Once again, Adams follows Washington

John Adams, the oft-overlooked Braintree farmer who became the second US president, once predicted that history would not celebrate his memory with statues and monuments. So perhaps it is appropriate that tomorrow , his pouty profile will start to show up on the clunky piece of change that few people like to carry in their pockets: the $1 coin.

"He would probably be saying, 'just my luck,' if he was around today," said John Ferling , an emeritus professor at the University of West Georgia who wrote the book, "John Adams: A Life."

Adams's coin is the second in a string of four presidential ones to be released this year.

The former president's legacy has been rehabilitated in recent years as historian David McCullough's eponymous biography elevated him into the popular spotlight.

But if it's a popularity contest, already Adams is in second place, with 190 million Adams coins scheduled to be minted -- more than 100 million behind George Washington, who began appearing on $1 coins in February.

CAROLYN Y. JOHNSON