The United States Mint has announced July 24 as the release date for 2008 Uncirculated Presidential Dollar Coin Sets. The set includes four uncirculated presidential dollars minted in Philadelphia with the "P" mint mark and four uncirculated coins from Denver bearing the "D" mint mark.

The 8-coin set is priced at $15.95 and includes this year’s Presidential $1 coins honoring:

• James Monroe,
• John Quincy Adams,
• Andrew Jackson, and
• Martin Van Buren

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Today the U.S. Mint released the James Madison Presidential $1 Coin Historical Signature Set™ for a price of $19.95.

This set is the fourth in the series and features:

• A proof James Madison Presidential Dollar,
• an intaglio print of the President from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP),
• an official James Madison signature, and
• a leather-like folder showcasing the coin, print and signature

The proof coin is brilliant, with a sharp relief and mirror-like background. The frosted foreground gives a special cameo effect.

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A flood of stories has appeared regarding the forthcoming movement of "In God We Trust" from the edge to the face of Presidential $1 Coins. They all started with President Bush’s signing of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008.

CoinNews wrote about the legislative scrutiny in changing the motto’s location, expected the signing of the final legislation, reported about it minutes after it was signed and then surmised that the Presidential Dollar coins would not see change until 2009.

In truth, none of the "predictions" took a huge leap of insight;

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The United States Mint offered up a sneak peek of the four Presidential $1 Coins scheduled for release in 2008.

The next four coins will begin the second year of a decade-long series and make their debut in three month increments with the following presidential order and issue dates:

• James Monroe on Feb. 14
• John Quincy Adams on May 15
• Andrew Jackson on Aug. 14
• and Martin Van Buren on Nov. 13

The first four Presidential Dollars issued in 2007 had the image of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. According to US Mint coin production figures, the Mint turned out 768,530,000 Presidential $1 Coins in 2007. (The total does not include mintage figures for the last Madison Presidential coin, which was released in November.)

With such high mintage numbers, you would expect the coins to be readily available and used in daily transactions. That Mint desire is a long distance from reality with the Presidential $1 Coins nearly invisible outside the coin collector community.

Mint Director Ed Moy was quoted as saying:

“We hope the next four presidential $1 coins will not only jingle in pockets but be spent as well. These coins are convenient. Each presidential $1 coin weighs less than four quarters, and they’re especially useful for vending machines and mass transit."

“We will be working with several local retailers and banks in a concentrated area to facilitate the increased circulation of Presidential $1 Coins. We want to see more of these coins used in daily transactions and given out as change like other denominations.”

2008 would seem to be the year the Mint will focus more on the new dollar coin’s compatibility with vending machines, their ease in use with transit systems and getting banks on board to supply them.

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Second-guessing the United States Mint is exceptionally easy to do. They’re the "big guys" with an array of products and programs that make them a bullseye for attention. They’re also a government entity and it’s not exactly easy or prudent for them to respond to criticism, making arm-chair judgments against them more likely to go unchallenged.

An aggressive marketing campaign by the Mint along with early and embarrassing mint coin errors has provided public notice of the new Presidential $1 Coins. While the Mint should be held accountable for errors or mistakes in decisions, how much criticism do they merit for the lack of progress in getting the new Presidential Dollars used in daily circulation?

Despite the fact that the Mint has already reported nearly 760 million presidential coins minted without the Madison dollars, a significant portion of the public has never received the new coin in daily change. I live in one of the largest cities in the nation, San Antonio, and have yet to experience someone handing me one. Further, asking for and getting the coins at many banks has been a challenge in itself.

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Two weeks back CoinNews wrote an article on how the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 stated that vending machines by 2008 must be able to dispense the new presidential dollars irrespective of the fact that many vending machines give back an amount that’s always less than $1.

Concerned about needless and extra costs, Coca Cola hired a lobbyist firm to help get the law amended so certain vending machines wouldn’t have to dispense dollar coins. Whether it was through their efforts or not, their desired changes appear to be coming.

H.R. 3703 had previously passed the House on 11/13 and yesterday, 12/17, the Senate passed it with Unanimous Consent. H.R. 3703 clarifies which machines need to dispense dollar coins.

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