United States commemorative coins

[8][9] In 1982, the US Mint resumed its commemorative coin program with the George Washington 250th Anniversary half dollar.

[11] 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.

These are coins that are minted to commemorate a particular person, place, event, or institution, but are intended to enter general circulation.

[16] The first commemorative coin of the United States made specifically as a circulation issue was the 1921 Peace dollar.

The program ended in 2016 when the last eligible president, Ronald Reagan, was commemorated (a George H. W. Bush coin was released in 2020).

"[19] The act also called for the removal of the date from the obverse and "E PLURIBUS UNUM" from the reverse of the coin, opting instead to add them to the edge.

The Kennedy half dollar, first released in March 1964 as a memorial to the assassinated 35th president of the United States John F. Kennedy, became hoarded by collectors, and those interested in a memento of the late president, and for the silver content of the coin, and were seldom seen in circulation despite increased production and periodic decrease of silver content.

A special design for the reverse of the half dollar was issued for the United States Bicentennial, struck.

[25] The American Women quarters program, authorized by the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020, sponsored by Representatives Barbara Lee and Anthony Gonzalez,[26] will comprise a series featuring notable women in U.S. history, commemorating the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

One woman will be honored on the reverse of each coin, selected for "contributions to the United States in a wide spectrum of accomplishments and fields, including but not limited to suffrage, civil rights, abolition, government, humanities, science, space, and arts.

[29] Honorees for 2022[30] are:Maya Angelou - January 2022,[31] Sally Ride - March 2022,[32] Wilma Mankiller - June 2022,[33] Adelina Otero-Warren, and Anna May Wong.

In 2004–2005 the mint issued four commemorative Westward Journey nickels, celebrating the 200th anniversaries of the Louisiana Purchase and the Corps of Discovery.