George Washington Dollar Coin Value: How Much Is It Worth Today?

The George Washington dollar coin is the first in the presidential coin series. It was created to honor the contributions of America’s first president- George Washington, so it holds history and legacy. If you are wondering about the George Washington dollar coin value, keep reading to determine if you’ve struck gold.

George Washington Dollar Coin Value Chart
Mint Mark	Good- Extremely Fine	Uncirculated	Choice Uncirculated	Gem Uncirculated
2007- “P” George Washington Dollar Coin	$1	$3	$5	$7-8
2007- “D” George Washington Dollar Coin	$1	$3	$2-5	$7-8
2007- “S” George Washington Dollar Coin	N/A	N/A	$3	$4

George Washington P Mint Mark Dollar Coin Value

The origin of the George Washington dollar coins lies in a program enacted by the United States mint on January 1, 2007. This program was meant to produce coins with the images of past presidents on the obverse of the coins according to how each of these presidents served while in office.

For an ex-president to qualify for this honorary campaign, the Mint necessitated that the candidate must have passed on at least two years before the production of these mints. They tagged this program the Presidential $1 Coin Program.

While these coins carried the faces of these notable individuals on the obverse, the reverse features the famous Statue of Liberty, an accurate representation of the national value. The George Washington Dollar is the first of this series, you can check its nowadays value with Coin Value Checker.

The United States mint released the first set of the George Washington Dollar on February 15, 2007, a few days before the traditional honorary celebration, Presidents’ day, observed on February 19 every year.

Furthermore, these George Washington coins and the others like them were not only for celebratory or honorary purposes. The Mint had hoped that producing these mints would help educate the people about the past presidents and their history.

This was not the only intention the Mint had; they had also hoped that in any case, if the coin did not perform as well as they would have preferred, it would become a favorite among coin collectors like in the case of the state quarters and would likely generate much seigniorage for the Mint.

At the beginning of 2011, $ 1.4 billion of uncirculated presidential dollars were registered as stockpiled, which led to the suspension of the coins. This is thanks to Jackie Speier, a congresswoman in California who spread a Dear Colleague letter suggesting the suspension of the production of the coins.

On December 13, 2011, Vice President Joe Biden and Timothy Geithner, the treasury secretary, finally announced the suspension of these coins and stated that any more production would be in lesser quantities and for coin collection alone.

However, not all the late presidents had their honorary coin at the time of suspension. The implication was that it would take another act of congress to bring back the production of the presidential coins.

Remember that the eligibility of this Act is based on the premise that the candidate must be deceased for at least two years, and the last presidential coin was the Ronald Regan pile leaving George Bush out of the mix.

John Cornyn eventually initiated the bill to help George Bush be honored like the other presidents, including the first spouse dollar for his partner. This bill was signed by Donald Trump in 2020, the president at that time. 

First President and Founding Father George Washington, who served two terms from April 30, 1789, to March 4, 1797, was married to Martha Washington. Her portrait is also featured in the first spouse coin series, which began in 2007 to honor the late wives of former Presidents of the United States of America. 

Under Former President George Washington’s Administration, some notable coin legislation include,

• The Coinage Act of April 2, 1792, was termed the Mint Act. The Act established the United States Mint to be in Philadelphia. When this Act was established, Philadelphia was also the nation’s capital. 
• Act of May 8, 1792, which gave the mint director the authority to purchase as much as 150 tonnes of copper for the production of cents and half cents
• Act of January 14, 1793, which established what the metal contents of the cents and half cents should be
• Act of February 9, 1793, established foreign exchange rates and spelled the end of using foreign currency as legal tender in the United States.
• Act of March 3, 1794, and the Act of March 3, 1795 

After minting the George Washington dollar coin in 2007, it was issued for only three months before the next president- John Adams- was honored.

Obverse

On the obverse of the George Washington dollar coin, you will find the left-facing portrait of George Washington. Above and around the obverse, right over the portrait of the ex-president, his name- George Washington, is inscribed. 

Finally, the words 1st president 1789-1797 are inscribed curved at the bottom. Joseph Menna, a medallic artist, designed this obverse.

Reverse

On the reverse of the George Washington dollar coin, like other dollar coins in the presidential coin series, the Liberty statue stands firm with the inscription- the United States of America above. The reverse, which is the work of sculptor and Engraver Don Everhart, adorns a face value price of $1.

Details

Aside from the mentioned details on the obverse and reverse, some other details worthy of note are that the coin’s edges are lettered. These inscriptions include- “IN GOD WE TRUST ”, “E PLURIBUS UNUM”, 2007, and mint mark “P”. The mint mark is engraved right after the year of issue, 2007. 

Also, although golden in color, the Washington dollar is made of 88.5% copper, 6% zinc, 3.5% manganese, and 2% nickel. Its diameter is 26.5mm, its weight is 8.1 grams, and 176,680,000 coins were produced and circulated.

Value Guide

Grade, category, condition, historical significance, and demand are heavy players in the value of any coin, regardless of mint marks. Also, it is noteworthy for you to remember that the coins’ value changes over time. This change is dependent on varying factors like historical events and market circumstances.

