MARY, OUR MOTHER

No Mistake: “In God We Trust” Off the Face of $1 Presidential Coins

ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan today requested that the American public avoid using the newly minted coins not because of a minting error, but because the Presidential $1 Coin Act, enacted into law in 2005 requires the government to remove “In God We Trust” from the face of the coin and put it on the edge.

Many Americans believed that the lack of our National Motto “In God We Trust” on the face of the $1 Presidential coin was merely a minting error. That was because earlier in the week the Mint acknowledged that it discovered an unspecified number of the newly minted coins had the National Motto missing - by mistake. What the Thomas More Law Center takes issue with is the fact that the Mint has relegated “In God We Trust” to the virtually unreadable edge of the coin.

In a correctly minted coin, the motto “In God We Trust” appears to be merely scratches on the edge, that is, unless one looks for it with a magnifying glass.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, tested the new coin and found that 9 out of 10 people could not find the National Motto, even when asked to look for it. Thompson again encouraged Americans not to use the coin. “It is astounding that Congress has effectively done what atheist litigants have been unsuccessfully trying to do for years -- erase all reference to God from our money,” said Thompson.

Said Thompson, “The past Presidents pictured on these coins would be insulted by the decision of Congress to remove the motto by making it almost invisible. I find it remarkable that the Mint said it made a mistake in not printing the national motto anywhere on thousands of these Presidential Coins. But even when they are not making this mistake, the Mint is still printing 300,000,000 coins where it is almost impossible to read the national motto on the slim edge of the coins.”

The Treasury Departments previous two attempts at issuing dollar coins were disastrous. Despite the government’s fanfare, the public hated both coins, and 97 percent of them are no longer in circulation. 74 percent of Americans cannot remember the last time that they used a dollar coin.

The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through education, litigation, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at www.thomasmore.org.