Buchanan Presidential Dollar Coin Cover Available

The United States Mint on Thursday, September 30, 2010, placed the James Buchanan Presidential $1 Coin Cover on sale at a price of $15.95.

The 32,000 limited-edition product is the third of four 2010 releases in the American Presidency $1 Coin Cover Series and the fifteenth since the covers were introduced for the Presidents in 2007. The covers were priced $1 less prior to 2010 and had a higher authorized production of 40,000.

Each cover features two James Buchanan Presidential dollars. Both are from the first day of production, which was on June 1, 2010. One coin is from the U.S. Mint’s Denver facility and the other is from Philadelphia. The $1s coins are framed within a display card featuring a portrait of the President.

The card also includes a 44-cent Flag postage stamp with a postmark of August 19, 2010, Lancaster, PA. That is the date the dollars were released into circulation and also when the Mint began offering them in $25 rolls.

The obverse or heads side of the $1, designed and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill, features a portrait of Buchanan and the inscriptions "JAMES BUCHANAN," "IN GOD WE TRUST," "15TH PRESIDENT" and "1857-1861."

James Buchanan: 15th President, 15th in Presidential $1 Coin Series

The following is a brief biography of Buchanan, provided by the U.S. Mint when the $1 honoring him was first released.

Buchanan, the 15th U.S. President, was born on April 23, 1791, near Mercersburg, Pa. He was the oldest of 11 children. After graduating from college, Buchanan studied law and began a successful law career in 1812. During the War of 1812, he helped defend Baltimore against British attack.

Buchanan, a gifted orator, became a state legislator, and later served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and as U.S. minister to Russia. In 1845, he became President James K. Polk’s secretary of state. His later service abroad as U.S. minister to Great Britain helped insulate him from the growing domestic controversy over slavery, which was reaching a crescendo by 1856, helping him secure the Democratic Party’s nomination for President.

Two days after Buchanan was inaugurated, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the controversial Dred Scott decision, which effectively legalized slavery in all U.S. territories. The decision was another factor that propelled the Nation toward civil war.

The first four Presidential Dollars issued in 2007 had the image of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The next four $1 coins released in 2008 honored James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren. The 2009 coins depicted William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk and John Tyler. The first 2010 $1 coin honored Millard Fillmore.

To date, the Buchanan dollars are the scarcest in the series, with just over 73.3 million minted.

Order Coin Cover from US Mint

Orders may be placed through the 2010 President Franklin Pierce:

United States Mint Product page

A $4.95 shipping and handling charge will be added. No household order limits are in place.

The covers may also be purchased through the Mint’s toll-free number, 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Hearing and speech-impaired customers may order by calling 1-888-321-MINT (6468).

Rolls of the dollars are available directly from the Mint as well. They are available through specially Mint-wrapped $25 rolls containing either Denver or Philadelphia minted strikes for a price of $35.95, plus shipping and handling.