PORTLAND, Ore. — The Sacagawea dollar coin was a dud. So how about Millard Fillmore? Maybe a Calvin Coolidge?
The U.S. Mint’s two tries to introduce a dollar coin in recent years tanked. But they’re trying again, this time with coins honoring the presidents, and Portland is one of four cities picked for a promotional campaign. The other cities for are Charlotte, N.C., Austin, Texas, and Grand Rapids, Mich.
The silver-colored Susan B. Anthony dollar was easily mistaken for a quarter.
The gold-colored dollar coin honoring Sacagawea, the Shoshone interpreter for Lewis and Clark, whose statue graces Portland’s Forest Park, didn’t do any better.
Now the mint is betting on America’s greening conscience to make a new effort succeed.
“With the $1 Presidential Coin, every man, woman and child will make a personal statement about the money they spend,” says GolinHarris, the Chicago PR firm hired to market the idea.
The coin’s life expectancy is about 25 years. It can be melted down for new coins.
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