The United States Mint last week published images of the 2018 Native American dollar. The $1 coin series is known for its annually changing reverse designs. This year’s coins pays homage to sports legend Jim Thorpe.
Dollar coins are no longer released into circulation but the U.S. Mint continues to strike them for coin collectors.
Circulating quality versions of the new $1 launch on Feb. 15. They will be available in 25-coin rolls, 100-coin bags and 250-coin boxes with options of dollars produced from U.S. Mint facilities in Denver and Philadelphia at prices of $32.95; $111.95; and $275.95.
The U.S. Mint in December publicly unveiled the $1 design following a review process that included 15 proposed designs. Created by Michael Gaudioso, it depicts a profile of Thorpe in the background while the foreground highlights his achievement in football and as an Olympian.
Native American $1 coin obverses (heads sides) are the same each year. They share Glenna Goodacre’s portrait of Sacagawea that has been used since the Sacagawea golden dollar debuted in 2000.
Authorized under Public Law 110-82, the dollar program celebrates the important contributions made by Indian tribes and individual Native Americans to the history and development of the United States.
Next year’s dollar will honor the important contributions Native Americans have made within the U.S. space program.
Very nice, and he certainly deserves the honor, but I wish the Mint would do another “coins and currency” package. Those were good looking and the dollars had special finishes.
Anyway, I wonder how long this Native American series will continue, given that they aren’t circulating. It’s funny, but you read the original legislation authorizing them and it states, “In order to remove barriers to circulation, the Secretary of the Treasury shall carry out an aggressive, cost-effective, continuing campaign to encourage commercial enterprises to accept and dispense $1 coins….” That did not go so well.
These will never circulate as long as the Treasury continues to print dollar bills. It shows the difference between the US and Canada, where they stopped printing both $1 and $2 bills, and replaced them with the Loonie and the Toonie.
@Richard I too would like to see it in a C&C set … the Mint in its infinite stupidity took it off its product line in 2017 while they minted 225,000 enhanced unc dollars for the EU set .. the C&C set was nicely done IMO and informative with yearly changing reverse .. could have gotten a kid to start collecting coins .. but all the Mint wants to do is cater to the big boys and big ticket items .. .. and their “managers” don’t get penalized for their bone headed “decisions” all IMO I will buy this one… Read more »
As *mom would would always say, ”as i* sunk down in my seat” when she enjoy*d the show, Bravo, Bravo, Bravo*.
@Larry
– as has nearly every other major (and many minor) country on the planet. IMO a lot of the inertia has to do with (a) blindness to the idea of wide use of a $2 denomination, which short-circuits the “pockets full of $1 coins” argument and (b) the fact that Congress has to approve nearly every modification to our coins, which leads to decisions made by grandstanding and lobbying rather than efficiency and common sense.
As far as the $1- bill go,s on being printed, maybe the people who run the show, use their, third i – “A,O” to sea with, 3rd i blind.
Richard – Great point on the $1 coins. It is ironic that in spite of the mandate in the law that the Secretary of the Treasury basically do everything possible to get this coin series to circulate, that former SOT Timothy F. Geithner on December 13, 2011 issued an edict to the U.S. Mint to stop putting any $1 presidential coins & $1 Native American $1 coins into circulation due to the tons sitting in Federal Reserve Bank vaults unused basically. Approximately $1.2 billion $1 coins sit in a building that was built in Dallas, Texas to hold them at… Read more »
As a Canadian and avid numismatist, I am use to one and two dollar coins. It is surprising to me to read that so many one dollar coins sit in vaults and are un-used in the USA economy. I am going to start adding these beautiful and very important USA coins in my collection. It is a matter of time before they are used in circulation down south. I believe the USA penny will go as well, as did Canada’s. Time to collect for the future change of currency.
Mouse
@Mouse: Virtually every other country has eliminated their smallest coin, as they can’t be used to buy anything. I think every country in the Eurozone has stopped minting 1 and 2 cent coins, except possibly in collector sets. At one time India was minting their smallest denomination coins from aluminum. I held a couple of them in my hand, and if I hadn’t been looking at them, I wouldn’t have known there was anything there. If you’re going to make coins from aluminum, why even bother? But in the US, the mining lobby and the Illinois Congressional delegation (Lincoln) keep… Read more »
Greetings Larry, I fully agree with you. It costs more to produce the penny than it’s worth. Makes no sense to continue minting the product. I’m sure your congress has more pressing matters to attend to…like saving tax paying citizens money.
Mouse
Much nicer design than last years, which was really kind of scary to my 8 year old! Regardless, the $1 coins are like gift that keeps on going… What is the taxpayers cost to melt like 50,000,000 Prez$1…?
I have to give credit, where credit is do one more time, great job people of the U.S. Mint* of the making of this coin of Mr. Jim Thorpe a rock solid of a man, not just because he built like a rock, but he was a rock solid human being, and a true *first family of the *country we live in today, USA, how could you not be a good man and a good sport, with the name *bright path*, some of you guys just can’t be pleased, just like someone i* know oh so very well, how could… Read more »
all right, the laugh is on >me<, for not proof reading what i* write, got'a take a leak real bad,""live of their negative – – – energy all the time'''' i tell ya it sucks getting old.
Larry – in spite of their cost and inefficiency, 1- and 2-cent coins are still being used issued by the majority of eurozone countries. From what I’ve been able to find at the ECB and European Commission sites, only Finland, Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands are currently rounding to the nearest €0.05 although Estonia will probably do the same. Interestingly, the little coins are technically legal tender across the eurozone so presumably you can still spend them in “rounding” countries. That must create more than a few annoyances for merchants in those nations. As a side note, so long as… Read more »
Munzen, I had read that several countries, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary and Belgium, had already ditched the smallest coins, and last year Ireland and Italy were in the process of doing so, so I assumed that they would be on the way out all over Europe. They cost much more to produce than they’re worth, and the only thing consumers can do with them is save them and exchange them for “real” money. If they want to keep them in collector sets for nostalgia, as with the dollar and half dollar coins here, that would make sense. But… Read more »
Muzen – thanks for pointing that out, on your side note,which says one of which isn’t a multiple of the other, which is the dime & quarter,if they – every do away with the cent & nickel. I’ll say this again tho, just me i* guess so far, the reason for all the hoarding of $1 coins all these years, is for whenever or if ever the ”dukey’s” start to fly, & all the greenbacks they keep pumping out to the world turns to crap paper only, you won’t even be able to buy a roll of ass wipe with… Read more »
Larry – ” there are a lot of logical changes that could be made in this country that won’t be made because Congress has to make the changes, and they’re not in the business of actually doing anything.” I couldn’t have said it any better! FWIW, after my earlier posts I did some more searching and found that various polls within the EU showed a majority of respondents in all but one country favored ditching 1 and 2 cent coins. Presumably the corresponding national governments will catch up at some point. As for here, I expect my future grandchildren will… Read more »
Larry Schmitt – I remember as a kid, i sent away, from a clipping from a comic book, to Littleton Coin, up in the state of N.H, for a package of small change from around the world, it had to cost me no more than a $1.25 i remember, because i put all my, penny’s, nickels,& dime,s in plastic lunch warp and tied the warp into a knot, and then into your avg,size envelope 4” x 9” and licked it & sealed it, then i printed the address on the envelope, it looked real good, ”NOT” smart huh, then i… Read more »