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Native American $1 Coins
“To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue coins in commemoration of Native Americans and the important contributions made by Indian tribes and individual Native Americans to the development of the United States and the history of the United States, and for other purposes.” Public Law 110-82
Beginning in 2009, the United States Mint will mint and issue $1 coins featuring designs celebrating the important contributions made by Indian tribes and individual Native Americans to the history and development of the United States. The obverse design remains the central figure of the "Sacagawea" design first produced in 2000, and contains the inscriptions LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST. The reverse design changes each year to celebrate an important contribution of Indian tribes, or individual Native Americans, and contain the inscriptions $1 and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Like the Presidential $1 Coins, the Native American $1 Coins maintain their distinctive edge and golden color and feature edge-lettering of the year, mint mark and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
The 2009 Native American $1 Coin reverse features a Native American woman planting seeds in a field of corn, beans and squash and the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and $1.
Until the conclusion of the Presidential $1 Coin Program, the coins will be issued, to the maximum extent practicable, in chronological order of the events or lives of the persons being featured on the reverse design. In general, five distinct $1 coins will be issued each year -- four Presidential $1 Coins and one Native American $1 Coin. After the completion of the Presidential $1 Coin Program, the Native American $1 Coin Program will continue, featuring designs in any order determined to be appropriate by the Secretary of the Treasury after consultation with the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, the House of Representatives Congressional Native American Caucus and the National Congress of American Indians.
The United States Mint will prepare a timeline of events and personal contributions of Native Americans for the program until at least 2016. This timeline will be used to create candidate designs for consideration. At various stages in the evaluation process, the United States Mint will consult with the Committee on Indian Affairs, Congressional Native American Caucus, National Congress of American Indians, U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee. The Secretary of the Treasury makes the final selection of designs to be minted and issued.
The United States Mint will continue to produce Presidential $1 Coins and Native American $1 Coins so that the total quantity of $1 coins minted and issued for circulation is sufficient to meet the needs of the Nation. The law requires that at least 20 percent of all such $1 coins minted and issued in any year be Native American $1 Coins.