Hello, New Dollar!
02.15.07By Derek Dahlsad
Today marks the launch of a new dollar coin: The Washington Dollar. Fitting as Washington also adorns the paper dollar bill, his historic place as the first president of the USA makes his visage the appropriate head to fit on the first in a series of president-themed dollar coins. Over the next ten years, a new coin will be issued for each consecutive president (with Cleveland lucking out, having been president two different times).
The format of the new presidential dollar coins matches the Sacagawea, so that coin-operated machines don’t need any fixing to accept them, and will retain the glossy gold coating. One “new” feature is the use of edge lettering: around the coin’s edge will be printed “In God We Trust,” “E Pluribus Unum,” the mint code, and the date. This marks the first time that edge lettering has been used on common US currency, although the $20 double-eagle coin was edge-lettered.
While the government unsuccessfully tried to make the Sacagawea dollar as common as the quarter, the Mint is taking a cue from the statehood quarters and hopes the presidential dollars appeal to collectors. Collectors, no doubt, hope that the Mint has learned from its Sacagawea mistakes and has figured out how to avoid the tarnishing problem that aroused complaints when the Sacagawea dollar was first issued. The statehood quarters revived significant interest in collecting US coins, most of which hadn’t changed significantly in over fifty years. The same secondary industries that have supported collectors with supplies to store and care for their statehood quarters have already produced folders for your president coins.