However, one way to get an expert opinion on the value of the George Washington dollar is through professional coin graders. Ultimately, a coin’s value can change for several reasons, but an error coin can be a game-changer.   

P mint mark George Washington dollar coins are either special or regular. Those that are specially struck are also called special strike satin finish Presidential dollar coins. They were produced for coin collectors and can cost as high as $500 for SP69 grades, while regular strike coins in this series can cost as high as $575 for MS65 grade. 

You also need to know that both varieties can take either the A or B position. This indicates the placement of the edge lettering is in respect to the portrait on the obverse. 

Position B is given to Washington dollar coins with edge lettering that appear to be placed correctly when the portrait is upright. Position A on the other hand is the reverse and here when the portrait on the obverse is upright, the edge letterings will appear incorrectly placed.

George Washington D Mint Mark Dollar Coin Value

The George Washington dollar coins with the D mint mark were minted in Denver, and number 163,680,000. The Mint in Denver released several error coins into circulation, including double-edge letter inverted and double-edge letter overlap errors. 

Low-grade D mint mark coins in the George Washington Presidential series are only worth face value. However, their value increases with the presence of errors and the condition of the coin. 

A D mint mark George Washington dollar coin can cost as much as $450. As per eBay, one Denver-minted George Washington dollar sold for $1575 on August 15, 2018. The special strike series can go as high as $55, depending on the coin’s grade. 

George Washington S Mint Mark Dollar Coin Value

This variety of the George Washington dollar with mint mark S was minted in San Francisco. During the period the Presidential series were produced, this Mint only produced and circulated Proof coins. With 3,965,989 of this coin variety in circulation, this George Washington dollar coin variety is less common than the other two varieties- P and D.  

Furthermore, they were sold as a set that included the John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison Presidential dollar coin. Currently, the George Washington-proof coins sell up to $6 and above. As of 2013, this variety has an auction record on eBay of up to $329 for a PR70. 

George Washington Dollar Coin Grading

Like every other coin, the George Washington dollar coins are graded as good, fine, extremely fine, and uncirculated. However, the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) has graded this coin into three categories. 

These categories include- regular strike, proof, and special strike. For regular and special strikes, only mint marks, “P” and “D”, are graded under this category. While “S” is the only mint mark graded under the proof coin category. 

For regular strikes, gradings like 2007 P George Washington, 2007 P George Washington Position A, 2007 P George Washington Position B, 2007 D George Washington, 2007 D George Washington position A, 2007 D George Washington position B, and 2007 George Washington missing edge lettering. 

While for special strikes, gradings like 2007 P George Washington position A satin finish, 2007 P George Washington position B satin finish, 2007 D George Washington position A satin finish, 2007 D George Washington position B satin finish, and 2007 George Washington missing edge lettering satin finish.

However, looking out for the above gradings, it is also important to look out for dents, missing lettering, and any other feature in your coin that might make it unique. 

George Washington Dollar Coin Error List

The edge lettering error is common to the George Washington dollar coin. However, most of these other errors are subsets to it. 

Over the years, various variations of this error have been seen to have surfaced, from improper spacing to the edge to partial or missing edge lettering and double-edge lettering. Please keep reading to understand their differences and how they occur. 

George Washington Dollar Coin Improperly Spaced / Partially Spaced Edge Lettering

This type of error occurs during the edge lettering procedure. Here, the coin slips while in the edge lettering machine. For this error to be recognized as a mint error, the improper/partial spacing must be very obvious. This type of error coin is worth, at most, $10.

George Washington Dollar Coin No Edge Lettering Error

As earlier said, edge lettering is a second step in minting after the coin has been struck. Therefore, missing or no edge lettering errors can occur as the critical lettering step might be missed, and the coins are easily bagged. This type of error coin is worth, at most, $10.

George Washington Dollar Coin Clad/Planchet Missing Layer Error

The metal composition of the George Washington dollar coin is similar to the Sacagawea dollar. Therefore, the possibility of this coin missing the clad exists. When a coin is missing its clad, it appears thinner than a normal coin. 

As a result of the thin outlook of this type of coin, weaknesses in the design are very noticeable, especially on the edge of the coin. An obvious way to know is if a George Washington dollar coin is missing its clad layer, its color will be bright red, contrasting with the regular golden color. 

This type of error coin is worth, at most, $10.

George Washington Dollar Coin Double Edge Lettering Error

Since the edge lettering process is a post-striking process to the coin minting, this error occurs when a coin goes through the striking edge process twice. Therefore, the edge of the coin will display two sets of lettering. 

The first of this type of error coin discovered was sold for $600 on eBay. This error coin is currently worth between $40-$60. 

George Washington Dollar Coin FAQs

What is in a George Washington Dollar Coin?

The George Washington dollar coin’s metal composition includes copper, zinc, manganese, and nickel. Unlike its golden outlook, the George Washington dollar coin does not contain gold as part of its metal composition. 

How much is a $1 coin worth?

Despite their elusive nature, most of the $1 coins are not worth more than their face value-$1.