Presidential Dollar Launch Ceremonies

 

Beginning in 2007 and concluding in approximately 2016, the U. S. Mint will release four Presidential Dollars each year until each eligible President has been so honored. Starting with the release of the George Washington Dollar in February 2007, thru the release of the James A. Garfield Dollar in November 2011, the mint held "official" launch ceremonies to promote many of the Presidential Dollar coins. Other Presidential Dollars were launched with "unofficial" ceremonies, while the James Madison Dollar had no launch ceremony at all. Ceremonies may have included the Director of the Mint, local/regional dignitaries, descendants of the President, give-aways, bands, re-enacters, etc.

In a cost cutting measure, the Mint announced in December 2011 that Presidential Dollars would no longer be struck for circulation. They will however continue to be struck for collector sets at a premium. Then in March 2012, in an additional cost cutting measure, the Mint announced that "official" launch ceremonies will be suspended until further notice.

Below are the dates, places, and a brief description of each launch ceremony held to date.

Adams, John Carter, Jimmy Ford, Gerald R Hayes, Rutherford B. Kennedy, John F. Obama, Barack Taft, William H. Wilson, Woodrow
Adams, John Quincy Cleveland, Grover Garfield, James A. Hoover, Herbert Lincoln, Abraham Pierce, Franklin Taylor, Zachary  
Arthur, Chester A. Clinton, Bill Grant, Ulysses S. Jackson, Andrew Madison, James Polk, James K. Truman, Harry S.  
Buchanan, James Coolidge, Calvin Harding, Warren G. Jefferson, Thomas McKinley, William Reagan, Ronald Tyler, John  
Bush, George W. Eisenhower, Dwight Harrison, Benjamin Johnson, Andrew Monroe, James Roosevelt, Franklin D. Van Buren, Martin  
Bush, George H. W. Fillmore, Millard Harrison, William H. Johnson, Lyndon B. Nixon, Richard M. Roosevelt, Theodore Washington, George  


GEORGE WASHINGTON
On Thursday February 15, 2007 the U. S. Mint held the official launch ceremony at Grand Central Terminal in New York City. U. S. Mint Director Edmund C. Moy was on-site spending the new Presidential $1 Coins and George Washington portrayers were there to greet commuters.

JOHN ADAMS
The U. S. Mint's official ceremony to launch the John Adams $1 coin was held in downtown Quincy, Mass. on May 22, 2007. The ceremony featured the Director of the U. S. Mint Edmund C. Moy, Quincy Mayor William J. Phelan, and several decendants of President Adams.

THOMAS JEFFERSON
The official launch event was held at the Jefferson Memorial in the Nation's Capital on August 15, 2007. Present at the ceremony were Ed Moy, Director, United States Mint; Daniel (Dan) P. Jordan, President of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc.; and Thomas Jefferson Re-enactor Rob Coles.

JAMES MADISON


No official launch ceremony was
held for the Madison Dollar.

JAMES MONROE
A brief launch ceremony was held on February 13, 2008 at Ash Lawn-Highland, the estate of President James Monroe in Charlottesville, Virginia. After the ceremony, the attendees were the first in the Nation to be able to acquire a James Monroe Presidential $1 coin, a day before the coins are officially placed into circulation nationwide. Present at the ceremony was the Acting Deputy Director of the United States Mint, Dan Shaver; Ash Lawn-Highland's Executive Director, Carolyn Coggin Holmes; James Monroe Memorial Foundation President G. William Thomas Jr.; and James Monroe re-enactor Dennis Bigelow.

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS
An "unofficial" launch ceremony was held in Quincy, Massachusetts on Thursday, May 15, 2008. A John Quincy Adams re-enactor greeted tourists and others at the Adams National Historical Park visitor center. Quincy Credit Union employees exchanged visitors’ paper money for the Adams coins. In addition, Adams-related items were offered for sale, along with giveaways of Mint memorabilia.

ANDREW JACKSON

The Andrew Jackson Presidential $1 coin went into circulation across the country on August 14, 2008. An official launch ceremony was held on this date at The Hermitage, President Jackson's home near Nashville, Tenn. United States Mint Deputy Director Andrew Brunhart joined Richard Cowart, the past regent of The Hermitage Board of Directors, on the front lawn of the historic mansion in a ceremonial "pour" of thousands of Andrew Jackson Presidential $1 coins. The public was invited to exchange their dollar bills for Andrew Jackson Presidential $1 Coins. Each child under 18 years old attending received a free Andrew Jackson Presidential $1 Coin.

