Coin of the Week: 2008 Martin Van Buren Presidential Dollar

Obverse (Image: Martin van Buren)

Reverse (Image: Statue of Liberty)

My son got this Martin van Buren Presidential coin last week. He kept asking me questions about this President, and though I love history (that's why I collect coins!), I didn't know too much about Van Buren. Here's a short summary about the coin and our 8th President.

In 2007, the United States began circulating $1 coins in honor of this nation's Presidents. Four Presidential coins are being issued per year through 2016. According to the US Mint, "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. Accordingly, the new Presidential $1 coins will feature larger, more dramatic artwork, as well as edge-incused inscriptions of the year of minting or issuance, 'E Pluribus Unum', 'In God We Trust' and the mint mark." (Source: US Mint)

From what I've been reading, this Act has not been as successful as the government hoped it would be.

Martin Van Buren was the 8th president of the United States. Before that, he was the 8th Vice President and 10th Secretary of State. Van Buren was the first President born an American citizen and also the first not of British descent. Dutch was his mother tongue, and he had a distinct Dutch accent when speaking English. Van Buren was a widower when he entered the White House, and due to the Panic of 1837 and the five-year depression that followed it, was only elected for one term. He's quoted as having said: "As to my presidency, the best two days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it." I'm sure a lot of Presidents can relate to this!

You can find out more about Martin van Buren here.