 2014[42]	3,780,000	6,160,000	9,940,000		1921–1923
30	30th	Calvin Coolidge	April 10, 2014[43]	3,780,000	4,480,000	8,260,000		1923–1929
31	31st	Herbert Hoover	June 19, 2014[44]	3,780,000	4,480,000	8,260,000		1929–1933
32	32nd	Franklin D. Roosevelt	August 28, 2014[45]	3,920,000	4,760,000	8,680,000		1933–1945
33	33rd	Harry S. Truman	February 5, 2015[46]	3,500,000	4,900,000	8,400,000		1945–1953
34	34th	Dwight D. Eisenhower	April 13, 2015[47]	3,645,998	4,900,000	8,545,998		1953–1961
35	35th	John F. Kennedy	June 18, 2015[48]	5,180,000	6,160,000	11,340,000		1961–1963
36	36th	Lyndon B. Johnson	August 18, 2015[49]	4,200,000	7,840,000	12,040,000		1963–1969
37	37th	Richard Nixon	February 3, 2016[50]	4,340,000	5,460,000	10,000,000		1969–1974
38	38th	Gerald Ford	March 8, 2016[51]	5,040,000	5,460,000	10,500,000		1974–1977
39	40th	Ronald Reagan	July 5, 2016[52]	5,880,000	7,140,000	13,020,000		1981–1989
40	41st	George H. W. Bush	December 4, 2020	1,502,425	1,242,275	2,744,700		1989–1993

The United States has honored 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 they served as first spouse, beginning in 2007. To date, all first spouses have been women (often called first ladies).

The obverse of these coins 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 issued the first spouse gold coins on the same schedule as the Presidential $1 coins issued honoring the presidents. Each coin has 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 unmarried, as four presidents did, a gold coin was 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 is the coin depicting suffragist Alice Paul which represents the era of the Chester A. Arthur presidency, as Arthur was a widower.

The act, as written, explicitly states that the First Spouse coins are to be released at the same time as their respective $1 Presidential coins.^[53] Because the act links a first spouse's eligibility for a coin to that of the presidential spouse, it means that a living first spouse could have appeared on a coin; actually this did not happen, though Nancy Reagan died only a few months before the release of her coin.

The United States Mint launched these coins officially at 12 pm 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 also produces and makes available to the public bronze medal duplicates of the First Spouse gold coins which are not legal tender.^[54] In February 2009 Coin World reported that some 2007 Abigail Adams medals were struck using the reverse from the 2008 Louisa Adams medal.^[55] These pieces, called mules, were contained within the 2007 First Spouse medal set.^[55]

Although the First Spouse program ended in 2016, it was continued in 2020 to honor Barbara Bush.^[2]

A full listing of the coins is:

