American Gold Commemorative

The first official commemorative gold coin minted in the United States was in 1903 for the Saint Louis World's Fair. Since that time, US Mint gold commemorative coins have celebrated a myriad of subjects. Modern examples include the First Spouse gold coin series and gold coins honoring the US Army.

Early Commemorative Gold Dollar Coins

Most gold dollar coins are pre-1930s. They typically depict presidential memorials and intercontinental expeditions, although presidential memorial designs occurred less than commemorative exposition designs.

The earliest commemorative gold dollar memorializes the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. The coin features the bust of President McKinley on the obverse. The denomination and the words, “Louisiana Purchase Exposition,” are on the reverse. Later, President McKinley would be memorialized on the 1916 and 1917 commemorative dollar.

Early Commemorative Quarter Eagles and $50 Coins

Early Quarter Eagles and $50 commemoratives were only minted in 1915 and 1926. The 1915 Quarter Eagles commemorated the Panama-Pacific Exposition and only 6,749 of these coins were minted!

The 1926 commemorative Quarter Eagle honors the Philadelphia sesquicentennial anniversary. The Philadelphia anniversary Quarter Eagle was minted in a slightly higher amount of 46,019.

The 1915 $50 Panama-Pacific commemorative coin boasts an unusual shape. The coin is an octagonally-shaped coin which depicts Minerva and swimming dolphins right along the rim of the coin. The dolphins were supposed to suggest an uninterrupted flow of water that the Panama Canal would provide. Only 645 1915 Panama-Pacific octagonals were minted! Even fewer of the round 1915 Panama-Pacific coins were minted! Only 483 of these were struck.

Commemorative Gold Sports Coins

Typically, commemorative coins are thought to memorialize important persons or historical events. However, a more popular theme for commemorative coins could be the sports theme. While there are fewer commemorative sports gold coins than the sum of other commemorative coins, sports have long been a popular theme in the United States.

One of the first commemorative gold sports coins honors the 1988 Summer Olympics. The coin features a bust of Nike on the obverse and the Olympic gold rings and the Olympic cauldron on the reverse. Nike is the the mythical Greek goddess of victory. She is said to be the physical embodiment of victory and has been a symbol of the Olympics since 1928.

The 1994 World Cup Commemorative gold coin marked the year that the United States hosted the World Cup. The obverse of the coin depicts the FIFA World Cup trophy and the reverse shows the official 1994 FIFA World Cup logo. The 1994 World Cup was held in the following nine US cities:

• Pasadena, California;
• Pontiac, Michigan;
• Stanford, California;
• East Rutherford, New Jersey;
• Orlando, Florida;
• Chicago, Illinois;
• Dallas, Texas;
• Foxborough, Massachusetts;
• Washington, D.C.

The US opened the World cup in a match against Switzerland on June 18th, 1994 in the Pontiac Silverdome and made to the round of 16. Gainesville Coins is proud to offer US gold commemorative coins in uncirculated, proof and certified varieties.