U.S. Mint Releases Millard Fillmore Presidential $1 Coin

February 23rd, 2010

Moravia, N.Y., February 23, 2010 -- The United States Mint on February 18 released into circulation a Presidential $1 Coin bearing the portrait of Millard Fillmore, the nation's 13th President.

United States Mint Deputy Director Andy Brunhart officially introduced the coin in a ceremony at Moravia Central School in Moravia, N.Y.

"Each new Presidential $1 Coin is an opportunity to learn the stories of men like Millard Fillmore, who served in our Nation's highest office," said Deputy Director Brunhart.

The ceremony, co-hosted by the United States Mint and the Cayuga-Owasco Lakes Historical Society, included participation by local school children who received the new coin. The coin is the 13th release in the United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin Program.

The coin's obverse (heads side) features the bold portrait of former President Fillmore by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart. The coin's reverse (tails side), also by Everhart, features a dramatic rendition of the Statue of Liberty. Inscriptions on the reverse are $1 and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, with E PLURIBUS UNUM, 2010, the mint mark (P or D) and 13 stars appearing on the edge of the coin.

The Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 directed that the U.S. honor its Presidents by issuing four Presidential $1 Coins each year beginning in 2007. The coins are issued in the order that the Presidents served in office. The other Presidents to be honored in 2010 are Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln.

Millard Fillmore was born in Locke (now Summerhill), New York, on January 7, 1800. Fillmore, a lawyer, entered politics in 1828, first in the New York State Assembly and later in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he chaired the powerful Committee on Ways and Means.

He was elected to serve as President Zachary Taylor's vice president in 1848, and upon Taylor's death in July 1850, Fillmore became President.

Fillmore made two unsuccessful attempts to be elected to the presidency in his own right. He retired to Buffalo, New York, and in 1862 was named the first chancellor of the University of Buffalo, now the State University of New York at Buffalo. Fillmore died in Buffalo on March 8, 1874.

The United States Mint, 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.