The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 18, May 1, 2005, Article 26

CONGRESS WANTS PRESIDENTS ON DOLLAR COINS

Dick Johnson writes: "Coming off the success of the statehood
quarter program, a new law has passed the House of Representatives
this week -- the same one authorizing the 2009 Cent commemorations
– also authorizes putting the U.S. presidents on the dollar coin. It
is driven by the $5 billion generated by the sales of statehood
quarters. It also made 140 million people aware of coin collecting.

The dollar coin was chosen because of the failure of the Sacagawea
dollar. The U.S. Mint had spent $67 million in promoting it. But the
public didn#39;t accept it.

"That coin needs some sort of boost to do better," said Michael
Castle (R-Delaware), who sponsored both the state quarter and
the presidential dollar legislation. "The question is, will there be
enough demand (for the presidential series) for a young person to
walk into McDonalds and tell the cashier, 'I want a $1 coin in
change' "? Representative Castle is head of the Congressional
committee with the greatest influence on changing coin designs.

The plan is to issue four new presidential dollars a year, starting
with Washington. Even past presidents who hadn#39;t been dead
for 25 years would be placed on the coins at the end of the series,
in contravention to the Treasury Department#39;s own rule."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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