Mint Showcases Bold New Coin

Dollar Gets Makeover With Presidential Faces, Modern Look

U.S. Mint Director Edmund C. Moy gave runway treatment yesterday to a new series of $1 coins bearing the faces of U.S. presidents.

"Having lettering on the edge gives each coin a very modern, kind of hip and cool look," he said.

"As we search through our coins, these will really stand out."

And: "Americans will know it's in their pocket."

Ka- ching.

For the first time since 1932, the phrases " E pluribus unum" and "In God We Trust," the year and the mint markings all move to the edge of the coin, to free up more space on the face of the coin for the design -- presidential visage on the front, Lady Liberty on the back -- big and bold, gold and splashy.

The series' first four coins enter circulation Feb. 15. But currency insiders got a sneak peak yesterday at a design unveiling in the National Portrait Gallery yesterday.

Paraded before a Mint-and-Fed-heavy crowd came renderings of George Washington, projecting authority in high-necked cravat with bold "1st President" lettering; John Adams, second president, but no second fiddle in a pointed collar and bold, brassy buttons; Thomas Jefferson, page-boyed and slightly smiling, the series's cute third Beatle; and James Madison, a coin with the confidence to carry off curls, ponytail and a receding hairline.

The new designs take aim at Americans' negativity about $1 coins spawned by the 1979 introduction of the historic yet frumpy Susan B. Anthony dollar, an issue whose lack of big-ticket attitude had everybody mistaking it for a quarter.

Next came Sacagawea, a bolder and flashy gold coin with more tactile detailing and an electronic signature that fairly shouts to humans and vending machines, I am a dollar, dammit.

The new dollars retain Sacagawea's distinguishing features, while building on the popularity of the 50-state quarters series, an issue that had 140 million consumers wanting all 50 pieces in their drawers.

"We believe over half the American populace is interested in using these coins and in collecting these coins," Moy said, citing market research. "The 50-state quarters have been so popular among educators [that] teachers downloaded over 3 million lesson plans" issued by the mint, which plans similar materials for the dollar issue.

Four presidents in the order they served will debut on a dollar every year. "Having rotating designs makes Americans look at their change more often, and the more they notice them more they use them," Moy said. "There will be a new coin design every three months."

Expecting a big splash, the mint offers banks a chance to order the new issue two weeks in advance of its debut, "so they're ready to distribute the day they go into circulation," Moy said.

Ever the tastemaker, New York has already announced plans for parking meters that accept one-dollar coins, Moy said.

Can cheesy North Korean knockoffs be far behind?

Moy laughed, all confidence. "I'd like to see foreign counterfeiters make these and ship them," he said. "They're heavy."