By Mike Thorne, Coins Magazine March 01, 2010

Commemorative coin issues of the United States have been around for more than a century, beginning with coins minted to celebrate (and help fund) the World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893. Typically, we divide commemoratives into an early group, or classical issues (1892-1954), and modern commemoratives (1982-date).

As you can see, there’s a 28-year gap separating the two groups. The reasons usually given to account for the gap (i.e., the termination of the early issues) are that the coins were often issued for relatively unworthy reasons and many of the issues went on far too long.

Commemoratives illustrating the former problem include the Bridgeport, Conn. centennial; the Cincinnati Music Center; the Columbia, S.C. sesquicentennial; the Elgin, Ill. centennial; and the Lynchburg, Va. sesquicentennial. Early commemorative issues that more than wore out their welcome include the Oregon Trail (14 different issued between 1926 and 1939), the Daniel Boone bicentennial (16 different issued between 1934 and 1938), the Texas centennial (13 different issued between 1934 and 1938), the Arkansas centennial (15 different issued between 1935 and 1939), and the coins honoring Booker T. Washington (18 different issued between 1946 and 1951) and George Washington Carver (12 different issued between 1951 and 1954).

So, has the selection of themes improved with the modern issues? And what about the number of different coins for each issue? Has this changed for the better with the modern commemoratives? I’ll look first at the themes.

It does appear that the problem of unworthy themes has been solved, for the most part. Certainly, it’s hard to take issue with themes such as the 250th anniversary of the birth of George Washington or the centennial of the Statue of Liberty. Although Congress is often held in low esteem, it’s hard to find fault with a commemoration of its bicentennial.

In fact, the first theme I question occurred in 1991, with the silver dollars (uncirculated and proof) issued to honor the Korean War Memorial. First of all, there was never a declaration of war by the United States, so from our country’s standpoint, we were involved in a “police action,” or the Korean Conflict, not the Korean War.

But that’s not the biggest problem I have with this commemorative. The coin was struck to commemorate the 38th (!) anniversary of the end of the conflict in 1953. Why the 38th anniversary? Well, at the end of active fighting, the country was split into North and South Korea at the 38th parallel.

Now, I don’t want you to get the wrong impression. I’m not denigrating the sacrifice and service of the Americans who fought in Korea, and I certainly think the many soldiers involved deserve a monument. I do agree with critics, however, who view the coin as “no more than a fund-raising opportunity for the creation of a national monument in Washington,” according to the current A Guide Book of United States Coins (Red Book).

The Korean War Memorial coin comes in just two varieties, an uncirculated silver dollar minted in Denver and a proof silver dollar struck at the Philadelphia Mint. The 2010 U.S. Coin Digest values the former at $16.50 in Mint State-65 and the latter at $20.50 in Proof-65 even though nearly three times as many proofs were made as uncirculated pieces.

Incidentally, I would be surprised if any of the uncirculated pieces would grade as low as MS-65. Most, if not all, would probably grade between MS-68 and MS-70, which is true of virtually all of the modern commemoratives. The same is true for the proof coins as well, which typically grade between PR-68 and PR-70. A corollary to this note is that you should avoid paying a large premium for modern commemoratives in superhigh mint state or proof grades, as such grades are actually quite common. The situation is totally different for the early commemoratives, as almost all of them become increasingly scarce with higher MS or PR numbers.

The second questionable theme, in my opinion, came a decade after the Korean coins, with the issuance of coins to commemorate the 201st anniversary of the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. I remember many things about my visit to Washington, D.C., but I can’t say that I have any recall of having visited the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. I asked my wife about this, and she had no memory of such a visit either.

I certainly agree with commemoratives honoring significant anniversaries of the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress, even of Congress itself, but I really don’t know about the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. And why issue the coins in 2001, the year after the bicentennial anniversary?

Six different pieces were struck to commemorate the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center: two clad half dollars, two silver dollars, and two gold $5 pieces. Amazingly, more of the uncirculated half dollar were struck than of the proof half dollar (99,157 vs. 77,962, respectively). The two are worth $13.50 and $17.50, respectively.

In the case of the silver dollars, the mintages are 66,636 (35,380 in the Red Book) and 143,793 for the uncirculated and proof varieties, respectively. Despite this disparity, U.S. Coin Digest gives the value of the uncirculated version as $35, whereas the proof is worth $45.

As an illustration of the lack of interest in the theme of this commemorative, only 6,761 uncirculated gold $5 specimens were minted, and this variety lists for a whopping $2,150. The mintage of the proof variety was more than four times more (27,652), and it lists for less than a quarter as much ($465).

And did we really need the 2005 coins to honor the 230th anniversary of the Marine Corps? Again, I certainly believe that the founding of the Marine Corps is deserving of commemoration, but why on the 230th anniversary? I say wait 20 years and mint the coins on the 250th anniversary. With a mintage of 130,000 pieces (49,671 distributed, according to the Red Book), the uncirculated variety is worth $47. The proof version, of which 370,000 were minted (but 548,810 distributed!), lists for $54. The Red Book gives them both the same value ($50).

