The US Presidential Dollar coin program, which aimed to honor each US president, was stopped in 2011 after spending $720 million to mint 1.4 billion coins that were never used. The dollar coin program had only produced half of its planned production. If dollar coins replaced banknotes, the government could save $1 billion a year in production costs.
The US Presidential Dollar coin was made from 2007 to 2011. Each coin features the likeness of a US president. The program was intended to mimic the state quarter program, which minted quarters in honor of each of the 50 U.S. states. It cost about $50 million US dollars (USD) a year to make the dollar coins, but the demand for the coins was so low that 1.4 billion coins were relegated to vaults. The government stopped the program in December 2011 after spending more than $720 million to implement it.
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The presidential dollar is not the only US dollar coin. There are also Sacagawea dollars, 1804 dollars, Liberty dollars, Susan B. Anthony dollars, Morgan dollars, Peace dollars, and Flowing Hair dollars, among others.
The dollar coin program had only passed about half of its planned production before it was suspended.
Although dollar coins have cost taxpayers a lot of money by sitting unused, if they were used and the dollar bill was phased out, the coins would actually save money. This is because coins last much longer than banknotes; coins can last up to 30 years, but banknotes wear out about every 21 months. If paper dollars were replaced with coins, the government could save about $1 billion a year in production costs.
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