Commemoratives

Classic United States Commemorative Coins

US commemorative coinage can be classified into three major groups:

- Traditional Series
- Modern Series
- Circulating Series

The Traditional Series includes the silver and gold coins issued between 1892 and 1954. All of these coins were sponsored by private organizations and were intended to be fund raisers. They were sold at a premium over their face value by their sponsor and were not intended for circulation. Some issues, however, did eventually see large numbers released into general circulation due to large inventories of unsold coins.

The Modern Series is comprised of the clad, silver, gold and platinum coins issued since 1982. The coins of the Modern Series are considered NCLT — Non-Circulating Legal Tender. This means that while they do have a “face value” and are legal tender, they are not meant for circulation and often have a precious metal content far in excess of their stated denomination. For example, a gold $5.00 commemorative (Half Eagle) contains 0.2419 ounces of gold which, in March 2007, would place its melt value at over $150.00. As with the Traditional Series, coins of the Modern Series are sponsored by organizations and are meant to raise funds for the sponsor. Unlike the previous series, Modern commemoratives are sold and distributed by the US Mint, with only the proceeds from the sales being sent to the sponsors.

It is commonly accepted that the Circulating Series of US commemoratives began in 1975 with the release of the special US Bicentennial coinage. Some argue, however, that the 1909 Lincoln cent which commemorated the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth or the 1932 Washington quarter which was released to celebrate the 200th anniversary of George Washington’s birth were the first US circulating commemoratives. Today, this series continues with the Statehood Quarter program and the Westward Journey nickel series. Coins from this series are also made available in specially produced versions for collectors — for example, proof versions.