I’ll probably get into trouble with coin collectors everywhere, but I would question the national significance of the 2006 coins honoring the centennial of the San Francisco Old Mint. While I’m on this coin, surely the silver dollar could have been given a better reverse design than the reprise of the Morgan dollar reverse. With a distribution of 67,100 pieces, the uncirculated dollar is worth $50, whereas the proof version lists for $46 (160,870 distributed).

The San Francisco Old Mint was also commemorated with two gold $5 pieces. With a distribution of 17,500, the uncirculated version lists for $285. No price is given for the proof variety in U.S. Coin Digest, although the Red Book indicates that the distribution was 44,174 pieces and gives it the same value as the less common uncirculated variety.

Obviously, I didn’t find many themes to criticize when you consider all the different themes that have been honored since 1982. What about the excessive number of coins issued for some of the early commemoratives? Has that problem also been solved with the modern commemoratives?

For the most part, I think it has been solved. Unlike the early commemoratives, the modern issues have not been strung out over a period of years. The Oregon Trail Memorial, for example, was issued between 1926 and 1939. We certainly have not experienced this kind of excess since 1982.

That’s not to say that there hasn’t been some excess, however. One example of what collectors of modest means might call excess is that many of the commemorations have included gold pieces, typically gold $5 pieces, along with silver dollars and sometimes clad half dollars. A few of the issues have even included gold $10 pieces (Los Angeles XXIII Olympiad, Library of Congress, First flight Centennial). The Library of Congress Bicentennial $10 coin is a combination consisting of a platinum center with a gold surround.

Excess has also been associated with coins memorializing the various Olympic Games.

To commemorate the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games, for example, 13 different coins were minted of three different designs. First, there was the 1983 Discus Thrower silver dollar. Uncirculated examples were struck at Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco, with a proof version minted at San Francisco. Mintages are high, and values are low ($14.10).

The next year brought the same four versions of the Olympic Coliseum silver dollar, again with high mintages and low values. In addition, the Olympic commemoratives included five different varieties of the Olympic Torch Bearer gold $10. This time a proof version was minted along with an uncirculated piece at the West Point Mint.

Values for the $10 coins, which contain nearly a half ounce of gold, are all the same in U.S. Coin Digest at $453. Of course, this is too low, with gold over $1,000 an ounce. Also, there’s a wide range of mintages (from 33,309 to 381,085), which suggests that the scarcer coins might be a better buy than the more common varieties.

Of course, if you agree with me that 13 different coins was too many for the 1984 Summer Olympics, then you’ll certainly agree that 32 coins was too many for the Atlanta Olympics held in 1996.

Commemoration of the XXVI Olympiad, which began in 1995, included coins struck to honor specific sporting events, such as basketball, baseball, swimming, soccer, gymnastics, track and field, rowing, and cycling. Gold coins celebrated the Torch Runner, Flag Bearer, Stadium, and even the Cauldron containing the Olympic Flame. There were even coins commemorating the Paralympics of the XXVI Olympiad.

Values range as widely as the mintages. Some of the clad half dollars are relatively common and inexpensive (i.e., basketball and baseball), whereas others have relatively low mintages and high values (e.g., swimming and soccer).

Among the silver dollars, all of the mintages, at least of the uncirculated varieties, are less than 100,000 pieces, and all carry some premium. In fact, some issues have uncirculated mintages less than 17,000 (e.g., tennis, rowing, high jump) and correspondingly high values ($330, $345, $400, respectively).

All of the gold $5 pieces have low mintages and significant premiums over their bullion value. The uncirculated pieces have much lower mintages than the proof issues, as usual. The range of mintages for the uncirculated varieties is from 9,174 to 14,675, and the values range from $775 to $1,200. Surprisingly, the highest value belongs to the coin with the third lowest mintage (out of four coins). Perhaps the image of the Olympic stadium is considered more meaningful than images of the torch runner, flag bearer, or cauldron.

Mintages of the proof gold pieces range from 32,886 to 57,442. This time, values are perfectly correlated with mintages, so the least expensive is the Torch Runner ($410), followed by the Stadium ($535), the Cauldron ($600), and the Flag Bearer ($615).

As I hope I’ve conveyed in this article about modern U.S. commemoratives, virtually all have meaningful themes. Also, unless you consider the gold pieces excessive, very few modern commemoratives have suffered from the excessiveness of the early commemoratives.

If you’re interested in value appreciation, the uncirculated pieces are the ones to concentrate on, as they’ve generally been minted in much lower quantities. The reason for this is that mintage depends on demand, and collectors have typically demanded more proofs in the mistaken notion that proofs are somehow better.

Look at the different themes represented on modern commemoratives, and if any of them appeal to you, by all means add some to your collection. They may not make you rich, but you’ve got to admit that they’re different, and perhaps more interesting, than our circulating coinage.



More Resources:

• Subscribe to our Coin Price Guide, buy Coin Books & Coin Folders and join the NumisMaster VIP Program

• 2010 U.S. Coin Digest, The Complete Guide to Current Market Values, 8th ed.

• State Quarters Deluxe Folder By Warmans

• Standard Guide to Small-Size U.S. Paper Money, 1928 to Date

• Strike It Rich with Pocket Change, 2nd Edition