The United States Mint offered up a sneak peek of the four Presidential $1 Coins scheduled for release in 2008.
The next four coins will begin the second year of a decade-long series and make their debut in three month increments with the following presidential order and issue dates:
- James Monroe on Feb. 14
- John Quincy Adams on May 15
- Andrew Jackson on Aug. 14
- and Martin Van Buren on Nov. 13
The first four Presidential Dollars issued in 2007 had the image of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. According to US Mint coin production figures, the Mint turned out 768,530,000 Presidential $1 Coins in 2007. (The total does not include mintage figures for the last Madison Presidential coin, which was released in November.)
With such high mintage numbers, you would expect the coins to be readily available and used in daily transactions. That Mint desire is a long distance from reality with the Presidential $1 Coins nearly invisible outside the coin collector community.
Mint Director Ed Moy was quoted as saying:
“We hope the next four presidential $1 coins will not only jingle in pockets but be spent as well. These coins are convenient. Each presidential $1 coin weighs less than four quarters, and they’re especially useful for vending machines and mass transit."
“We will be working with several local retailers and banks in a concentrated area to facilitate the increased circulation of Presidential $1 Coins. We want to see more of these coins used in daily transactions and given out as change like other denominations.”
2008 would seem to be the year the Mint will focus more on the new dollar coin’s compatibility with vending machines, their ease in use with transit systems and getting banks on board to supply them.
The new law requiring ‘In God We Trust’ motto relocation not in affect for these coins
While a new law went into affect yesterday, Dec. 26, requiring the motto "In God We Trust" to move from the coin’s edge to its face or reverse, the latest coin images provided by the Mint show no such adjustments. The law did provide for discretion in the timing of the motto changes.
The Mint is launching the 2008 dollar coins using their news contacts and presence to push the story while silently telling everyone, apparently, that the motto relocation will not go into effect until at least 2009.
Is the timing of the Mint announcement coming just hours after the President signed the new law coincidence? If it isn’t, you can hardly blame the Mint for not wanting to take some control of the situation given the bill was created and then passed during the 11th hour.
Since when is it more important to know what number the us president is rather than leaving God ON THE FRONT OF OUR COINS. PLACE THE presidential number on the EDGE SO IT WEARS OFF instead of our LORD.