MARTIN VAN BUREN

The Martin Van Buren Presidential $1 was released to the public on Noveber 13, 2008. The U. S. Mint held the official release ceremony on Friday, December 5, 2008 -- the 226th anniversary of Van Buren's birth. The ceremony was held at the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site in Kinderhook, New York. Van Buren had been dubbed "The Red Fox of Kinderhook" for his red hair, political acumen and birthplace. Attending the ceremony
were Mint Deputy Director Andy Brunhart, Kinderhook Mayor Bill Van Alstyne and others.

WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON

The William Henry Harrison Presidential $1 official release ceremony was held on Monday February 16, 2009 at the Berkeley Plantation, the former President's home in Charles City, Virginia. The ceremony was attended by the United States Mint Deputy Director Andy Brunhart. Participants at the event were the first in the Nation to get the new $1 coin. The coins were available to the rest of the nation when they went into circulation on February 19, 2009. Following the ceremony, each child 18 years old or younger received a newly minted $1 coin, and adults exchanged their currency for rolls of the coin.

JOHN TYLER
The official launch ceremony for the John Tyler Presidential $1 coin was held May 19, 2009 at Tyler's Charles City County, VA home - Sherwood Forest Plantation. The coin was released into circulation two days later on May 21, 2009. Attending the ceremony was United States Mint Deputy Director Andy Brunhart and Harrison Tyler, grandson of John Tyler. Attendees 18 years old and younger received a newly minted John Tyler Presidential $1 coin to commemorate the occasion. Unlike past launches, there was no coin exchange following the event due to the fact that the ceremony was being held at the private home of President Tyler's descendants.

JAMES K. POLK
United States Mint Deputy Director Andy Brunhart presented the James K. Polk Presidential $1 Coin to the nation in a ceremony at the former President's ancestral home in Columbia, Tenn., on August 20, 2009. The news media and public were invited to the event, which included a ceremonial ‘pour' of thousands of new James K. Polk Presidential $1 Coins and a coin exchange. Children 18 years and younger received a new $1 coin to commemorate the occasion.

ZACHARY TAYLOR
The Zachary Taylor Presidential $1 coin official launch ceremony was held in Taylor Park November 24, 2009, the 225th anniversary of his birth. The launch ceremony was part of the Zachary Taylor Appreciation Day sponsored by the James Madison Museum. Participants in the event included United States Mint Deputy Director Andy Brunhart, Virginia Secretary of Education Thomas Morris, State Senator R. Edward "Edd" Houck, State Representative Edward Scott and Orange Mayor Henry Lee Carter.  Highlights of the event included a ceremonial coin 'pour' of hundreds of new Zachary Taylor Presidential $1 Coins by Deputy Director Brunhart and Helen Marie Taylor, a descendant of President Taylor. The 392nd Army Band performed music written for Taylor when he was a general during the late 1840s. The ceremony was held 5 days after its release to the public on Nov. 19, 2009.

MILLARD FILLMORE
On February 18, 2010, the United States Mint released into circulation the Millard Fillmore Presidential $1 Coin at an official launch ceremony held in Moravia, New York, at Moravia Central School. The ceremony, co-hosted by the United States Mint and the Cayuga-Owasco Lakes Historical Society, included participation by local school children who each received the new coin. United States Mint Deputy Director Andy Brunhart officially introduced the coin in the ceremony.

FRANKLIN PIERCE
The United States Mint introduced the Franklin Pierce Presidential $1 coin on May 20, 2010 in an official launch ceremony held on the grounds of Pierce Manse, the former president's historic family home. United States Mint Deputy Director Andrew Brunhart was joined by Franklin Pierce University President James F. Birge and New Hampshire Historical Society Library Director Peter Wallner. Immediately following the ceremony, the public was given the opportunity to exchange their cash for 25-coin rolls of the Franklin Pierce $1 coin at face value. Each child 18 years old and younger received a new Franklin Pierce $1 coin to commemorate the event.

JAMES BUCHANAN
The James Buchanan Presidential $1 coin was introduced by the United States Mint in an official launch ceremony held on August 19, 2010. The ceremony was held at Wheatland, the former President's home, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Among those attending the ceremony were United States Mint Deputy Director Andy Brunhart and Temple University professor Donald Walters. Following the ceremony, the public was invited to exchange their cash for 25-coin rolls of the new James Buchanan $1 coins. Each child 18 years old and younger received a new James Buchanan $1 Coin to commemorate the event.


