1 $ Native American Coin Program starts in 2009

[Freddy]

United States Mint Releases Designs for Native American $1 Coin on Native American Heritage Day

WASHINGTON - Today, Native American Heritage Day, the United States Mint is releasing the designs for the new 2009 Native American $1 Coin. Public Law 110-82 directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue the new $1 coin to recognize Native Americans for their contributions to the history and development of our Nation. The new coin, slated to be released into circulation in January 2009, will circulate along with the United States Mint's Presidential $1 Coins.

"We are proud to produce the Native American $1 Coin," said United States Mint Director Ed Moy. "When Americans use this coin, we hope they reflect on the tremendous contributions Native Americans have made, and continue to make, to our Nation."

Like the Presidential $1 Coins, the Native American $1 Coins will be minted in the distinctive gold-colored alloy. The coin's obverse (heads side) will feature the Golden Dollar's striking image of Sacagawea-the young Shoshone woman who accompanied Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their historic expedition-by sculptor Glenna Goodacre. Inscriptions on the obverse are LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST. The year, mint mark and E PLURIBUS UNUM are incused on the coin's edge.

The reverse (tails side) of the Native American $1 Coin will bear a new design each year. The featured design for 2009, by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Norman E. Nemeth, is based on an agricultural theme, a significant part of Native American culture. This design depicts a Native American woman planting seeds in a field of corn, beans and squash, representing the Three Sisters method of planting. Inscriptions on the reverse are UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and $1.

Throughout the Presidential $1 Coin Program, the Native American $1 Coins will be issued in chronological order, to the greatest extent possible, of the events or persons featured. The Secretary of the Treasury approves the designs after consulting with the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, the Congressional Native American Caucus of the House of Representatives, the National Congress of American Indians, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, and the Commission of Fine Arts.

The total quantity of Presidential $1 Coins and Native American $1 Coins minted and issued into circulation by the United States Mint will be sufficient to meet the Nation's needs. As required by law, at least 20 percent of all $1 coins minted and issued in any year will be Native American $1 Coins.

[dbl]

:hi:
A little bit about makeover of Sacagawea $1 and proposed designs for revers of the coin.

First was Public Law 110-82 Native American $1 Coin Act which gave base to the new reverse design.

By David L. Ganz, Numismatic News

Weighing in on the new reverse design for the Sacagawea dollar mandated by Congress, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee viewed more than a dozen designs June 18 before selecting a female Indian planting maize (corn) in a field. The design is intended for use on the 2009 dollar coin, which is the first that will host a Native American theme.

Each year thereafter a different Native American design will appear.

The design on the obverse is not necessarily the old Sacagawea design. It is to be chosen by the Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson, after consultation with the Commission of Fine Arts and review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

There are two requirements: it must

" contain the so-called "Sacagawea design" and
" the inscription "Liberty."
Despite recent difficulties with edge-lettering, the law requires that the inscription of the year of minting and issuance of the coin and the inscriptions "E Pluribus Unum" and "In God We Trust" are required to be edge-incused into the coin. The CCAC formally recommended the date movement, too.

There is a specific requirement that the edge-incusing of the inscriptions be done in a manner that preserves the distinctive edge of the coin so that the denomination of the coin is readily discernible, including by individuals who are blind or visually impaired.

There is an additional consultation requirement: designs selected for the reverse shall be chosen by the Treasury Secretary after consultation with the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate, the Congressional Native American Caucus of the House of Representatives, the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Congress of American Indians. They must further be reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

Congress suggested some design themes to offer its guidance on how the coins should be designed which appears at odds with the end result honoring agriculture. Specific examples appear in the law.

They "may depict individuals and events such as the creation of Cherokee written language, the Iroquois Confederacy, Wampanoag Chief Massasoit, the 'Pueblo Revolt,' Olympian Jim Thorpe, Ely S. Parker, a general on the staff of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, and later head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, code talkers who served the U.S. Armed Forces during World War I and World War II."

Nothing that could be considered a "two headed" coin would be permitted.

The law requires that each design for the reverse of the $1 coins issued during each year shall be emblematic of a single important Native American. Each $1 coin minted "shall be available throughout the entire one-year period," the new law says.

