United States Commemorative Coins

The first official United States commemorative coin was issued in 1892 for the Columbian Expo. Until 1939, Congress authorized commemorative coin series for just over 50 occasions. At that point, Congress expressed concerns over the specific coins being issued, noting that many of them were of insufficient national interest to justify minting.

Three exceptions to this policy occurred before the program was shuttered: the Iowa Centennial half dollar, the Booker T. Washington Memorial half dollar, and the George Washington Carver/Booker T. Washington half dollar. After the commemorative coin program ended, production of all actively minted commemorative coins was halted.

Commemorative coin series resumed in 1982 for George Washington's 250th birthday. At that time, the Mint began to produce an average of two new commemorative coin series per year with the exception of Olympic years. Commemorative coins continue to be issued by the United States Mint today, with some of the proceeds helping to maintain museums, national landmarks, and Olympic sport programs.

Quick Facts

• In 1995 and 1996, the Mint produced a series of Centennial Olympics commemorative coins for each major sport that was featured. Most of these were minted as dollar coins, but several general Olympic coins were created as $5 gold coins
• Some collectors consider the 1848 gold quarter eagle to be the first United States commemorative issue. Some copies were stamped CAL because they were minted with early gold from the California gold rush
• One of the chief complaints that led to the closing of the commemorative program in 1939 was the mishandling of print runs. The Oregon Trail coin, first issued in 1926, was subsequently minted eight years across a 14 year period