Old Rumor: New Dollar Coins Omitting “In God We Trust”

A rumor which has circulated for years states that the presidential dollar coins purposely omit the slogan “In God We Trust” on the front and back.

Not exactly.

While it is true that “In God We Trust” is not on the front or back of the dollar coins, the motto can be found on the edges of the coins. Let’s take a look at the rumor itself:

REFUSE NEW COINS
This simple action will make a strong statement.
Please help do this.. Refuse to accept these when they are
handed to you.
I received one from the Post Office as change and I asked for a dollar bill instead.
The lady just smiled and said ‘way to go’ , so she had read this e -mail.
Please help out..our world is in enough trouble without this too!!!!!
U.S. Government to Release
New Dollar Coins
You guessed it
‘IN GOD WE TRUST’IS GONE from the front and back!!!

If ever there was a reason to boycott something, THIS IS IT!!!!

DO NOT ACCEPT THE NEW DOLLAR COINS AS CHANGE

Together we can force them out of circulation..

Please send to all on your mailing list!

Missing Edge Text

The US Mint did accidentally release an unspecified quantity of these dollar coins without the motto on the edges. This occurred back in 2007, and it was covered by the media at the time, such as this CBS News report. It was corrected and a statement was released by the Mint:

The United States Mint has struck more than 300 million George Washington Presidential $1 Coins. We have recently learned that an unspecified quantity of these coins inadvertently left the United States Mint at Philadelphia without edge-lettering on them. It is unknown how many of these coins without inscriptions on the edge have been placed into circulation.

The United States Mint understands the importance of the inscriptions “In God We Trust” and “E Pluribus Unum,” as well as the mint mark and year on U.S. coinage. We take this matter seriously. We also consider quality control a high priority. The agency is looking into the matter to determine a possible cause in the manufacturing process.

Production of the Presidential $1 Coin, with its unique edge-lettering, is a new, complex, high volume manufacturing system, and the United States Mint is determined to make technical adjustments to perfect the process. As we adjust this new process, we intend to eliminate any such defects.

Consistent with the agency’s practice in such situations, the United States Mint has informed the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of the Treasury about this matter.

The rumor that the motto was intentionally left off has circulated on and off ever since 2007, when the error coins were put into circulation.

Presidential Dollar Coins

In 2011, the Treasury Department suspended production of the presidential coins due to unwanted and unused stockpiles of the coins. It was decided to produce the series in much smaller numbers, designed for collectors, rather than the millions that had been produced for general circulation.

The series is set to end in 2016 after Ronald Reagan is honored on the final coin.

Bottom Line

The motto “In God We Trust” can still be found on the edging of the modern presidential dollar coins, except for a few that were erroneously released into circulation in 2007.

Updated November 13, 2015
Originally published January 2013