Release #	Spouse #	Name	Reverse design	Release date	Proof Issue Price	Mintage figures[56]	Front/obverse Design	Reverse Design	Dates served
1	1	Martha Washington	Mrs. Washington sewing, with slogan "First Lady of the Continental Army"	June 19, 2007[57]	$429.95	19,167			1789–1797
2	2	Abigail Adams	Mrs. Adams writing her famous "Remember the Ladies" letter	June 19, 2007[57]	$429.95	17,149			1797–1801
3	3	Thomas Jefferson's Liberty	Jefferson's grave at Monticello	August 30, 2007[58]	$429.95	19,815			1801–1809
4	4	Dolley Madison	Mrs. Madison posing before the Lansdowne portrait of Washington, which she saved during the Burning of Washington	November 19, 2007[59]	$529.95	17,943			1809–1817
5	5	Elizabeth Monroe	Mrs. Monroe at the reopening of the White House in 1818	February 28, 2008[60]	$619.95*	7,800			1817–1825
6	6	Louisa Adams	Mrs. Adams and her son Charles making the dangerous journey from St Petersburg to Paris in 1812	May 29, 2008[61]	$619.95*	6,581			1825–1829
7	7	Andrew Jackson's Liberty	Jackson on horseback with his nickname "Old Hickory"	August 28, 2008[62]	$619.95*	7,684			1829–1837
8	8	Martin Van Buren's Liberty	Van Buren reading in the grass in his home village of Kinderhook	November 25, 2008[63]	$549.95	6,807			1837–1841
9	9	Anna Harrison	Mrs. Harrison reading to her children	March 5, 2009[64]	$629.00	6,251			1841
10	10	Letitia Tyler	Mrs. Tyler with children on Cedar Grove Plantation	July 2, 2009[65]	N/A	5,296			1841–1842
10A	10A	Julia Tyler	Mr. and Mrs. Tyler dancing	August 6, 2009[66]	N/A	4,844			1844–1845
11	11	Sarah Polk	Mr. and Mrs. Polk working together at a desk in the White House	September 3, 2009[67]	N/A	5,151			1845–1849
12	12	Margaret Taylor	A young Mrs. Taylor tending to a wounded soldier during the First Seminole War.	December 3, 2009[68]	N/A	4,936			1849–1850
13	13	Abigail Fillmore	Mrs. Fillmore shelving books in the White House Library, which she established.	March 18, 2010[69]	N/A	6,130			1850–1853
14	14	Jane Pierce	Mrs. Pierce in the visitors' gallery of the Old Senate Chamber, listening to a debate.	June 3, 2010[70]	N/A	4,775			1853–1857
15	15	James Buchanan's Liberty	Buchanan working as a bookkeeper in the family store	September 2, 2010[71]	N/A	7,110			1857–1861
16	16	Mary Todd Lincoln	Mrs. Lincoln giving flowers and a book to Union soldiers during the Civil War	December 2, 2010[72]	N/A	6,861			1861–1865
17	17	Eliza Johnson	Three children dancing and a Marine Band violinist at the children's ball that was held for President Johnson's 60th birthday.	May 5, 2011[73]	N/A	3,887			1865–1869
18	18	Julia Grant	Grant and a young Julia Dent horseriding at White Haven, her family home.	June 23, 2011[74]	N/A	3,943			1869–1877
19	19	Lucy Hayes	Mrs. Hayes hosting the first Easter Egg Roll at the White House, 1877	September 1, 2011[75]	N/A	3,868			1877–1881
20	20	Lucretia Garfield	Mrs. Garfield painting on a canvas with brush and palette.	December 1, 2011[76]	N/A	3,653			1881
21	21	Alice Paul[77]	Alice Paul marching for women's suffrage	October 12, 2012[78]	N/A	3,505			N/A †
22	22	Frances Cleveland	Mrs. Cleveland hosting a working women's reception.	November 15, 2012[79]	N/A	3,158			1886–1889
23	23	Caroline Harrison	orchid and paint brushes	December 6, 2012[80]	N/A	3,046			1889–1892
24	24	Frances Cleveland	Mrs. Cleveland delivering a speech	December 20, 2012[81]	N/A	3,104			1893–1897
25	25	Ida McKinley	Mrs. McKinley's hands crocheting slippers; she made thousands which were sold for charity.	November 14, 2013[82]	N/A	1,769			1897–1901
26	26	Edith Roosevelt	Image of the White House with compass and "The White House Restored 1902"	November 21, 2013[83]	N/A	2,851			1901–1909
27	27	Helen Taft	Cherry blossom of Prunus serrulata, brought to Washington, DC by Mrs. Taft	December 2, 2013[84]	$770.00	2,579			1909–1913
28	28	Ellen Wilson	Commemoration of Mrs. Wilson's creation of the White House Rose Garden	December 9, 2013[85]	$770.00	2,551			1913–1914
28A	28A	Edith Wilson	Image commemorating Mrs. Wilson's support for her husband after his stroke; the President holds onto a cane with Edith's hand resting warmly on top	December 16, 2013[86]	$770.00	2,452			1915–1921
29	29	Florence Harding	Items relating to Mrs. Harding's life: ballots and ballot box, camera, torch, and initials referencing World War I veterans	July 10, 2014[87]	$770.00	2,288			1921–1923
30	30	Grace Coolidge	U.S.A. spelled out in American Sign Language in front of the White House; Mrs. Coolidge promoted Deaf education	July 17, 2014[88]	$770.00	2,196			1923–1929
31	31	Lou Hoover	Radio commemorating Mrs. Hoover's radio address of 19 April 1929, the first by a First Lady	August 14, 2014[89]	$770.00	2,025			1929–1933
32	32	Eleanor Roosevelt	A hand lighting a candle, symbolizing her life's work and the global impact of her humanitarian initiatives.	September 4, 2014[90]	$770.00	2,389			1933–1945
33	33	Bess Truman	A wheel on railroad tracks, symbolizing Mrs. Truman's support for her husband on his 1948 whistle stop tour	April 16, 2015[91]	$770.00	N/A			1945–1953
34	34	Mamie Eisenhower	Hand holding an I Like Mamie badge	May 7, 2015[92]	$770.00	N/A			1953–1961
35	35	Jacqueline Kennedy	Saucer magnolia flower (planted by Mrs. Kennedy beside the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame) overlaid on an image of the world.	June 25, 2015[93]	$770.00	N/A			1961–1963
36	36	Lady Bird Johnson	Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument and flowers in reference to Mrs. Johnson's efforts in the beautification and conservation of America	August 27, 2015[94]	N/A	N/A			1963–1969
37	37	Pat Nixon	People standing hand-in-hand surrounding a globe, symbolizing Mrs. Nixon's commitment to volunteerism.	February 18, 2016[95]	N/A	N/A			1969–1974
38	38	Elizabeth Ford	Young woman ascending a staircase, representing Mrs. Ford's openness and advocacy regarding addiction, breast cancer and women's rights.	March 25, 2016[96]	N/A	N/A			1974–1977
39	40	Nancy Reagan	Mrs. Reagan with two children wearing "Just Say No" T-shirts	July 1, 2016[97]	N/A	N/A			1981–1989
40	41	Barbara Bush	A child reading a book with a river and a rising Sun as part of the design.	August 20, 2020[98]	$1,285.00	5,000			1989–1993

