The first "presidential" coin was the Lincoln cent. Lincoln's image was put on the coin in honor of his centennial anniversary. For a long time after that it was considered to be a kind of one-time decision, but in 1932 the Mint used similar thinking to issue a commemorative quarter in honor of George Washington's bicentennial anniversary. The coin was only supposed to be issued for one year but was so popular that the design was brought back in 1934 and we still have it today.
Those 2 decisions set the precedent for the use of presidential portraits in spite of George Washington's original insistence that coins should never carry portraits; he felt that it was similar to the practice of putting the King's image on a coin like they did in England.
Jefferson's image followed in 1938, because he is considered almost as important as Washington in founding the country. FDR's image went on the dime in 1946 because he had polio and was a founder of the March of Dimes to collect money for research.
When the Walking Liberty design expired in 1947 Ben Franklin was chosen as the first non-president, but that design lasted only until the Kennedy assassination. Originally the plans were to put his portrait on the quarter but it was felt it would be inappropriate to displace Washington, so the half was chosen instead as it was now the only coin not to have a president's image. Unfortunately the result was that the new halves were saved by the billions as mementos, effectively killing the denomination as a circulating coin.
Presidential portraits have now become so much a part of coinage that they are fiercely defended by the delegations from each leader's state, often for purely political purposes. For example when the Mint proposed removing Jefferson's portrait from the nickel, the VA delegation used parliamentary maneuvers to hold up almost all work in Congress until a bill was passed guaranteeing that TJ's picture would stay on the coin forever. Given that action, it's very unlikely that our coins will ever have any other images on them, sad to say.
They are not all presidents, e.g. Franklin, Chase.
Not counting Miss Liberty, nameless Native Americans, and the subjects of commemorative coins, there are Benjamin Franklin, Susan B. Anthony, Sacagawea (and her baby) . I think that's all.
either d. or a. but im gonna put d
The first was Abraham Lincoln on the 1909 Cent. Then came Washington on the 1932 Quarter. Third is Jefferson on the 1938 Nickel. Next is Franklin D Roosevelt who appeared on the 1946 Dime. John Kennedy came on the 1964 Half Dollar. Finally, Dwight D. Eisenhower appeared on the 1971 Dollar coin, rounding out the first six. Benjamin Franklin did appear on the half dollar in 1948, but he was never a President. Beginning in 2007, the US Mint has been issuing Dollar coins with the Presidents on them, four issues a year, in order of their Presidency.
No US presidents were named Nathaniel.
the presidents.
Abraham Lincoln
The Lincoln penny of 1909 was the first US coin with a president's face on it.
ben franklin Patrick Henry
They are not all presidents, e.g. Franklin, Chase.
I am guessing you are thinking of Mt. Rushmore . You could also be thinking of coins and paper money and older US stamps.
Purely an artistic decision. And not all presidents are facing any particular direction. Jefferson faces forward on the new 5¢ pieces issued starting in 2006 as do many of the images on Presidential $1 coins, for example.
george washinton
In 2000, Sacajawea was put on the back of the US Dollar coin, to honor her journey with Lewis and Clark across America. In 2007, the government began a program called the President $1 Coin. This is where they have put each of the presidents faces on the coin in the order that they became president. These coins are for collector use.
Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Jackson and Grant are found on current US notes. Lincoln, Jefferson, Franklin Roosevelt, Washington and Kennedy are found on coins. There is also a series of $1 coins being issued , one for each president in order.
The US Congress passed a law that ordered the US mint to issue these coins. The plan was to get people to use the one-dollar coins in place of the paper dollar bills and save millions in replacement costs. ( I do not know which Congressmen or senators pushed for the law.)
Mount Rushmore National Monument is the name of the landmark which has the carvings of the faces of four US Presidents. Mount Rushmore is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota near Keystone, SD.