The United States Mint has minted numerous commemorative coins to commemorate persons, places, events, and institutions since 1848. Many of these coins are not intended for general circulation, but are still legal tender. The mint also produces commemorative medals, which are similar to coins but do not have a face value, and therefore are not legal tender.
History
Early commemoratives
The earliest commemorative coin minted by the US Mint was the 1848 "CAL" quarter eagle, which commemorated the finding of gold in California. These coins were standard quarter eagles that were modified by punching CAL. onto the reverse above the eagle.
Most standard US commemorative coin lists begin with the 1892 Columbian half dollar commemorating the 400th anniversary of Columbus' voyage to America. The following year, the Columbian Exposition quarter dollar featuring Queen Isabella of Spain was issued.
In 1915, the mint issued the Panama–Pacific half union, which had a face value of $50. This was the first time a commemorative coin was produced in a denomination that was not issued for circulation (a half union coin was proposed, but was never released into circulation). The coin was offered in both round and octagonal versions, the latter being the only US coin that is not round.
In 1925, a commemorative 50-cent coin was released that showed Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Money raised from the sale of the coins was combined with money raised by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial Association in order to fund the carving of a Confederate monument at Stone Mountain.
The 1926 United States Sesquicentennial half dollar was the second United States coin to feature a living person at the time of its minting. The obverse of the coin featured busts of George Washington and Calvin Coolidge. (The first was the 1921 Alabama Centennial half dollar, which showed a bust of then-Governor Thomas Kilby.) Coolidge remains the only president depicted on coinage during his lifetime.
Starting in the 1930s, the US Mint was criticized for issuing commemorative coins of dubious recognition and seemingly endless mint runs (the Oregon Trail Memorial 50-cent piece was minted 8 years during a 14-year span). Multiple unrelated commemoratives also were minted in many years, diminishing the significance of commemorative issues. In 1936 alone 19 commemorative half dollars were minted, not including two half dollars that were dated 1936 but were actually minted the following year. Three commemorative half dollars were proposed for issue in 1954, but all were vetoed by president Dwight D. Eisenhower due to the lack of interest expressed by collectors, and the period of early commemoratives ended that year with the 1954 Carver-Washington half dollar.
Modern commemoratives
In 1982, the US Mint resumed its commemorative coin program with the George Washington 250th Anniversary half dollar. Unlike the original commemoratives, only a few coins are released each year and are more popular with collectors.
The Library of Congress eagle of 2000 was the first bi-metallic coin issued by the US Mint. Later that year, the mint released a 1,000 Icelandic króna coin commemorating the 1,000th anniversary of Leif Ericson's discovery of the Americas. This coin was struck on the same planchet as the silver dollar that also commemorated the event.
The year 2017 marked the 225th anniversary of the US Mint. Although no traditional commemorative coins were issued for the occasion, the mint did produce a $100 coin, a special uncirculated mint set featuring coins with an "enhanced" finish, and a circulating penny featuring the P mint mark.
Circulating commemorative coins
Circulating commemorative coins have been somewhat more unusual in the United States. These are coins that are minted to commemorate a particular person, place, event, or institution, but are intended to enter general circulation.
All US Bicentennial commemoratives were dated 1776–1976, despite being produced throughout 1975–76.
Dollar coins
The first commemorative coin of the United States made specifically as a circulation issue was the 1921 Peace dollar. The coin was originally intended to be produced for one year to commemorate the end of World War I, although the design proved popular and continued to be produced until silver dollar production ended in 1935.
In 1975 and 1976, the Eisenhower dollar was issued for circulation, among other commemorative coins in those years.
The Susan B. Anthony dollar was minted from 1979 to 1981, and then again in 1999.