* 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. This however constantly changed as the price of gold changed. The mint used pricing range tables to adjust pricing of gold coin: 2016 Pricing Grid

† Chester A. Arthur's wife Ellen 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, would appear on this coin.^[77] Since Paul was never First Lady, the coin does not have a served date.

The act also has two other provisions, for the following:

• Issuance of a $50 bullion coin reproducing the 1913 buffalo nickel designed by James Earle Fraser. See American Buffalo (coin)
• Redesign of the reverse of the Lincoln cent in 2009 to show four different scenes from Abraham Lincoln's life in honor of the bicentennial of his birth. These four scenes include:
  1. his birth and early childhood in Kentucky
  2. his formative years in Indiana
  3. his professional life in Illinois
  4. his presidency in Washington, D.C.

In 2009, numismatic cents that have the metallic copper content of cents minted in 1909 were issued for collectors.

Since 2010, another redesigned reverse for the Lincoln cent is being 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 replaced the Lincoln Memorial reverse in use from 1959 to 2008.

• List of presidents of the United States on currency
• American Innovation dollars
• 50 State quarters
• America the Beautiful quarters
• District of Columbia and United States Territories quarters
• Westward Journey nickel series
• Sacagawea dollar
• United States Bicentennial coinage

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Presidential $1 Coin Program.

• U.S. Mint Presidential $1 Coin Act page
• U.S. Mint First Spouse Program page
• Images of the Presidential $1 coins
• Complete text of the Act at Wikisource
• Senate Bill 1047 Archived 2008-10-20 at the Wayback Machine at Thomas.loc.gov.
• Full Text (PDF) at from the United States Government Printing Office
• Report by the Congressional Budget Office on the cost of H.R. 902 (the companion to S. 1047), which includes information on seigniorage for the State Quarter program. April 12, 2005
• Anderson, Gordon T. "Congress tries again for a dollar coin". CNN/Money. April 28, 2005
• Press release, Nov. 21, 2005: Legislation to Redesign Lincoln Penny Passes Senate; Creates Presidential $1 Coin Program Similar to 50 State Quarters Program