James Buchanan 2010 US Presidential One Dollar Coin
The James Buchanan Dollar marked the fifteenth release overall for the Presidential Dollar coin series, and the third release during the year 2010. Although his presidency is not considered to be a success, his place in history is remembered with the issuance of this coin.
Prior to his presidency, Buchanan had a successful law career, served as a state legislator, and was elected to the House of Representatives and Senate. He was also the Secretary of State under President James K. Polk and the minister to Russia and Great Britain. Two days before his inauguration, the Supreme Court made the Dred Scott decision, which legalized slavery and propelled the nation to civil war.
The official circulation release date for the James Buchanan Presidential Dollar was August 19, 2010. On the same date, a launch ceremony was held on the grounds of Buchanan’s former home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Attendees of the ceremony included US Mint Deputy Director Andrew Brunhart and Emeritus Professor of Educational Administration of Temple University Donald Walters, who gave a speech on Buchanan’s legacy.
The obverse of the coin included a portrait of the one term President, designed and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill. Inscriptions included “James Buchanan”, the motto “In God We Trust”, “15th Presidency” and the year’s of his Presidential term “1857-1861″.
The reverse of the coin will featured an image of the Statue of Liberty designed and sculpted by Don Everhart. This was intended to represent the concept of Liberty. The reverse inscriptions included “United States of America” and the denomination “$1″. Incuse edge lettering includes the date, mint mark, and the motto “E Pluribus Unum”, separated by thirteen stars.
Circulating coin production occurred at the Philadelphia and Denver mint facilities with a combined 73,360,000 pieces struck. This represented the lowest mintage for an issue of the series to date. Numismatic products available from the United States Mint incorporating the coin included annual sets, numismatic rolls, Presidential $1 coin and medal sets, and First Day Coin Covers.
James Buchanan 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: 36,540,000 (Philadelphia), 36,820,000 (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.
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| James Buchanan 2010 One Dollar Coin Cover |
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| James Buchanan 2010 Presidential One Dollar Coin & First Spouse Medal Set |
James Buchanan, Jr. (April 23, 1791 – June 1, 1868) was the 15th President of the United States (1857–1861), serving immediately prior to the American Civil War. He represented Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives and later the Senate, then served as Minister to Russia under President Andrew Jackson. He was named Secretary of State under President James K. Polk, and is to date the last former Secretary of State to serve as President of the United States. After Buchanan turned down an offer to sit on the Supreme Court, President Franklin Pierce appointed him Ambassador to the United Kingdom, in which capacity he helped draft the Ostend Manifesto.
Buchanan was nominated by the Democratic Party in the 1856 presidential election. Throughout most of Pierce's term, he had been stationed in London as minister to the Court of St. James's and so was not caught up in the crossfire of sectional politics that dominated the country. His subsequent election victory took place in a three-man race with John C. Frémont and Millard Fillmore. As President, he was often called a "doughface", a Northerner with Southern sympathies, who battled with Stephen A. Douglas for control of the Democratic Party. Buchanan's efforts to maintain peace between the North and the South alienated both sides, and the Southern states declared their secession in the prologue to the American Civil War. Buchanan's view of record was that secession was illegal, but that going to war to stop it was also illegal. Buchanan, an attorney, was noted for his mantra, "I acknowledge no master but the law."
By the time he left office popular opinion was against him, and the Democratic Party had split. Buchanan had once aspired to be a president who would rank in history with George Washington. However, his inability to identify a ground for peace or address the sharply divided pro-slavery and antislavery partisans with a unifying principle on the brink of the Civil War has led to his consistent ranking by historians as one of the worst presidents in American history. Historians in both 2006 and 2009 voted his failure to deal with secession the worst presidential mistake ever made.
He is, to date, the only president from Pennsylvania and the only president to remain a lifelong bachelor. He was the last president born in the 18th century.
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
2008 Presidential Dollars
2009 Presidential Dollars
2010 Presidential Dollars
Millard Fillmore Franklin Pierce James Buchanan Abraham Lincoln
2011 Presidential Dollars
2012 Presidential Dollars
2013 Presidential Dollars
2014 Presidential Dollars
2015 Presidential Dollars
2016 Presidential Dollars