WASHINGTON — The United States Mint announced today that it will accept orders for rolls of Franklin Pierce Presidential $1 Coins starting May 20, 2010, at noon Eastern Time (ET). Each roll, priced at $35.95, contains 25 circulating quality $1 coins from either the United States Mint at Philadelphia or Denver. The coins are wrapped in specially designed packaging that displays the mint of origin (P or D), the face value of the contents ($25) and the genuine United States Mint logo.
The obverse (heads side) of the Franklin Pierce Presidential $1 Coin was designed by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program Master Designer Susan Gamble and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor–Engraver Charles L. Vickers. The design features the likeness of Pierce and the inscriptions FRANKLIN PIERCE, IN GOD WE TRUST, 14TH PRESIDENT and 1853–1857. The coin’s reverse (tails side) design is by United States Mint Sculptor–Engraver Don Everhart. The reverse design–common to all Presidential $1 Coins–features the iconic Statue of Liberty, the coin’s face value and the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The inscriptions 2010, E PLURIBUS UNUM and the mint of origin are incused on the coin’s edge.
Orders will be accepted at http://www.usmint.gov/catalog, or at 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. Additionally, customers who wish to receive automatic shipments of the Presidential $1 Coin rolls may enroll in the United States Mint Online Subscription Program. Visit http://www.usmint.gov/catalog for more information about this convenient ordering method.
Franklin Pierce, our Nation’s 14th President, was born on November 23, 1804, in Hillsboro, New Hampshire. He was elected to the New Hampshire legislature, and later served in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. In 1847, he served briefly as a brigadier general in the Mexican–American War. Largely unknown to the public, Pierce was nominated for President in 1852 by the Democratic Party as a compromise candidate. Partly because of his strong support for the Compromise of 1850, which attempted to mitigate the slavery issue and preserve the Union, Pierce was elected President and served from 1853 to 1857. Denied re–nomination by his party for President in 1856, he retired from politics at the end of his term. He died on October 8, 1869, in Concord, New Hampshire.
The United States Mint, which was created by Congress in 1792, is the Nation’s sole manufacturer of legal tender coinage. Its primary mission is to produce an adequate volume of circulating coinage for the Nation to conduct its trade and commerce. The United States Mint also produces proof, uncirculated and commemorative coins; Congressional Gold Medals; and silver, gold and platinum bullion coins.
Note: To ensure that all members of the public have fair and equal access to United States Mint products, orders placed prior to the official on–sale date and time of May 20, 2010, noon ET, shall not be deemed accepted by the United States Mint and will not be honored. For more information, please review the United States Mint’s Frequently Asked Questions, Answer ID #175.