But the Danbury Mint is, effectively, taking coins from the U.S. The new coins are available at most financial institutions, and the Treasury is anxious to get the coins into circulation.

In 2010, the honors go to Presidents Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan and Lincoln. Mint started issuing four new coins each year. In size and composition, the coins are identical to the dollar featuring Sacagawea beginning in 2007, with George Washington, the U.S. Mint to issue $1 circulating coins, honoring each president in the order they took office. The Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 instructed the U.S. The Danbury Mint's pitch - you can find a short version online at, though the company is running a longer infomercial version - is trying to get investors excited about presidential coins.

The column is not intended as an automatic sell signal the good news for buyers of the presidential dollars is their coins will retain their face value, even if we all know that a dollar doesn't go quite as far these days. Stupid Investment of the Week highlights the concerns and conditions that make an investment less than ideal for the average consumer, and is written in the hope that spotlighting concerns in one case will allow readers to avoid trouble elsewhere.

Danbury mint reviews