Presidential Dollar Coin

James Monroe

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President: James Monroe
Years Served: 1817-1825
Release Date: February 14, 2008

Virginia native James Monroe was exceptionally qualified to serve as the United States’ fifth president. Not only was he a Revolutionary War soldier, he was champion of the Bill of Rights, U.S. diplomat in Europe, governor of Virginia, senator, secretary of state, secretary of war, and negotiator of the Louisiana Purchase, before being overwhelmingly elected president in 1817.

His time in office is known as the “Era of Good Feelings” for the peace and booming economy the country enjoyed.

The Monroe Doctrine, a foundation of American foreign policy introduced in an 1823 message to Congress, warned European powers against expansionism in the Western Hemisphere.

Monroe’s presidency was also marked by the Missouri Compromise, which preserved a balance of free states and slave states in the United States and prohibited slavery in western territories above the 36/30’ north latitude line.

Coinage Legislation under President James Monroe

Act of January 14, 1818 — This Act directs the location of the United States Mint to remain in Philadelphia for another term of five years, beginning March 4, 1818.

Act of March 3, 1819 — This Act continues the authorization of certain gold and silver coinage from foreign countries as current and legal tender for the payment of debts within the United States. Specific rates of exchange are enumerated for the coins of Great Britain, Portugal, France, and Spain.

Act of March 3, 1821 — This Act continues the provisions of the Act of April 29, 1816, relating to the legal-tender value of French coins.

Act of March 3, 1823 — This Act authorizes certain gold coinage from foreign countries as current and legal tender in all payments on account of public lands within the United States. Specific rates of exchange are enumerated for the coins of Great Britain, Portugal, France, and Spain. The Act also calls for an annual assay of such coins, and for a report to the Congress detailing the results.

Act of March 3, 1823 — This Act directs the location of the United States Mint to remain in Philadelphia for another term of five years, beginning March 4, 1823.

United States Mint Directors appointed by President Monroe

1824

Samuel Moore — Fifth Director of the United States Mint

John Quincy Adams

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President: John Quincy Adams
Years Served: 1825-1829
Release Date: May 15, 2008

John Quincy Adams was born into politics as the son of second U.S. President John Adams and Abigail Adams. As a child, he watched the American Revolution unfold and accompanied his father on his diplomatic posts to Europe. He followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a diplomat in Europe and, later, the sixth U.S. president.

Adams became president by the slimmest of margins in a controversial election that was ultimately decided in the US House of Representatives by one vote.

As president, Adams proposed a wide system of roads and canals to stimulate the economy and foster trade throughout the Nation. During his administration, the Cumberland road was extended into Ohio, and several major canal systems were begun.

After his unsuccessful bid for re-election, Adams went on to serve nine terms in the US House of Representatives. He and Andrew Johnson, 17th president, are the only two former presidents to later serve in Congress.

Coinage Legislation under President John Quincy Adams

Act of May 19, 1828 — This Act:

directs the location of the United States Mint to remain in Philadelphia indefinitely;
establishes a standard weight for the Mint’s use;
makes provisions for payment for the testing of silver bullion brought to the Mint for coinage;
authorizes employment of clerks at the Mint; and
authorizes the Director of the Mint to assay bullion not intended for coinage and to issue certificates of fineness at the owners’ expense.

United States Mint Directors appointed by President Adams

President John Quincy Adams did not appoint a Director of the United States Mint.

Andrew Jackson

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President: Andrew Jackson
Years Served: 1829-1837
Release Date: August 14, 2008

A citizen of Tennessee, Andrew Jackson was the first president elected from west of the Appalachian Mountains. As a boy, he fought in the Revolutionary War. Jackson gained national prominence as a hero of the War of 1812, and was nicknamed “Old Hickory” for his firm discipline as commander of his troops.

As president, Jackson worked to strengthen the executive branch and vetoed more bills than the six prior presidents combined. His renomination to a second term marked the first use of a national nominating convention to select a party’s candidate instead of a congressional caucus.

A strong proponent of federal supremacy over states’ rights, he took a forceful stance against the state of South Carolina’s attempt to nullify a federal tariff, declaring “Our federal Union: it must be preserved.”

President Jackson authorized three southern branches of the United States Mint in 1835 – New Orleans, Charlotte, and Dahlonega.

