Fox News Fact-Checks Sarah Palin on Coin 'Conspiracy'

Fox News Channel anchor Brett Baier on Tuesday challenged an old conspiracy theory about U.S. currency design that Sarah Palin stirred up at an appearance last week.

At a media-free event Friday in Wisconsin, Palin raised questions about the design of the presidential $1 coins, implying that someone in government was trying to downplay "In God We Trust" on the coins' design. She noted that the motto had been moved from the center of the coin's face to the outer rim (see photo). "It's been pushed to the side, to the edge, where we can't really see it," Palin says in a video captured by a crafty member of the audience.

Palin's worry seemed to stem from an Internet rumor that has been circulating for over two years. A chain letter included photos of the coin's introductory design in 2007, claiming that the country's motto had been removed. (The motto actually appeared on the outer edge, though, due to a minting error, some coins did go into circulation with blank rims.)

But Palin either did not know or did not mention that the same year the coin was introduced, Congress had voted to move "In God We Trust" to the face of the dollar coin. The change, an amendment to H.R. 2764, became law on Dec. 26, 2007. Beginning with the 2009 coin featuring William Henry Harrison, the U.S. motto appears on the coin's face.

Baier challenged Palin in a fact-checking segment Tuesday, pointing out that the coin was commissioned and approved during the Bush administration.

Video: Fox News Channel's Brett Baier Fact-Checks Palin, Nov. 10, 2009