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Why the success of the Presidential $1 Coin series may depend on the pudgy visage of John Adams, second President of the United States.Released last week, the new $1 coin features a face that you'll find familiar or unfamiliar, depending on your knowledge of American history. On the tails side: Lady Liberty. On the heads side: John Adams, the second president of the United States.

The coin represents the passing of the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005, signed by President Bush in December of 2005, which commemorates the service of American presidents by issuing the coins at a rate of four per year, starting with the release of the George Washington $1 coin last Presidents Day.

"This legislation is designed after the state quarters program, where they had a series rather than just one issue," said Michael White, a spokesperson with the U.S. Mint. "We're basically just trying to take advantage of the enthusiasm of collectors. Any time you roll out a series of coins, coin collectors get excited."

It can be assumed that White is referring to coin collectors in the very broadest sense, seeing as initial orders for the George Washington $1 coin hit the 300 million mark last week, while initial orders for the John Adams $1 coin have surpassed 185 million.

According to Rod Gillis, an educator at the American Numismatic Association, these numbers directly reflect the U.S. Mint's desire to see $1 coins circulate as widely as $1 bills.

"I don't think the [U.S.] Mint has actually come out and said that they want to get rid of dollar bills," said Gillis, "but I think they're trying to decrease the public's dependency on dollar bills, the reason being that a coin costs the government less money. You see, a dollar bill is designed to last for 18 months whereas a coin can last up to ten years."

From a public relations standpoint, what makes the Presidential $1 Coin series different from its predecessors – including famous flops the Susan B. Anthony $1 coin and the Sacagawea $1 coin – is that with every historically notable president, a surge of public interest is likely to follow. While it's not likely that the Chester A. Arthur $1 coin (due out in 2012) will grab many headlines, coins commemorating the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson (later this year), Abraham Lincoln (2010), FDR (2014) and Richard Nixon (2016) are sure to get noticed.

And the John Adams $1 coin has already enhanced John Adams' reputation: On May 22nd, the second president's birthplace of Quincy, Mass. celebrated the new coin with a ceremonial launch and coin exchange.

"It's really going to be fun to see what happens with John Adams," said Gillis. "President Washington has a history of being on our money, though he never wanted to be. Adams is kind of the first of these presidents that a lot of kids, and some adults, have never heard of before."