Why Presidents faces on American coins??

Question

The question isn't why do they have Presidents faces on American coins but why don't they have cool people that we can vote on to be on our coins instead?

If I could choose a cool person to put on a coin-It would be Laird Hamilton; Champ and pioneer of huge tow-in surfing :-)

Who would you pick?

Answer 1

The reason there are presidents on money is because of Julius Cesar. He was the first to have his picture put on a coin.
Ever since then Leaders have been doing that. I guess it's suppose to show their power or some crap like that. Besides if you put cool people on coins they would not be cool any more people would think they are just being egotistical. And that's not cool...

Answer 2

Faces On American Coins

Answer 3

In 1909 Abraham Lincoln became the first American President to be featured on a circulating coin when Theodore Roosevelt and the United States Treasury Department decided to celebrate his 100th birthday by redesigning the one-cent coin.
The decision to change the design of the 1909 penny was reported in the Annual Report of the Director of the Mint without any explanation of the reasons why the Agency was abandoning more than 115 years of tradition by placing the image of a President on a circulating coin.
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It would be twenty-three more years before another former President would join Lincoln on the face of America’s circulating coins. In preparation for the 1932 bicentennial of George Washington’s birth, the Treasury Department and the George Washington Bicentennial Commission suggested a competition to honor our first President on both a coin and a medal.
Official rules were released to the public early in 1932, and participants were instructed to model their designs on the bust of Washington created from a life mask by noted sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon.
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Answer 4

The US Mint is required by law to put images of "Liberty" on all coins. Originally, this meant pictures of a stylised image of liberty, but with the twentieth century, this means US leaders that we believe upheld the ideals of Liberty during their lifetime. So although Laird Hamilton might have been cool, and a pioneer in surfing, he wouldn't fufill the requirement.