George Washington 2007 US Presidential One Dollar Coin
The George Washington Presidential Dollar was released on February 15, 2007 as the first coin of the Presidential Dollar series. The series will feature each President of the United States of America in the order served, at a rate of four new designs per year. The new dollar coins will be issued for circulation and produced in special collector versions by the United States Mint.
George Washington was the former General and Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. He was then unanimously elected as President. He served two terms as the 1st President of the United States from 1789-1797.
An official launch ceremony for the George Washington Dollars was held at Grand Central Terminal in New York City. The ceremony was attended by United States Mint Director Edmund Moy. George Washington imitators greeted some of the City’s commuters in honor of the new coin.
The obverse of the coin features a portrait of President Washington and the reverse features a rendition of the Statue of Liberty that will be used for all Presidential Dollars. The obverse designer/sculptor was Joseph Menna. The reverse designer/sculptor was Don Everhart.
The obverse features inscriptions “George Washington,” “1st President,” and the years of his presidential term “1789-1797.” The reverse inscriptions include “United States of America,” and the denomination “$1.” The date and mint mark are located on the edge inscription of the coin along with the mottoes “In God We Trust” and “E Pluribus Unum.”
Placement of the motto “In God We Trust” on the edge of the coin was a source of controversy. Many people believed that the motto had been omitted from the coins in an attempt to “phase Gold out of America”. There were many calls to boycott the new $1 coins, including a widely distributed email chain letter. The motto, of course, was still present on the edge of the coin. Adding some confusion to the situation, approximately 100,000 George Washington Presidential Dollars were struck in error missing the edge lettering, which meant that they actually did lack the motto. The US Mint would modify their production process to vastly reduce the incidence of this error, and eventually Congress would mandate the placement of “In God We Trust” on the obverse of the coin starting with 2009.
The George Washington Presidential Dollar had the highest overall mintage for the series with more than 300 million coins produced for circulation. The Philadelphia mint produced 176,680,000 coins, and the Denver mint produced 163,680,000 coins.
George Washington Presidential Dollar Coin Specifications:
Diameter: 26.5 mm
Weight: 8.1g
Thickness: 2.0 mm
Edge: Lettered
Composition: 88.5% copper, 6% zinc, 3.5% manganese, 2% nickel
Mintage: 176,680,000 Philadelphia, 163,680,000 Denver
Presidential $1 Coin — Lady Liberty Reverse Statue of Liberty, 1886
She is the work of sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, who enlisted the assistance of engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, designer of the Eiffel Tower, to help him solve some of the structural challenges presented by creating a statue of such magnitude.
The Statue of Liberty was completed in 1884 and shipped to the United States in June 1885, having been disassembled into 350 individual pieces that were packed in over 200 crates for the transatlantic voyage. In four months’ time, she was re-assembled in New York Harbor, standing just over 151 feet from the top of the statue’s base to the tip of the torch her right hand holds high above the waters of New York Harbor.
Originally intended as a gift to celebrate the American Centennial in 1876, the Statue of Liberty was given to the United States as a symbol of the friendship forged between the new American government and the government of France during the American Revolutionary War.
The tablet she holds in her left hand carries the inscription "July IV MDCCLXXVI" in reference to the July 4, 1776, signing of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the Nation.
There are 25 windows running the length of Lady Liberty’s crown, which is topped by seven rays, meant to convey both the light of the sun and the seven seas and continents of the world.
For millions of Americans, the Statue of Liberty was the first sight that their ancestors saw as they arrived in America after having left their homes in search of a better life for themselves and for their families.
To celebrate her 100th anniversary, the Statue of Liberty was featured on a United States commemorative coin in 1986. In 1997, a close-up image of the Lady Liberty was chosen for the obverse of the new American Eagle platinum coins.
Presidential $1 Coins
Presidential Dollar Coins feature larger, more dramatic artwork, as well as edge-incused inscriptions meant to revitalize the design of United States coins and return circulating coinage to its position as an object of aesthetic beauty.The U.S. Mint launched the Presidential $1 Coin Program in 2007. The 10-year initiative includes one dollar coins featuring obverse designs honoring the Presidents in the order in which they served in office.
Read less Image of Presidential $1 Coins
The U.S. Mint produces and issues four Presidential Dollar coins per year, each with a common reverse design featuring a striking rendition of the Statue of Liberty. The program was authorized by the Presidential $1 Dollar Coin Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-145).
2007 Presidential Dollars
George Washington John Adams Thomas Jefferson James Madison
2008 Presidential Dollars
2009 Presidential Dollars
2010 Presidential Dollars
2011 Presidential Dollars
2012 Presidential Dollars
2013 Presidential Dollars
2014 Presidential Dollars
2015 Presidential Dollars
2016 Presidential Dollars
George Washington Presidential $1 Coin — First President, 1789-1797
George WashingtonGeorge Washington (February 22, 1732 [O.S. February 11, 1731] – December 14, 1799) was the first President of the United States (1789–97), the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He presided over the convention that drafted the current United States Constitution and during his lifetime was called the "father of his country".
Widely admired for his strong leadership qualities, Washington was unanimously elected president in the first two national elections. He oversaw the creation of a strong, well-financed national government that maintained neutrality in the French Revolutionary Wars, suppressed the Whiskey Rebellion, and won acceptance among Americans of all types. Washington's incumbency established many precedents, still in use today, such as the cabinet system, the inaugural address, and the title Mr. President. His retirement from office after two terms established a tradition that lasted until 1940, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term. The 22nd Amendment (1951) now limits the president to two elected terms.
Born into the provincial gentry of Colonial Virginia, his family were wealthy planters who owned tobacco plantations and slaves which he inherited. He owned hundreds of slaves throughout his lifetime, but his views on slavery evolved. In his youth he became a senior British officer in the colonial militia during the first stages of the French and Indian War. In 1775 the Second Continental Congress commissioned Washington as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolution. In that command, Washington forced the British out of Boston in 1776, but was defeated and nearly captured later that year when he lost New York City. After crossing the Delaware River in the middle of winter, he defeated the British in two battles (Trenton and Princeton), retook New Jersey and restored momentum to the Patriot cause.
His strategy enabled Continental forces to capture two major British armies at Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781. Historians laud Washington for the selection and supervision of his generals, preservation and command of the army, coordination with the Congress, with state governors and their militia, and attention to supplies, logistics, and training. In battle, however, Washington was repeatedly outmaneuvered by British generals with larger armies. After victory had been finalized in 1783, Washington resigned as commander-in-chief rather than seize power, proving his opposition to dictatorship and his commitment to American republicanism.
Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which devised a new form of federal government for the United States. 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. Following unanimous election as president in 1789, he worked to unify rival factions in the fledgling nation. He supported Alexander Hamilton's programs to satisfy all debts, federal and state, established a permanent seat of government, implemented an effective tax system, and created a national bank.
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.
In avoiding war with Great Britain, he guaranteed a decade of peace and profitable trade by securing the Jay Treaty in 1795, despite intense opposition from the Jeffersonians. Although he remained nonpartisan, never joining the Federalist Party, he largely supported its policies. Washington's Farewell Address was an influential primer on civic virtue, warning against partisanship, sectionalism, and involvement in foreign wars. He retired from the presidency in 1797, returning to his home and plantation at Mount Vernon.
While in power, his use of national authority pursued many ends, especially the preservation of liberty, reduction of regional tensions, and promotion of a spirit of American nationalism. Upon his death, Washington was eulogized as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen" by Henry Lee. Revered in life and in death, scholarly and public polling consistently ranks him among the top three presidents in American history; he has been depicted and remembered in monuments, currency, and other dedications to the present day.
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