The United States Mint will accept orders for rolls of Zachary Taylor Presidential $1 Coins at its online catalog, http://www.usmint.gov/catalog, beginning at noon Eastern Time (ET) on November 19, 2009. Each roll, priced at $35.95, contains 25 circulating quality $1 coins from either the United States Mint facility at Philadelphia or Denver. The coins are wrapped in packaging that displays the mint of origin (P or D), the face value of the contents ($25) and the United States Mint logo.

United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart designed and sculpted the obverse (heads side) and the reverse (tails side) of the Zachary Taylor Presidential $1 Coin. The obverse features Taylor’s dramatic portrait with the inscriptions ZACHARY TAYLOR, IN GOD WE TRUST, 12TH PRESIDENT and 1849-1850. The reverse features a striking rendition of the Statue of Liberty, with the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the coin’s face value. The inscriptions 2009, E PLURIBUS UNUM and the mint of origin are incused on the coin’s edge.

Customers may also order the Zachary Taylor Presidential $1 Coins by calling 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Hearing- and speech-impaired customers may call 1-888-321-MINT (6468). A shipping and handling fee of $4.95 will be added to all domestic orders. As an added convenience, customers may enroll in the United States Mint’s Online Subscription Program to receive future rolls of Presidential $1 Coins as they are released. Visit http://www.usmint.gov/catalog for more information about this convenient ordering method.

Zachary Taylor was born in 1784 in Virginia. Shortly after his birth, his family relocated to Kentucky, where he spent his youth. Taylor enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of 23 and acquired the nickname “Old Rough and Ready” during his long military career. A national hero of the Mexican-American War, Taylor was an attractive presidential candidate, but he was also an independent thinker who did not always follow party lines. He became ill after attending a long ceremony at the Washington Monument on a hot Independence Day in 1850. He died five days later, having served only 16 months in office. (more…)

The United States Mint launched the fourth 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Coin today in a ceremony held at the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial located below the west front of the U.S. Capitol Building. The coin, bearing a reverse (tails side) design emblematic of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency in Washington, D.C., is the final coin in the 2009 Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Program.

“The fourth and final 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Coin design evokes the historical challenges of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency,” said United States Mint Director Ed Moy. “The image of an incomplete U.S. Capitol symbolizes the unfinished business of a Nation torn apart by slavery and the Civil War.”

Donald R. Kennon, Chief Historian of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, and Eileen R. Mackevich, Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, joined in the ceremonial launch. Following the ceremony, adults exchanged their currency for two to six rolls of 2009 Lincoln “Presidency” Bicentennial One-Cent Coins. Children ages 18 and younger received a newly minted one-cent coin to commemorate the event.

The reverse of the 2009 Lincoln “Presidency” Bicentennial One-Cent Coin features the partially completed U.S. Capitol dome, symbolizing Lincoln’s resolve as he guided the country through its gravest crisis. Inscriptions on the reverse are UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM and ONE CENT. The coin’s obverse (heads side) features sculptor Victor David Brenner’s familiar image of President Lincoln, which debuted in 1909. Inscriptions on the obverse are IN GOD WE TRUST, LIBERTY and 2009.
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Last Coin in Series Honors Abraham Lincoln’s Presidency

The public is invited to join United States Mint Director Ed Moy at a special ceremony to launch the final coin in the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One Cent Coin Program, honoring Abraham Lincoln’s presidency in Washington, D.C. The ceremony will take place 10 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) Thursday, November 12, at the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial Statue located below the west front of the U.S. Capitol Building. Invited guests include Dr. Donald Kennon, Chief Historian of the U. S. Capitol Historical Society, and Eileen Mackevich, Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. Children 18 years and younger will receive a new “Presidency” Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Coin to commemorate the event. The news media are welcome to attend.

The design selected for aspect four of Lincoln’s life features the half-finished United States Capitol dome, symbolizing a Nation torn apart by civil war and the resolve Lincoln showed as he guided the country through its most grave crisis. .

The coin’s obverse (heads) continues to bear Victor David Brenner’s familiar likeness of Lincoln.

Following the ceremony, the public can exchange their currency-while supplies last-for a minimum of two rolls and up to six rolls of coins bearing the new Lincoln “Presidency” design. (Limits are subject to change.)

As authorized by law, the United States Mint has issued a series of four pennies this year to honor the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth and the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln cent. The coins’ reverse (tails side) design reflects four different aspects, or themes, of President Lincoln’s life: his birth and early childhood in Kentucky; his formative years in Indiana; his professional life in Illinois; and his presidency in Washington, D.C. The obverse (heads side) of the coins continues to feature Victor David Brenner’s likeness of President Lincoln that has graced the coin since 1909.
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