1 Dollar George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush was born June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Navy Air Medal with two gold stars. After the war, he attended Yale University, graduating in 1948 with a degree in economics, and subsequently relocated to Texas with his wife Barbara and their eldest son George Walker.

Bush enjoyed a long public service career. He was a Member of Congress, Ambassador to the United Nations, and the Director of Central Intelligence before serving as Vice President from 1981 – 1989 and President from 1989 – 1993.

George H. W. Bush died on November 30, 2018, at the age of 94.

The Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 specifies that for a former president to be honored, they must have been deceased for at least two years before issue. Hence, former presidents, George H. W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and then-current president Barack Obama were ineligible to have a dollar coin issued in their honor. The series ended in 2016, after honoring Ronald Reagan, the last President who was eligible.

Since the program has terminated, producing coins for those presidents not yet honored would require another Act of Congress. On February 12, 2019, Senator John Cornyn introduced a bill to authorize a Presidential dollar honoring George H. W. Bush and an accompanying First Spouse gold coin for Barbara Bush, which was signed into law on January 28, 2020.