United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin & First Spouse Medal Set™ - Ulysses S. Grant Available July 7

WASHINGTON - Sales of the United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin & First Spouse Medal Set -Ulysses S. Grant will begin on July 7, 2011, at noon Eastern Time (ET).  The set, priced at $14.95, includes an uncirculated Ulysses S. Grant Presidential $1 Coin and a bronze medal bearing the likeness of Julia Grant that is featured on her First Spouse Gold Coin.  The coin and medal are encased in a durable plastic card enhanced with beautiful representations of the President's and first lady's portraits, with issuance information on the back.

Customers may place their orders at http://www.usmint.gov/catalog or at 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468).  Hearing- and speech-impaired customers with TTY equipment may place orders at 1-888-321-MINT (6468).  A $4.95 shipping and handling charge will be added to all domestic orders. 

The United States Mint, created by Congress in 1792, is the Nation's sole manufacturer of legal tender coinage and is responsible for producing circulating coinage for the Nation to conduct its trade and commerce.  The United States Mint also produces proof, uncirculated and commemorative coins; Congressional Gold Medals; and silver, gold and platinum bullion coins.

Note:  To ensure that all members of the public have fair and equal access to United States Mint products, orders placed prior to the official on-sale date and time of July 7, 2011, noon ET shall not be deemed accepted by the United States Mint and will not be honored.  For more information, please review the United States Mint's Frequently Asked Questions, Answer ID #175.

Ulysses S. Grant $1 Coin Cover Available June 29

WASHINGTON - The United States Mint announced today that it will begin accepting orders for the Ulysses S. Grant $1 Coin Cover on June 29, 2011, at noon Eastern Time (ET).

The limited-edition coin cover, priced at $19.95, includes two circulating quality 2011 Ulysses S. Grant Presidential $1 Coins from the first day of mintage at the United States Mint-March 7, 2011, for the United States Mint at Philadelphia, and March 2, 2011, for the United States Mint at Denver.  The coins are mounted on a handsome display card with a 44-cent postage stamp.  The postmark of "May 19, 2011" marks the day the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential $1 Coins were first released to the public.

Orders will be accepted at http://www.usmint.gov/catalog or at 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468).  Hearing- and speech-impaired customers with TTY equipment may order by calling 1-888-321-MINT (6468).  A shipping and handling fee of $4.95 will be added to all domestic orders.

Customers may also purchase the American Presidency $1 Coin Cover Series automatically, as the covers are released, through the United States Mint Online Subscription Program.  To learn more about this convenient ordering method, visit http://www.usmint.gov/catalog.

The United States Mint, created by Congress in 1792, is the Nation's sole manufacturer of legal tender coinage and is responsible for producing circulating coinage for the Nation to conduct its trade and commerce.  The United States Mint also produces proof, uncirculated and commemorative coins; Congressional Gold Medals; and silver, gold and platinum bullion coins.

Note:  To ensure that all members of the public have fair and equal access to United States Mint products, orders placed prior to the official on-sale date and time of June 29, 2011, noon ET shall not be deemed accepted by the United States Mint and will not be honored.  For more information, please review the United States Mint's Frequently Asked Questions, Answer ID #175.

United States Mint Launches Ulysses S. Grant Presidential $1 Coin

ST. LOUIS - The United States Mint and the National Park Service hosted a launch ceremony to celebrate the release of the new Ulysses S. Grant Presidential $1 Coin today, the 148th anniversary of Grant's Civil War Vicksburg campaign in Mississippi.

"Beginning today, Federal Reserve Banks are releasing millions of Ulysses S. Grant Presidential $1 Coins into circulation to be used by Americans everywhere in the nation," United States Mint Acting Deputy Director Al Runnels said in his remarks.  "Americans know Grant best as the victorious general in the Civil War, and these new coins can't help but remind us of that defining period in our history, but they will also connect America to Grant's two terms as our 18th President."   

John Marszalek, executive director of the Ulysses S. Grant Association, joined Runnels at the coin launch, which was held at the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site in St. Louis.  The site is where Grant and his wife Julia occasionally resided during the 1850s.  Members of the public who attended the event were among the first in the Nation to get the new $1 coin.  Following the ceremony, each attendee 18 years old and younger received a Ulysses S. Grant Presidential $1 Coin to commemorate the event, while adults exchanged their currency for 25-coin rolls of the new coin.

The Ulysses S. Grant Presidential $1 Coin is the 18th release in the United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin Program, authorized by Public Law 109-145, the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005.  The coin's obverse (heads side) features a portrait of former President Grant by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart and the inscriptions ULYSSES S. GRANT, IN GOD WE TRUST, 18th PRESIDENT and 1869-1877.  The coin's reverse (tails side), also by Everhart, features a dramatic rendition of the Statue of Liberty.  Inscriptions on the reverse are $1 and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, with E PLURIBUS UNUM, 2011 and the mint mark (P or D) incused on the edge.

Ulysses S. Grant was born in Ohio in 1822.  He attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and fought in the Mexican War under General Zachary Taylor.  At the outbreak of the Civil War, Grant was appointed to command an unruly volunteer regiment.  After he won battles at Vicksburg, Miss., and Chattanooga, Tenn., Lincoln appointed him general-in-chief in March 1864.  Grant, a symbol of Union victory during the Civil War, was the Republican Party's logical candidate for President in 1868.  During his administration, Yellowstone was established as the first national park, and Congress passed a bill calling for equal pay for women and men holding similar jobs in federal government agencies.  After retiring from the presidency, Grant learned that he had cancer of the throat.  At the suggestion of author Mark Twain, he wrote his memoirs.  Soon after completing the last page, he died on July 23, 1885.

The United States Mint, created by Congress in 1792, is the Nation's sole manufacturer of legal tender coinage and is responsible for producing circulating coinage for the Nation to conduct its trade and commerce.  The United States Mint also produces proof, uncirculated and commemorative coins; Congressional Gold Medals; and silver, gold and platinum bullion coins.