Annual Report to the Congress on the Presidential $1 Coin Program
2012
Print- Background
- Recent Activities
Recent Activities
Since our 2011 annual report, there was a substantial change to the Presidential $1 coin program. On December 13, 2011, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) announced that the Secretary had suspended the minting of Presidential $1 coins for circulation.1 The United States Mint, however, will continue to mint and issue circulation quality Presidential $1 coins in the new designs to meet collector demand.2 As a result of this change, the Federal Reserve Banks (Reserve Banks) have been meeting depository institution demand with existing $1 coin inventories.
The Federal Reserve held regularly scheduled meetings with depository institutions to gather feedback about demand for $1 coins and potential obstacles to their circulation.3 Participants indicated that the suspension of minting Presidential $1 coins for circulation has eliminated operational challenges associated with distributing the $1 coin, and they have received only a few questions from customers about obtaining newly minted $1 coins. Board staff has also received few calls on this topic.
As noted in our 2011 report, the Federal Reserve had planned to construct a new facility at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas to house growing inventories of $1 coins.4 As a result of the Treasury’s decision, Reserve Banks are receiving fewer $1 coins from depository institutions, so the Federal Reserve has decided not to proceed with the construction of the new facility.
References
1. Treasury's announcement can be found at http://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/Pages/Reducing-the- Surplus-Dollar-Coin-Inventory-Saving-Taxpayer-Dollars.aspx. Return to text
2. As of early June, the United States Mint has sold approximately 1.8 million Native American $1 coins and almost 7.5 million Chester Arthur and 4.5 million Grover Cleveland Presidential $1 coins. Chester Arthur and Grover Cleveland are the first presidents to be commemorated following the Treasury’s decision to halt minting Presidential $1 coins for circulation. Return to text
3. Beginning in 2008, the Federal Reserve and the United States Mint agreed to meet with their respective coin user groups through our normal channels each year of the program and share feedback as appropriate. Return to text
4. The 2011 Annual Report to the Congress on the Presidential $1 coin program can be found at http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/rptcongress/dollarcoin/2011/dollarcoin2011.pdf. Return to text