Coinage Legislation under President Andrew Jackson

Act of June 25, 1834 — This Act regulates the legal-tender value of certain foreign silver coins.

Act of June 28, 1834 — This Act regulates the legal-tender value of certain foreign gold coins.

Act of June 28, 1834 — This Act sets the standard weight of U.S. gold coins, sets the standard for payment for gold or silver deposited for coinage, sets the rate at which gold coins shall be receivable, and directs the setting apart of gold coins for assay.

Act of March 3, 1835 — This Act establishes a branch of the United States Mint for the coinage of silver and gold at New Orleans, Louisiana, and branches for the coinage of gold at Charlotte, North Carolina and Dahlonega, Georgia.

Act of January 18, 1837 — This Act:

sets forth the duties and increases the salaries of the officers of the United States Mint, with the Director earning $3,500 per year including travel expenses;
sets forth the composition and weight of gold and silver coins;
mandates that each coin struck at the United States Mint shall have on one side an impression emblematic of liberty with an inscription of the word “Liberty” and the year of the coinage; and that the reverse of gold and silver coins shall have the representation of an eagle with the inscription “United States of America.” The figure of the eagle shall be omitted from the reverse of the dime, half dime, cent, and half cent;
makes provisions for gold and silver bullion that is brought to the Mint for coinage.

United States Mint Directors appointed by President Jackson

1835

Robert Maskell Patterson, M.D — Sixth Director of the United States Mint

Martin Van Buren

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President: Martin Van Buren
Years Served: 1837-1841
Release Date: November 13, 2008

Martin Van Buren, the first president from New York and not of British descent, was also the first president to be born an American citizen. Raised in a Dutch neighborhood in Kinderhook, New York, his interest in politics took root at his father’s tavern where prominent politicians, including Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, would stop by on their travels.

He served in the United States Senate and was governor of New York before becoming Andrew Jackson’s secretary of state. He served as vice president during Jackson’s second term and handily won the 1837 presidential election.

As president, Van Buren initiated an independent federal treasury system to take the place of state banks’ handling of federal monies and peacefully settled disputes with Great Britain that were threatening to take the country to war. However, a deep economic depression persisted throughout his term in office and he lost his bid for re-election in 1841.

Coinage Legislation under President Martin Van Buren

No coinage legislation was enacted under President Van Buren.

United States Mint Directors appointed by President Van Buren

President Martin Van Buren did not appoint a Director of the United States Mint.

George Washington

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President: George Washington
Years Served: 1789-1797
Release Date: February 15 2007

Following the ratification of the Constitution of the United States, the Electoral College unanimously elected George Washington to serve as the United States’ first President.

The former General and Commander in Chief of the Continental Army served two terms as president, holding the office from 1789 to 1797.

On June 1, 1789, President George Washington signed the country’s first Act of Congress, concerning the administration of oaths. In 1791, President Washington presided over the Nation’s first recorded Cabinet meeting, which included Alexander Hamilton as the United States’ first Secretary of the Treasury and Thomas Jefferson as the first Secretary of State.

President Washington himself laid the cornerstone for the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on September 18, 1793.

Washington also laid the groundwork for the United States’ earliest foreign policy stance when he issued his Declaration of Neutrality in 1793, a direct response to the emerging conflict between England and France.

Coinage Legislation under President George Washington

The Coinage Act of April 2, 1792 — Commonly referred to as the Mint Act, this Act establishes the United States Mint at Philadelphia, the Nation’s capital at the time. The Mint Act called for the production of the following coins, and specified their weight in gold, silver or copper: half-cent, cent, half-dime, dime, quarter-dollar, half-dollar, dollar, quarter-eagle ($2.50), half-eagle ($5.00), and eagle ($10).

Act of May 8, 1792 — This Act authorizes the Director to purchase up to 150 tons of copper for the coining of cents and half-cents.

Act of January 14, 1793 — This Act establishes the metal content of cents and half-cents.

Act of February 9, 1793 — This Act establishes foreign exchange rates, and ends the acceptance of foreign coinage (with the exception of the Spanish milled dollar) as legal tender in the United States.

Act of March 3, 1794 — This Act provides an accounting method of receiving metals for the purpose of producing coins from the metals received.

Act of March 3, 1795 — This Act establishes the positions of melter and refiner of the United States Mint and grants the President the authority to reduce the amount of copper used in both the cent and half-cent.

