Coin of the Month

Hayes Presidential $1 Coin

For October's coin, I've got the newest Presidential $1 Coin, honoring Rutherford Birchard Hayes.  As it turns out, President Hayes was born in October... October 4, 1822, to be exact.

I love the Presidential $1 Coin Program because it lets me make new friends with past U.S. Presidents.  President Hayes is one of those who I didn't know much about, but he tried to accomplish a lot and sometimes succeeded during his one term in office.  For example:

• He ended Reconstruction by pulling the last troops out of the South, as he had promised during his campaign.
• He supported a strong monetary system, opposing the Bland-Allison Act.
• He supported Civil Service reform to fight the corruption of the "spoils" system...that is, choosing people to fill government posts based on their loyal political support rather than their qualifications to do the job.
• He settled a land dispute between Paraguay and Argentina in Paraguay's favor.  (Because of this, President Hayes has a town, a province, a museum, a soccer team, and a holiday named after him in Paraguay.)

And by the way, a warship was named after Hayes:  the USS President Hayes.  The ship performed some important tasks during World War II, moving troops and supplies through the South and Central Pacific and bringing veterans home after the war.

Find out more about this president on the Rutherford B. Hayes 2011 page.

—Bill