Sacagawea Dollar Coins: Minting A Legend

Sacagawea was a woman of Native American ancestry, the wife of French trapper Toussaint Charbonneau, in the early 1800s. When Lewis and Clark started their expedition to map the American west, they chose Charbonneau to join them because Sacagawea spoke the languages of the peoples they would encounter. It is in this role, translating for Lewis and Clark, that Sacagawea is best known to us today.
The American gold dollar coin minted in 2000 immortalized this brave and fearless woman. It was hoped that these dollars would eventually eliminate the paper one dollar bill, but that didn't occur. Because of this, the Sacagawea dollar coins have not been circulated as hoped and 2003 will be the last year of minting. A new edition of his coin has been approved by congress and will be minted in 2009.
There are currently only about one billion of Sacagawea dollar coins in circulation today. The US reserve has approximately 250 million in reserve. They are used by the United States Postal service to dispense change at stamp machines. They are also used by gambling casinos in their slot machines, and by subway and bus systems.
Some coin dealers now carry genuine Sacagawea dollar coins that bear "edge lettering" with unusual phrases like "Darwin Rules" and "In God We Lust". Though coin dealers admit that the edge lettering was not applied at the US Mint when the coins were made, people who trade dollar coins as a hobby are often interested in these unique spoof coins.
Some Sacagawea coin fans have dedicated message boards and blogs to the hard-to-find coin. Some collectors are surprised that these coins are not accepted by vending machines, something that will not likely change in the near future. Enthusiasts trade Sacagawea dollars in order to have a coin minted during each year. Some even make an effort to put as many of the coins into circulation as possible, deliberately collecting and spending them.
The reissue of this golden coin schedule for 2009 could ignite new interest and use by the average consumer. Paper dollars are not a popular investment because they tend to fade and even tear as they age. By contrast, you can still find pennies circulating that were issued back in the 1930's, which shows the durability of metal coins. It is possible that the new Sacagawea coin might just change our paper based currency system once and for all.

By: Menachem Green

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Sacagawea was a translator on the famous Lewis and Clark expedition. The American gold dollar coin was minted in 2000, they were not popular and 2003 will be the last year of minting. A new edition will be minted in 2009. The Sacagawea dollar coins are used by United States Post Offices to give change in their automated stamp machines. The coins are also used in slot machines and in transit systems.