Early Commemoratives

The Early period of Commemorative Coins of the United States of America traditionally begins with the 1892 Colombian Half dollar and extends through the 1954 Booker T. Washington issue. Each of these coins tells a story, sometimes it's a story of an important event or person being commemorated. Sometimes it's a story of a politician giving pork barrel to the constituents back home to fund a pet project. The profits from the sale of commemorative coins was often used to fund a specific project. Commemorative coins were a money raising mechanism that was an alternative to raising taxes. Be assured that each has a story to tell, even if it isn’t told here yet.

25 Cents

• Queen Isabella 1893

50 Cents

• Colombian Exposition 1892, 1893
• Panama-Pacific Exposition 1915-S
• Lincoln/Illinois Centennial 1918
• Maine Centennial 1920
• Pilgrim Tercentenary 1920, 1921
• Alabama Centennial 1921
• Missouri Centennial 1921
• Grant Memorial 1922
• Monroe Doctrine Centennial 1923-S
• Huguenot/Walloon Tercentenary 1924
• Battles of Lexington and Concord Sesquicentennial 1925
• Fort Vancouver Centennial 1925
• Stone Mountain Memorial 1925
• California Diamond Jubilee 1925-S
• Sesquicentennial of American Independence 1926
• Oregon Trail Memorial 1926 (PS), 1928, 1933-D, 1934-D, 1936 (PS), 1937-D, 1938 (PDS), 1939(PDS)
• Vermont Sesquicentennial 1927
• Hawaiian Sesquicentennial 1928
• Maryland Tercentenary 1934
• Texas Centennial 1934, 1935 (PDS), 1936(PDS), 1937 (PDS), 1938 (PDS)
• Daniel Boone Bicentennial 1934, 1935 (PDS), 1936(PDS), 1937(PDS), 1938(PDS)
• Connecticut Tercentenary 1935
• Hudson, New York Sesquicentennial 1935
• Old Spanish Trail 1535-1935 1935
• Arkansas Centennial 1935, 1935-D, 1935-S, 1935 ("1934" on reverse variety), 1936, 1936-D, 1936-S, 1937 (PDS), 1938 (PDS), 1939 (PDS)
• San Diego, California Pacific Exposition 1935-S, 1936-D
• Albany, New York Charter 1936
• Battle of Gettysburg 1936
• Bridgeport, Connecticut Centennial 1936
• Cleveland/Great Lakes Exposition 1936
• Delaware Tercentenary 1936
• Elgin/Illinois Centennial 1936
• Long Island Tercentenary 1936
• Lynchburg, Virginia Sesquicentennial 1936
• Norfolk, Virginia Bicentennial 1936
• Robinson/Arkansas Centennial 1936
• Wisconsin Territorial Centennial 1936
• York County, Maine Tercentenary 1936
• Cincinnati as a Center of Music 50th Anniversary 1936 (PDS)
• Columbia, South Carolina Sesquicentennial 1936 (PDS)
• Rhode Island Tercentenary 1936 (PDS)
• San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge 1936-S
• Battle of Antietam 1937
• Roanoke Island, North Carolina 1587-1937 1937
• New Rochelle, New York 1688-1938 1938
• Iowa Centennial 1946
• Booker T. Washington Memorial 1946 (PDS), 1947 (PDS), 1948 (PDS), 1949 (PDS), 1950(PDS), 1951 (PDS)
• George Washington Carver/Booker T. Washington 1951 (PDS), 1952 (PDS), 1953 (PDS), 1954 (PDS)

1 Dollar (Gold)

• Louisiana Purchase Exposition (Jefferson type) (Gold) 1903 (1903 Proof)
• Louisiana Purchase Exposition (McKinley type) (Gold) 1903 (1903 Proof)
• Lewis and Clark Exposition (Gold) 1904
• Lewis and Clark Exposition (Gold) 1905
• Panama-Pacific Exposition (Gold) 1915-S

1 Dollar (Silver)

• Lafayette (Silver) 1900

Two and a Half Dollars

• Panama-Pacific Exposition 1915-S
• Sesquicentennial of the United States 1926

Fifty Dollar Gold Pieces

• Panama-Pacific Exposition (Round) 1915-S
• Panama-Pacific Exposition (Octagonal) 1915-S