In early March, we informed you of the measures taken for the state of Alaska to both receive and circulate 5 million 2020 Native American $1 Coins from the United States Mint. While there has been progress, one can assume it is not exactly what Alaska was hoping to achieve.
On January 22nd, a joint resolution (HJR 9) was passed by both the Houses of State Legislature and was presented to the Governor of Alaska, Mike Dunleavy, on February 11th. Since then, the resolution has been signed by the governor and handed to the Mint to be moved forward. The resolution requested the 5 million $1 coins to be provided by the United States Mint and then later put into general circulation in Alaska. It would be the first time in eight years as a moratorium was placed on the circulation and distribution of both the Presidential and Native American $1 Coins back in December of 2011 by then-Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
Alaska takes personal pride in this year’s design. In its 20th year, the Native American $1 coin pays tribute to the contributions made by anti-discrimination advocate Elizabeth Peratrovich. The coin features the portrait of Peratrovich on the reverse with a symbol of the Tlingit Raven moiety in the foreground as she was a member. Peratrovich’s advocacy and persistence were considered a major factor in the passing of the Anti-Discrimination Law by the Alaskan territorial government in 1945.
The latest on where the Mint is on the request is still a bit hazy although out of the 5 million requested, there is likely to be considerably fewer actually provided. Current member of the Alaska State Legislature, Delena Johnson, sponsored the original resolution to secure the $1 coins for Alaska’s general circulation. According to an aide of Johnson’s as told to Coin World on April 27th, she has been in correspondence with the Mint and they will not be shipping the 5 million coins through the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Seattle Branch to which the monetary needs for the state of Alaska are handled through. Customers of the banks being recruited within the state to participate in the distribution of the Native American coins will need to place orders and receive them at current face value instead.
Source: Coin World