Coin of the Month

Zachary Taylor Presidential $1 Coin

The last dollar coin of 2009 is the one that honors Zachary Taylor, the twelfth president of the United States.   Since President Taylor only held office for 16 months, we can only wonder what he might have accomplished if he had served for a longer time.

He was certainly a successful military leader.   His long Army career included keeping peace on the western frontier and winning battles against forces larger than his own in the Mexican-American War.

He made it clear that he was determined to keep the Union together at all costs, despite the growing divisions over slavery.   He was an independent thinker who kept himself apart from party politics, and he pledged to make sure that Congress only passed laws that the Constitution allowed.

But Taylor's presidency was cut short after 5 days of stomach illness.   It appears that he had cholera, a digestive infection, maybe from having eaten bad food or water.

At his funeral in July 1850, more than 100,000 people lined the streets of Washington to pay their respects to this hero.   Read more about him on the Zachary Taylor Presidential $1 Coin page.

—Goldie