Commemorative Coins

Congress authorizes commemorative coins that celebrate and honor American people, places, events, and institutions. Although these coins are legal tender, they are not minted for general circulation. Each commemorative coin is produced by the United States Mint in limited quantity and is only available for a limited time.

As well as commemorating important aspects of American history and culture, these coins help raise money for important causes. Part of the price of these coins is a surcharge that goes to organizations and projects that benefit the community. For example, surcharges on the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center commemorative coins helped build a new visitor center under the U.S. Capitol’s East Plaza.

Since the modern commemorative coin program began in 1982, the United States Mint has raised more than $500 million in surcharges to help build new museums, maintain national monuments like the Vietnam War Memorial, preserve historical sites like George Washington’s home, support various Olympic programs, and much more. Buy commemorative coins from active programs in the online catalog.

The latest commemorative coin program in 2026 celebrates the pride, glory, and passion shared between fans and athletes as they unite for The Beautiful Game on its grandest stage. 

Authorized by Public Law No. 118-143, the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Commemorative Coin Program aims to shape a lasting legacy for the sport of soccer in the United States, support underserved communities, and celebrate a unifying global event.

For 2026 only, the Mint will be selling clad half dollars, silver dollars, and gold $5 coins in both uncirculated and proof finishes. Click on the coins below to explore these exciting new products.

The 21st Century saw some innovation designs in commemorative coins, with curved coins being produced for the National Baseball Hall of Fame (2014) and Apollo 11 50th Anniversary (2019) programs. The Basketball Hall of Fame Program (2020) introduced the Mint's first colorized coins, as well. This technique was used again to colorize coins in the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Program in 2022.

Top selling programs in this era include the Baseball Hall of Fame with 884,892 units sold and the Bald Eagle Commemorative Coin Program in 2008 with 828,840 units sold.

The decade of 1990-1999 saw high sales from several memorable programs, including the 1994 World Cup Coin Program (1.5 million units), the 1991 Mount Rushmore Anniversary Coin Program (1.9 million units), and the 1990 Eisenhower Centennial Silver Dollar (1.4 million units). The Korean War Memorial Silver Dollar sold 831,537 units despite only offering one coin in the 1991 program.

In celebration of the XXVI Olympic Games in Atlanta, the U.S. Mint produced 16 commemorative coins, representing a wide variety of summer sports. Four coins were gold, and 12 were minted in silver. Half the coins were produced in 1995 in prepartion for the coming games, while the rest were minted in 1996. In totoal, the Mint sold 2.4 million units for the centennial Olympic Games.

Following a three-decade hiatus, the Mint brought back commemorative coins in 1982. Demand was so high in the 1980s that sales saw record numbers that still stand to this day. In total, 1980s' programs sold more than the next two decades combined, despite not offering coins in 1980, 1981 or 1985. 

The most popular programs include the Statue of Liberty (1986) with 15.5 million units sold, George Washington 250th Anniversary (1982) with 7.1 million units sold, and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games with 5.0 million units sold.

Commemorative coin programs are created by enabling legislation enacted by Congress to honor a person, place or event. The enabling legislation dictates the coin specifications, mintages, cost considerations, and surcharge amount to be collected. A surcharge is a set amount per coin that the Mint collects and distributes to the designated recipient organization which must use the proceeds for the purpose(s) specified in the enabling legislation. Historically, the Mint has been required to pay surcharges to recipients whether or not all the Mint’s program costs were recovered and without any accountability requirements for the recipient organization. In 1996, Congress enacted legislation changing the Mint’s requirement to pay surcharges.

• Surcharge Recipient Organization’s Compliance Procedures for Surcharge Eligibility and Payments (PDF)