The Presidential $1 Coin Program debuted in 2007 and honors former American presidents with their portraits featured on the obverse (heads side) of dollar coins. The series in 2015 celebrates Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, the 33rd – 36th Presidents of the United States.
As part of the development for the $1 coins, design candidates for the portraits are created for every one and are subjected to a selection process before a final image is selected. This process is again underway with the U.S. Mint unveiling designs for the 2015 Presidential $1 Coins.
A total of 20 different designs have been created with five for Truman, four for Eisenhower, five for Kennedy and six for Johnson. Below are line art images of each.
2015 Harry S. Truman Presidential $1 Coin Design Candidates
The five design candidates issued for the 2015 Harry S. Truman Presidential $1 Coin offer differing likenesses of the 33rd President of the United States. Inscriptions surrounding the portrait include, "HARRY S. TRUMAN," "IN GOD WE TRUST," "33RD PRESIDENT" and "1945-1953."
2015 Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential $1 Coin Design Candidates
Four different portraits were issued as design candidates for the 2015 Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential $1 Coin. Inscriptions include, "DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER," "IN GOD WE TRUST," "34TH PRESIDENT" and "1953-1961."
2015 John F. Kennedy Presidential $1 Coin Design Candidates
Of the five design candidates released for the 2015 John F. Kennedy Presidential $1 Coin, three are left-facing and two are right-facing. Inscribed around the portraits are, "JOHN F. KENNEDY," "IN GOD WE TRUST," "35TH PRESIDENT" and "1961-1963."
2015 Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential $1 Coin Design Candidates
Six portraits of the 36th U.S. President were issued as design candidates for the 2015 Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential $1 Coin. All six include the inscriptions of "LYNDON B. JOHNSON," "IN GOD WE TRUST," "36TH PRESIDENT" and "1963-1969."
Selection Process
These 20 candidates will now continue through the selection process which includes review by several different groups and individuals. Among the groups are the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee and the United States Commission of Fine Arts. Recommendations from the two reviewing parties are taken into consideration which can lead to some tweaking of designs. Eventually, recommendations are made by officials from the United States Mint to the Secretary of the Treasury who is given the job of selecting the winning designs.
Shown on the reverse of each coin of the Presidential series is a rendition of the Statue of Liberty by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart. Inscriptions found on the reverse read "$1" and "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA." An edge inscription on each dollar includes the year of minting or issuance, the mint mark, and "E PLURIBUS UNUM."
At the same time as the design candidates for the four 2015 Presidential $1 Coins were unveiled, the United States Mint also released candidates for the 2016 program coins. They will honor Richard M. Nixon and Gerald Ford. Images and information about these candidate designs will follow on CoinNews.net in an upcoming article.
The Presidential $1 Coin Program was authorized by Congress in the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005, Public Law 109-145. It was seen as a way to renew interest in $1 coinage. That interest, however, failed to gain popular traction and the production for circulation $1 coins was halted in 2011. Since then, dollar coins are only produced and issued by the U.S. Mint for numismatic purposes.
Number 4 for john f Kennedy!!!!!
Perhaps a day late and a dollar short, but the Kennedy design they chose to use was terrible.Hard to top the version used on the half dollar. I’d have gone with the 1961 Paul Manship inaugural medal design.The Kennedy in thought design doesn’t even look like a coin.