United States Commemorative Coins

Isabella Quarter Dollar (1893) Alabama Half Dollars (1921) Albany Half Dollar (1936) Antietam Half Dollar (1937) Arkansas Half Dollars (1935-1939) Bay Bridge Half Dollar (1936) Bill of Rights Half Dollars (1993) Booker T. Washington Half (1946-1951) Boone Half Dollars (1934-1938) Bridgeport Half Dollar (1936) California Half Dollar (1925) Cincinnati Half Dollars (1936) Civil War Battlefields Half Dollar (1995) Cleveland Half Dollar (1936) Columbia, S.C. Half Dollars (1936) Columbian Exposition Half (1892-1893) Columbus Half Dollar (1992) Congress Bicentennial Half Dollar (1989) Connecticut Half Dollar (1935) Delaware Half Dollar (1936) Elgin Half Dollar (1936) Gettysburg Half Dollar (1936) Grant Half Dollars (1922) Hawaiian Half Dollar (1928) Hudson Half Dollar (1935) Huguenot-Walloon Half Dollar (1924) Iowa Half Dollar (1946) Lexington-Concord Half Dollar (1925) Lincoln / Illinois Half Dollar (1918) Long Island Half Dollar (1936) Lynchburg Half Dollar (1936) Maine Half Dollar (1920) Maryland Half Dollar (1934) Missouri Half Dollars (1921) Monroe Half Dollar (1923) Mount Rushmore Half Dollars (1991) New Rochelle Half Dollar (1938) Norfolk Half Dollar (1936) Olympic Centennial Half (1995-1996) Olympic Half Dollars (1992) Oregon Trail Half Dollars (1926-1939) Panama-Pacific Half Dollar (1915) Pilgrim Half Dollars (1920-1921) Rhode Island Half Dollars (1936) Roanoke Half Dollar (1937) Robinson-Arkansas Half Dollar (1936) San Diego Half Dollars (1935-1936) Sesquicentennial Half Dollar (1926) Spanish Trail Half Dollar (1935) Statue of Liberty Half Dollars (1986) Stone Mountain Half Dollar (1925) Texas Half Dollars (1934-1938) Vancouver Half Dollar (1925) Vermont Half Dollar (1927) Washington Half Dollars (1982) Washington-Carver Half (1951-1954) Wisconsin Half Dollar (1936) World Cup Half Dollar (1994) World War II Half Dollar (1991-1995) York County Half Dollar (1936)DOLLAR COMMEMORATIVES Lafayette Dollar (1900)GOLD DOLLAR COMMEMORATIVES Grant Memorial Gold Dollars (1922) Lewis and Clark Gold Dollars (1904-1905) Louisiana Purchase Gold Dollars (1903) McKinley Gold Dollars (1916-1917) Panama-Pacific Gold Dollar (1915)$2-1/2 GOLD COMMEMORATIVES Panama-Pacific $2-1/2 Gold (1915) Sesquicentennial $2-1/2 Gold (1926) $5 GOLD COMMEMORATIVES Bill of Rights $5 Gold (1993) Civil War Battlefields $5 Gold (1995) Columbus $5 Gold (1992) Congress Bicentennial $5 Gold (1989) Constitution Bicentennial $5 Gold (1987) Mount Rushmore $5 Gold (1991) Olympic $5 Gold (1988) Olympic $5 Gold (1992) Olympic Centennial $5 Gold (1995-1996) Jackie Robinson $5 Gold (1997) Franklin D. Roosevelt $5 Gold (1997) Smithsonian $5 Gold (1996) Statue of Liberty $5 Gold (1986) George Washington $5 Gold (1999) World Cup Soccer $5 Gold (1994) World War II $5 Gold (1991-1995) $10 GOLD COMMEMORATIVES Olympic $10 Gold (1984) Library of Congress $10 Gold (2000) $50 GOLD COMMEMORATIVES Panama-Pacific $50 Gold (1915) Modern Dollar Commem’s American Buffalo Dollar (2001) Bill of Rights Dollar (1993) Black Patriots Dollar (1998) Botanic Gardens Dollar (1997) Columbus Dollar (1992) Civil War Battlefields Dollar (1995) Congress Bicentennial Dollar (1989) Congress Silver Dollar (1989) Congress Capital Dome Gold $5 (1989) Constitution Bicentennial Dollar (1987) Constitution Bicentennial Gold $5 (1987) Eisenhower Centennial Dollar (1990) George Washington 250th Aniversary 50C(1982) Thomas Jefferson Dollar (1993) Robert F. Kennedy Dollar (1998) Korean War Memorial Dollar (1991) Lafayette Dollar (1900) Leif Ericson Dollar (2000) Library of Congress Dollar (2000) Los Angeles Olympic Dollar Discus (1983) Los Angeles Olympic Dollar Coliseum (1984) Dolley Madison Dollar (1999) Mount Rushmore Half Dollar (1991) Mount Rushmore Dollar (1991) Mount Rushmore Gold $5 (1991) National Community Service Dollar (1996) National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Dollar (1997) Olympic Gold Eagle (1984) Olympiad Dollar (1988) Olympiad Gold $5 (1988) Olympic Dollar (1992) Olympic Gold $5 (1992) Olympic XXV Half Dollar (1992) Olympic Centennial Dollar (1995-1996) Jackie Robinson Dollar (1997) Smithsonian Institution Dollar (1996) Special Olympics Dollar (1995) Statue of Liberty Dollar (1986) Statue of Liberty Gold Half Eagle (1986) United Service Organizations Dollar (1991) U.S. Capitol Dollar (1994) U.S. Prisoner of War Dollar (1994) U.S.O. Dollar (1991) Vietnam War Memorial Dollar (1994) White House Dollar (1992) Women Veterans Dollar (1994) World Cup Dollar (1994) World War II Dollar (1991-1995) Yellowstone National Park Dollar (1999)State Quarters Delaware (1999) Pennsylvania (1999) New Jersey (1999) Georgia (1999) Connecticut (1999)Massachusetts (2000) Maryland (2000) South Carolina (2000) New Hampshire (2000) Virginia (2000) New York (2001) North Carolina (2001) Rhode Island (2001) Vermont (2001) Kentucky (2001) Tennessee (2002) Ohio (2002) Louisiana (2002) Indiana (2002) Mississippi (2002) Illinois (2003) Alabama (2003) Maine (2003) Missouri (2003) Arkansas (2003) Michigan (2004) Florida (2004) Texas (2004) Iowa (2004) Wisconsin (2004) California (2005) Minnesota (2005) Oregon (2005) Kansas (2005) West Virginia (2005) Nevada (2006) Nebraska (2006) Colorado (2006) North Dakota (2006) South Dakota (2006) Montana (2007) Washington (2007) Idaho (2007) Wyoming (2007) Utah (2007) Oklahoma (2008) New Mexico (2008) Arizona (2008) Alaska (2008) Hawaii (2008) Presitential Dollars Washington Adams Presitential Spouses Dollars Martha Washington Abigale Adams

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