Photo courtesy of Erik N . Jansen
Circulated example of a Sacajawea dollar found in Ecuador by Erik N . Jansen . Such circulated examples are “ condition rarities ” in the United States .
staggering $ 41 million in marketing funds . There were an estimated 1,600 television commercials , print ads and radio advertisements , plus partnerships with both Walmart and General Mills .
The commercials presented actor Michael Keaton — sporting the head of George Washington from the $ 1 bill — discussing the benefits of the new dollar coin . In the commercials , he appears in several activities , including teaching an exercise class , purchasing a cup of coffee and traveling in space as an astronaut .
“ OK , so I ’ m not on the new golden dollar coin ,” says Keaton / Washington , “ that ’ s cool with me .” He then adds , “ The new coin is perfectly all right with me . In fact , I use it everywhere . It ’ s so money .”
In these decidedly strange advertisements , the Mint employs the slogan , “ changing the face of money .” For some reason , the ads appear to be an attempt at convincing the American consumer that having Sacajawea on the dollar coin was not a knock on the “ Father of Our Country .” In a different commercial , he says , “ I know what you ’ re thinking : Why isn ’ t George on it ?” Later we see him as an astronaut orbiting the Earth . “ Hey , change happens ,” he declares .
The US Mint formed a partnership with General Mills to develop a program involving Cheerios brand cereal in which 10 million boxes had a 2000 Lincoln cent enclosed ; one in every 2,000 boxes contained a Sacajawea dollar ; and one in every 4,400 boxes included a certificate redeemable for 100 “ golden dollars .” Around 5,500 of the new dollar coins were included in boxes of cereal .
Another corporate partner of the Mint was Walmart . More than 100 million Sacajawea dollars were sent to Walmart stores across the country and were released in-store beginning on January 30 , 2000 . The coins were given out as change up to $ 10 . This event marked the first time a US coin was ever distributed in this manner . However , the results were at best mediocre . The objective was to have the “ golden dollar ” become a circulating medium , which never happened to the Susan B . Anthony dollar . However , a majority of Walmart customers who received them wanted to keep them as souvenirs and not spend them .
The Walmart release caused confusion and contention . Sacajawea dollars were not released in banks until March , which was over a month after they first appeared at Walmart . Customers did not understand why they couldn ’ t get the new coins at their banks , while bankers were frustrated that they couldn ’ t distribute them . Additionally , small business owners were upset with the Walmart release . They were not able to acquire the Sacajawea dollars and take part in the release , feeling
Walmart was given an unfair advantage which could hurt their business .
Reception of the Sacajawea Dollar
The design of the Sacajawea dollar was seen as a vast improvement over the Susan B . Anthony dollar . Her image was more pleasant than the harsh portrayal of suffragette Anthony . Plus , the golden color was a welcome change to help set it apart from the quarter . The coin also had a smooth edge , which made it easy to distinguish by touch .
Initially , there was demand for the coins , but that was mostly with the intent of keeping , not spending them . People wanted to have them to give as gifts to children or put in collections . Also , there was criticism of the marketing of the coin . Advertised as the “ golden dollar ,” Sacajawea dollars did not actually contain any gold . They were produced with an alloy of copper , zinc , manganese and nickel . Critics felt that calling them “ golden ” was false and misleading .
The Mint trumpeted the new coin as a rousing success . “ The demand for the Golden Dollar featuring Sacajawea remains very high ,” said Mint Director Jay Johnson in a 2000 statement . In fact , the Mint declared that it was “ the most successful dollar coin in [ US ] history .” They added that they had “ shipped over
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