They also shall be issued, to the maximum extent practicable, in the chronological order in which the Native Americans lived or the events occurred, until the termination of the coin program. Numismatic coins are specifically denominated: "the Secretary may mint and issue such number of $1 coins of each design selected in uncirculated and proof qualities as the Secretary determines to be appropriate."

As to how many: the number of $1 coins minted and issued in a year with the Sacagawea design on the obverse shall be not less than 20 percent of the total number of $1 coins minted and issued in such year. Thus, dollar coin demand will be shared between the Presidential dollar program and the Sacagawea design.

Recognizing that there are "barriers to circulation," the bill directs the Secretary of the Treasury to "carry out an aggressive, cost-effective, continuing campaign to encourage commercial enterprises to accept and dispense $1 coins that have as designs on the obverse the so-called 'Sacagawea design,'" and calls for an annual report on the success of the efforts to be submitted to Congress.

CCAC's second choice was a design featuring three female Indians surrounded by squash, corn and beans. It represented the traditional Three Sisters system of planting the crops. To the Iroquois people, corn, beans, and squash are the Three Sisters - the physical and spiritual sustainers of life. The three vegetables comprised their main food supply. Iroquois women mixed their crops, using a system called "interplanting."

"What ended up carrying the day for our selection was how clearly it represented the theme of Native Americans and agriculture," CCAC chairman Mitch Sanders said. "We liked its aesthetic appeal and the fact that a Native American woman is shown being strongly involved in agriculture."

The ongoing Sacagawea program is expected to last until at least until 2016. Next stop is a mandatory review by the Commission of Fine Arts. Then Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will make a design choice for next year's dollar coinage.

[dbl]

:hi:
New Native American $1 Coins available January 2, 2009

More order info: http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/index.c ... ase&ID=970" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[dbl]

:hi:

United States Mint Introduces Native American $1 Coin to Open National Museum of the American Indian Multicultural Festival

United States Mint Director Ed Moy will introduce the 2009 Native American $1 Coin on Saturday, January 17, 2009, at 10:15 a.m. (ET), as part of the opening ceremonies of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) festival, "Out of Many: A Multicultural Festival of Music, Dance and Story." The news media, reporters and the public are invited to the free event that also includes a coin exchange at the United States Mint's Real Change Exchange Truck, where the public can exchange their paper currency for shiny new 2009 Native American $1 Coins. Children 18 years old and younger, who are present for the coin introduction, will receive a free Native American $1 Coin.

As authorized by Public Law 110-82, beginning this year, the United States Mint will mint and issue $1 coins featuring designs celebrating the important contributions made by Indian tribes and individual Native Americans to the history and development of the United States. The coin's reverse (tails side) design will change each year. The 2009 design, based on the theme of agriculture, features a Native American woman planting seeds in a field of corn, beans and squash and the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and $1. The obverse (heads side) design will continue to feature the "Sacagawea" design first produced in 2000, and the inscriptions LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST. Like the Presidential $1 Coins, the Native American $1 Coins maintain their distinctive edge and golden color and feature edge-lettering of the year, mint mark and E PLURIBUS UNUM.

NMAI's three-day festival-part of the inaugural events-runs from January 17 to January 19. Festivities include music, dancing and storytelling from a variety of cultural traditions. Live performances will take place in the NMAI's Potomac Atrium and other locations throughout the museum.

[dbl]

:hi:

United States Mint Offers Rolls of Native American $1 Coins on January 15

WASHINGTON - The United States Mint will offer numismatic sales of the new Native American $1 Coin at noon Eastern Time on January 15, 2009. The 25-coin rolls of Native American $1 Coins, offered at $35.95, contain circulating quality coins produced by the United States Mint facilities at Philadelphia and Denver. The coins are presented in distinctive numismatic packaging bearing the genuine United States Mint logo, mintage year, mint of origin and the dollar value of the contents.

[dbl]

:hi:

This 2009 Native American $1 Coin roll contains 25 coins and is wrapped with specially designed yellow and black paper. These Native American $1 Coins are circulating quality coins minted at the United States Mint at Philadelphia and have a “P” mint mark.

This 2009 Native American $1 Coin roll contains 25 coins and is wrapped with specially designed yellow and black paper. These Native American $1 Coins are circulating quality coins minted at the United States Mint at Denver and have a “D” mint mark.

Price of one roll: $35.95

[Kai]

usu1i.jpg