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Updated January 27, 2021
Commemorative Coins: An Overview
Commemorative coins are produced by the U.S. Mint
pursuant to an act of Congress. These coins celebrate and
honor American people, places, events, andinstitutions.
Althoughthey are considered legaltender, they are not
minted for general circulation. Instead, they are designed to
be collected and to help designated groups raise money.
The first commemorative coin was authorized in 1892 for
the Columbia Exposition in Chicago. Since 1892, Congress
has authorized 156 new commemorative coins. Between
1954 and 1981, Congress did not authorize any new
commemorative coins. In 1982, Congress restarted the
commemorative coin programwhen it authorized a
commemorative half dollar to recognize George
Washington's 250h Birthday. Between 1982 and 1996-
when Congress limited the Mint to is suing two coins per
year, for coins minted after January 1, 1999, in an effort to
restrict the number of coins minted each year-the number
of commemorative coins minted was as high as sixper year
(1994).
Beginning January I, 1999, the Secretary may mint
and issue commemorative coins under this section
during any calendar year with respect to not more
than 2 commemorative coin programs.
- 31 U.S.C. §51 12(m)(1)
Authorizing Commemorative Coins
An act of Congress is required to authorize a
commemorative coin. This legislation typically includes
several features. These include
findings that summarize the commemorative subject's
history and importance;
specifications for denominations, weight, and metallic
makeup;
design requirements, including required dates, words,
and/or images;
start and end date for minting coins and any other
limitations;
requirements for selling coins;
coin surcharge and distribution to designated groups;
and
as surances that costs of the coin programare recouped
by the U.S. Mint.
Table 1 lists authorized commemorative coins between
2018 and 2023. Currently, no coins have been authorized
for 2023 orbeyond.
ttps ://crs report4
Table I. Authorized Commemorative Coins
20 18-2023
Year
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
Commemorative Coin
WWI American Veterans
Breast Cancer Awareness
Apollo II 50thAnniversary
American Legion 100thAnniversary
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Women's Suffrage Centennial
Christa McAuliffe
National Law Enforcement Museum
Negro Leagues Baseball Centennial
Purple Heart Hall of Honor
[Open]
[Open]
Source: CRS Examination of Public Laws.
Congressional Consideration
In some past Congresses, the House Committee on
Financial Services has adopted a committee rule to prohibit
(1) theschedulingofasubcommitteehearing on
commemorative coin legislation unless two-thirds ofthe
House cosponsored the measure, or (2) reporting a bill that
did not meet minting regulations under 31 U.S.C. §5112.
This requirement was not included in the committee rules
adopted for the 115h and 116th Congres ses. Protocols issued
by the House Majority Leader in the 116th Congress limited
the scheduling of commemorative coin bills. The protocols
s aid that the Majority Leader shall consider the first three
commemorative coin bills in a Congress that receive 290
cosponsors and are submitted to the Committee on
Financial Services to be scheduledforthe Floor.
In recent Congresses, the Senate, Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs Committee Rule 8 has required that at least
67 Senators mustcosponsor any ... commemorative coin
bill or resolutionbefore considerationby the Committee.
Designing Commemorative Coins
After Congress has authorized a commemorative coin, the
U.S. Treasury begins the process of designing the coin. This
process involves consultation with the Citizens Coinage
Advisory Committee (CCAC) and a design
recommendation by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts
(CFA).
Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee
Established byP.L.108-15, the CCAC advises the
Secretary of the Treasury on theme and design of all U.S.
.congress.gov](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govebrc0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)