Collecting the Presidential Dollar Coins

In 2007, the first Presidential dollar coins were released, honoring former deceased United States presidents in the chronological order that they served the nation. The Presidential dollar series, which was signed into law in 2005, permitted the production of this series, which followed in the wake of the successful 50 States Quarters, a wildly popular series that spanned from 1999 through 2008.

The Presidential dollar coin law stipulates that for a president to be honored during the series, he (or she) must have died at least two years before his (or her) coin was to be issued. The dollar series is slated to conclude in 2016 with the issuance of the Ronald Reagan dollar. Neither immediate predecessor Jimmy Carter nor any of Reagan’s presidential successors are eligible to be honored during the Presidential dollar coin series because they were living as of January 1, 2015.

Reception of the Presidential Dollar Coins

The Presidential dollar coins were originally produced and intended for widespread circulation and were heavily promoted by the U.S. Mint and the numismatic community at-large. However, the Presidential dollars failed to gain much traction in standard commerce channels for much the same reason other recent attempts at circulating dollar coinage have flopped – the dollar bill concurrently circulated.

With more than $1.4 billion Presidential dollars sitting in Federal Reserve vaults as surplus, the U.S. government suspended production of the dollar coin for circulation. However, the U.S. Mint is still producing Presidential dollars for numismatic distribution in coin sets.

A List of Presidential Dollars

What follows is a list of the Presidential dollar coins in the order they were released, the year each coin was minted, and the span of time during which the respective president served:

2007 Presidential Dollars

1. George Washington 1789-1797

2. John Adams 1797-1801

3. Thomas Jefferson 1801-1809

4. James Madison 1809-1817

2008 Presidential Dollars

1. James Monroe 1817-1825

2. John Quincy Adams 1825-1829

3. Andrew Jackson 1829-1837

4. Martin Van Buren 1837-1841

2009 Presidential Dollars

1. William Henry Harrison 1841

2. John Tyler 1841-1845

3. James K. Polk 1845-1849

4. Zachary Taylor 1849-1850

2010 Presidential Dollars

1. Milliard Filmore 1850-1853

2. Franklin Pierce 1853-1857

3. James Buchanan 1857-1861

4. Abraham Lincoln 1861-1865

2011 Presidential Dollars

1. Andrew Johnson 1865-1869

2. Ulysses S. Grant 1869-1877

3. Rutherford B. Hayes 1877-1881

4. James Garfield 1881

2012 Presidential Dollars

1. Chester A. Arthur 1881-1885

2. Grover Cleveland (first term) 1885-1889

3. Benjamin Harrison 1889-1893

4. Grover Cleveland (second term) 1893-1897

2013 Presidential Dollars

1. William McKinley 1897-1901

2. Theodore Roosevelt 1901-1909

3. William Howard Taft 1909-1913

4. Woodrow Wilson 1913-1921

2014 Presidential Dollars

1. Warren G. Harding 1921-1923

2. Calvin Coolidge 1923-1929

3. Herbert Hoover 1929-1933

4. Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933-1945

2015 Presidential Dollars

1. Harry S. Truman 1945-1953

2. Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953-1961

3. John F. Kennedy 1961-1963

4. Lyndon B. Johnson 1963-1969

2016 Presidential Dollars

1. Richard M. Nixon 1969-1974

2. Gerald Ford 1974-1977

3. Ronald Reagan 1981-1989

What Are Presidential Dollar Coins Worth?

Generally, business-strike Presidential dollar coins are worth $2 to $3 in uncirculated condition. Proof specimens are valued at $7 to $10 each.

One of the most valuable Presidential dollar errors is the 2007 George Washington struck-planchet, unlettered-edge dollar error. It’s valued at $5,000 to $10,000.