Dollar coin series will feature presidents
By Barbara Hagenbaugh, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Coin collectors lamenting the near-end of the state quarter program can rest easy: The presidents are coming.
Artist's renderings show what the new coins might look like. None have been designed yet. Artist's renderings show what the new coins might look like. None have been designed yet.
Coin World
The U.S. Mint in 2007 will start producing dollar coins with portraits of former presidents, according to legislation sent to President Bush on Thursday. Four coins will be issued each year in the order in which the presidents served.
The coins could become popular collectors items, like the change in the 10-year state quarter program, which ends with Hawaii in 2008.
And the new coins might also entice people to use change instead of dollar bills. Dollar coins would save the government approximately $500 million a year because they last longer than paper dollars, according to a 2002 report from the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.
But consumers have so far been unwilling to scrap their $1 bills.
Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., who originated the state quarters and led the effort for the presidential dollar coins, says it's unlikely the coins will replace paper bills. But, he says, they will be great for collectors and, like the quarters, can act as a history teaching tool.
"There's almost no way you can lose on this," Castle says, noting they will also be profitable.
The Mint estimates it made about $4 billion from the state quarter program by just the halfway point. When people collect coins, they take them out of circulation. The Federal Reserve, which circulates money, then has to buy more coins. The Fed pays full face value, giving the Mint a profit.
The Sacagawea dollar coins, which have been largely unsuccessful since they were introduced in 2000, cost 21.14 cents each to produce last fiscal year.
Like the Sacagawea, the presidential coins will be gold-colored.
Other details about the program:
• According to tradition, no living presidents will appear on coins.
• The Statue of Liberty will be on the reverse side of the dollars.
• The Mint will make commemorative coins of the presidents' spouses. They will be 24-karat gold, the highest quality ever used.
• Grover Cleveland will be on two coins because he served non-consecutive terms.
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