United States Mint Directors appointed by President Washington

1792

David Rittenhouse — First Director of the United States Mint

1795

Henry William de Saussure — Second Director

1795

Elias Boudinot — Third Director

John Adams

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President: John Adams
Years Served: 1797-1801
Release Date: May 17 2007

Born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1735, John Adams was one of the earliest and most vocal advocates for colonial independence. The Harvard-educated lawyer served as a delegate to both the First and Second Continental Congresses.

A skilled diplomat, Adams lived in France and Holland during the Revolution, working to secure crucial international support and recognition of American independence. He served eight years as George Washington’s Vice-President before winning the Presidency in 1797.

Elected by a margin of just three electoral votes (71-68), John Adams was the first President to live in the White House, arriving in Washington on November 1, 1800. On his second evening in its damp, unfinished rooms, he wrote to his wife, "Before I end my letter, I pray Heaven to bestow the best of Blessings on this House and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof."

Coinage Legislation under President John Adams

Act of February 1, 1798 — This Act suspends, for a period of three years, a portion of the Act of February 9, 1793, relating to the acceptance of foreign coinage as legal tender in the United States.

Act of April 24, 1800 — This Act authorizes the purchase of copper equivalent to the number of cents and half-cents produced during the prior year, and authorizes an annual purchase to continue the striking of these coins.

Act of March 3, 1801 — This Act directs the location of the United States Mint to remain in Philadelphia until March 1803.

United States Mint Directors appointed by President Adams

President John Adams did not appoint a Director of the United States Mint.

Thomas Jefferson

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President: Thomas Jefferson
Years Served: 1801-1809
Release Date: August 16 2007

Sometimes referred to as the "silent member" of the Continental Congress, Thomas Jefferson spoke volumes with his pen. He drafted the Declaration of Independence at the age of 33, and later succeeded Benjamin Franklin as America’s foreign minister to France.

During his first term as President, Thomas Jefferson virtually doubled the size of the United States when his Administration successfully completed the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and commissioned the Lewis & Clark Expedition to explore the new territory. The United States Mint’s recent Westward Journey Nickel Series™ marked the bicentennial of these important events.

At the end of his Presidency, Jefferson retired to Monticello, where he worked to establish the University of Virginia in nearby Charlottesville. In March 1825, the school opened to serve its first 123 students.

Coinage Legislation under President Thomas Jefferson

Act of March 3, 1803 — This Act directs the location of the United States Mint to remain in Philadelphia for five years.

Act of April 10, 1806 — This Act authorizes certain gold and silver coinage from foreign countries as legal tender for the payment of all debts within the United States.

Act of April 21, 1806 — This Act establishes the penalty for counterfeiting both foreign and domestic coins to be between three and ten years hard labor.

Act of April 1, 1808 — This Act continues to fix the location of the United States Mint in Philadelphia for five more years.

United States Mint Directors appointed by President Jefferson

1806

Robert Patterson — Fourth Director of the United States Mint

James Madison

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President: James Madison
Years Served: 1809-1817
Release Date: November 15 2007

A student of both history and law, James Madison attended the College of New Jersey (later known as Princeton University), returning to his native Virginia to help craft that state’s Constitution, as well as serving as a leader in the Virginia Assembly.

Following the American Revolution, Madison was instrumental in determining the course of the new Republic and in framing the government of the new Nation. With Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, Madison wrote The Federalist Papers, a series of 85 essays that advocated the adoption of the United States Constitution. In Congress, James Madison helped secure passage for the Bill of Rights.

France and Great Britain were at war when James Madison was elected to the presidency. Though he favored a more neutral position, the continued harassment of American sailors, combined with the seizure of American cargo, forced President Madison to ask Congress for a declaration of war with Great Britain on June 1, 1812.

Coinage Legislation under President James Madison

Act of December 2, 1812 — This Act directs the location of the United States Mint to remain in Philadelphia for another term of five years, beginning March 4, 1813.

Act of April 29, 1816 — This Act authorizes certain gold and silver coinage from foreign countries as current and legal tender for the payment of all debts within the United States. Specific rates of exchange are enumerated for the coins of England, Spain, Portugal and France. The Act also calls for an annual assay of such coins made current by the Act, and for a report to the Congress detailing the results.

United States Mint Directors appointed by President Madison

President James Madison did not appoint a Director of the United States Mint.