‘In God We Trust’ position on new coins changing

WASHINGTON — The national motto “In God We Trust” will move from the edge of new dollar coins honoring U.S. presidents to the front or back of the currency.
A provision in the $555 billion domestic spending bill for 2008, which President Bush signed into law Dec. 26, calls for the change to take place “as soon as is practicable.” Greg Hernandez, a spokesman for the U.S. Mint, said the change will occur in 2009.
The Mint began producing presidential $1 coins in 2007, honoring George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, the first four presidents. The words “In God We Trust” were placed along the edge of the coins, as instructed by Congress, Hernandez said. “It wasn’t the Mint’s decision to move the motto (to the edge); it was according to law,” he said.

But critics complained about the placement and thought the words belonged on the front or back of the coins instead. “There have been people who either have e-mailed their comments to our Web site, called us or contacted their representatives,” Hernandez said.
The dies have already been produced for the 2008 coins — which will feature James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren — so those will still have the motto along the edge. But come 2009 — when William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk and Zachary Taylor will be honored — the motto will be moved. The motto first appeared on U.S. coins in 1864. “In God We Trust” was included on the back of dollar bills in 1957, a year after Congress declared those words as the country’s motto.