[1] A new coin was released on December 4, 2020, to honor George H. W. Bush, who died after the original program ended.

The text of the act does not specify the color of the coins, but per the U.S. Mint "the specifications will be identical to those used for the current Golden dollar".

This marked the first time since the St. Gaudens Double Eagle (1907–1933) that the United States had issued a coin with edge lettering for circulation.

The process was started to discourage the shaving of gold coin edges, a practice which was used to cheat payees.

The act had been introduced because of the failure of the Sacagawea $1 coin to gain widespread circulation in the United States.

However, Federal Reserve officials indicated to Congress that "if the Presidential $1 Coin Program does not stimulate substantial transactional demand for dollar coins, the requirement that the Mint nonetheless produce Sacagawea dollars would result in costs to the taxpayer without any offsetting benefits."

In that event, the Federal Reserve indicated that it would "strongly recommend that Congress reassess the one-third requirement.

"[12] The one-third requirement was later changed to one-fifth by the Native American $1 Coin Act,[13] passed on September 20, 2007.

[14] On March 8, 2007, the United States Mint announced, that on February 15, 2007, an unknown number of George Washington presidential $1 coins were released into circulation without their edge inscriptions (the U.S. mottos, "In God We Trust" and "E pluribus unum", the coin's mint mark, and its year of issuance; i.e. E PLURIBUS UNUM • IN GOD WE TRUST • 2007 X (where X is either P or D)).

[15][16] Because one of the inscriptions missing from the coins is the motto "In God we trust", some articles on the subject have referred to them as "godless dollars".

In early March 2007, a Colorado couple found a dollar coin which had not been struck with a die pair (missing the portrait of the president and the Statue of Liberty), but with edge lettering on the otherwise-blank planchet.

Such upside-down coins have been sold on auction websites like eBay and Amazon for greater than their face value, though they represent roughly 50% of the minted population.

[21] By 2011, 1.4 billion uncirculated $1 coins were stockpiled,[22] which, if laid flat, could reach from Los Angeles to Chicago.

[23] Rep. Jackie Speier of California circulated a "Dear Colleague" letter recommending that the U.S. not produce any dollar coins.

[25] On December 13, 2011, Vice President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced that the minting of presidential $1 coins for circulation would be suspended.

Reverse proof issues were made for the coins depicting Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush from 2015 to 2020.

Each coin has a unique reverse design featuring an image emblematic of that spouse's life and work, as well as the words "The United States of America", "E Pluribus Unum", "$10", "1/2 oz.

The United States Mint also produces and makes available to the public bronze medal duplicates of the first spouse gold coins which are not legal tender.

Since there was no first lady during his presidency, the act explicitly states that Alice Paul, who was born during his term, would appear on this coin.