Due to the lack of English currency, the coins used were escudos, Spanish pistols, Portuguese reis and French gold Louis, from neighboring colonies. Twenty dollar coins are also referred to as Liberty Head because the obverse of the coins depicts a portrait of Liberty.īetween colonization and 1792, the United States used mostly foreign currencies for trade. Nicknames and features of the 20 dollar gold coin A Liberty dollar

In total, approximately 175 million Liberty 20 dollar gold coins were put into circulation with a face value of 3.5 billion dollars. The Great Depression in 1933 brought an end to the production of the 20 dollar gold coin and all American gold coins. The quantities of gold were so large that it was easier and faster to create a large 20 dollar coin rather than smaller 5 or 10 dollar coins. Silver coins quickly disappeared and were replaced by 20 dollar gold coins. The value of silver surpassed that of gold and it became more attractive to melt silver coins into bullion. The influx of gold from California dramatically changed the world market for the metal. The government immediately took advantage of this and decided to create a new 20 dollar gold coin. The composition of the Presidential $1 Coins is identical to that of the Sacagawea Golden Dollar and the Native American $1 Coins.© Tony Oliver from Denver, CO, USA Wikimedia Accordingly, the Presidential $1 Coins feature larger, more dramatic artwork, as well as edge-incused inscriptions of the year of minting or issuance, “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” and the mint mark.įrom 2007 to 2016, the Mint issued four Presidential $1 Coins per year, each with a common reverse design featuring a striking rendition of the Statue of Liberty.

The Presidential $1 Coin Act (Public Law 109-145) seeks to revitalize the design of United States coins and return circulating coinage to its position as an object of aesthetic beauty in its own right. Regular circulating demand for the coins will be met through the Federal Reserve Bank’s existing inventory of circulating coins minted prior to 2012. Geithner directed that the United States Mint suspend minting and issuing circulating Presidential $1 Coins. Note: In December 2011, Secretary of the Treasury Timothy F. The program began in 2007 with Presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison. The United States Mint honors our nation’s presidents by issuing $1 coins featuring their images in the order that they served.

Us 20 dollar gold coin