ABRAHAM LINCOLN
On November 19, 2020, coinciding with the 147th anniversary of the delivery of the Gettysburg Address, the official launch ceremony for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential $1 coin was held, one day after the coins were made available to the public. United States Mint Director Ed Moy introduced the coin during the ceremony held at President Lincoln’s Cottage, located on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington D.C. President Lincoln lived there for one quarter of his presidency and was living there when he drafted the Emancipation Proclamation and deliberated critical issues of the Civil War. Lincoln commuted three miles daily by horseback or coach to the White House, last visiting the Cottage the day before his assassination. Following the ceremony, attendees were allowed to exchange their cash for 25-coin rolls of the Lincoln Dollar at face value. Children 18 years old and under received a new Lincoln $1 coin to commemorate the event. Also in attendance at the ceremony was Erin Carlson Mast, director of President Lincoln's Cottage. 





ANDREW JOHNSON
Officials from the United States Mint and the National Park Service marked the release of the Andrew Johnson Presidential $1 Coin with a special ceremony held Februsry 17, 2011 at the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site in Greeneville, TN.

"Beginning today, millions of Andrew Johnson Presidential $1 Coins will be released into circulation by Federal Reserve Banks across the Nation," said United States Mint Chief Counsel Daniel P. Shaver.  "During 2011, they will make their way into the hands and pockets of many Americans, connecting America through coins to Andrew Johnson and his Presidency."

Joining Shaver to commemorate the coin's release were Daniel Luther and Lizzie Watts from the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site and the first grade class of East View Elementary School.  Following the ceremony, attendees 18 years old and younger received an Andrew Johnson Presidential $1 Coin, while adults exchanged their currency for 25-coin rolls of the new coin.

ULYSSES S. GRANT
The United States Mint and the National Park Service hosted a launch ceremony to celebrate the release of the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential $1 Coin on May 19, 2011, the 148th anniversary of Grant's Civil War Vicksburg campaign in Mississippi.

"Beginning today, Federal Reserve Banks are releasing millions of Ulysses S. Grant Presidential $1 Coins into circulation to be used by Americans everywhere in the nation," United States Mint Acting Deputy Director Al Runnels said in his remarks.  "Americans know Grant best as the victorious general in the Civil War, and these new coins can't help but remind us of that defining period in our history, but they will also connect America to Grant's two terms as our 18th President."

John Marszalek, executive director of the Ulysses S. Grant Association, joined Runnels at the coin launch, which was held at the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site in St. Louis.  The site is where Grant and his wife Julia occasionally resided during the 1850s.  Members of the public who attended the event were among the first in the Nation to get the new $1 coin.  Following the ceremony, each attendee 18 years old and younger received a Ulysses S. Grant Presidential $1 Coin to commemorate the event, while adults exchanged their currency for 25-coin rolls of the new coin.

RUTHERFORD B. HAYES

The U.S. Mint hosted a public launch ceremony and coin exchange for the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential $1 Coin on August 18, 2011. The release ceremony was held in the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center at Spiegel Grove in Fremont, Ohio.

President Rutherford B. Hayes and his wife Lucy lived at the Spiegel Grove estate following his term in the White House. The Hayes Museum was the nation’s first presidential center, opening in May of 1916. The Hayes home did not open for public tours until 1966.

The launch ceremony was the first public unveiling of the dollar and occured on the same day that it was released into circulation through Federal Reserve Banks.

Following the ceremony, children 18 and under in attendance were given a free coin from United States Mint and other officials. Adults were offered an opportunity to exchange cash for 25-coin rolls of the coins at face value with representatives of Croghan Colonial Bank.

JAMES A. GARFIELD
Admirers of former U.S. President James Garfield gathered November 17, 2011 for the United States Mint's official launch of the Presidential $1 Coin struck in his honor.  The ceremony was held in Mentor, Ohio at the James A. Garfield National Historic Site - location of the 20th President's family home - two days prior to the 180th anniversary of Garfield's birth.

"The Presidential $1 Coin series connects Americans to inspiring life stories like President Garfield's," said United States Mint Acting Associate Director for Manufacturing Marc Landry.  "He was the last President born in a log cabin, fatherless by the age of two, drove canal boat teams to earn money for college, became a classics professor and college president, rose to brigadier general in the Civil War, and enjoyed a long, distinguished career in the U.S. Congress."

In addition to Landry, speakers at the event included Rudolph Garfield, a great-grandson of President Garfield, and Dr. Allan Peskin, professor emeritus of history at the Cleveland State University.  Peskin, who served as the event's keynote speaker, is the author of "Garfield," the definitive biography of James Garfield. 

Those who attended the event were among the first in the Nation to get the new James Garfield Presidential $1 Coin, which was released into circulation November 17, 2011.  Following the ceremony, many of those in attendance exchanged their currency for 25-coin rolls of the new coin.
 


Citing cost cutting measures,
"official" launch ceremonies
for Presidential $1 coins
have been suspended by
the U. S. Mint beginning
in 2012 until further notice.

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