If your commemorative silver dollar was not stored properly and now has tarnish or some unknown residue on it, do not clean it. It is important to remember that you cannot increase a coin’s value by cleaning it. In fact, cleaned coins are worth considerably less. Additionally, coin dealers can recognize a cleaned coin immediately. Therefore, never clean your coins!
History of Modern Commemorative Silver Dollars
The United States Mint first produced commemorative coins in 1892. Production of commemorative coins continued until 1954 when Congress ceased to pass laws to issue commemorative coins due to abuse of the program. In 1982, Congress passed a law to produce a commemorative half dollars to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the birth of President George Washington. Since then, commemorative coins have been issued on a regular basis.
Market Analysis
Modern commemorative silver dollars have always been popular with coin collectors in varying degrees. Some themes are more popular than others, and a coin’s popularity may change over time. In 1995 and 1996, the United States Mint issued nine different coins to commemorate the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. At this point, coin collectors’ budgets were getting stretched with all the various offerings from the U.S. Mint. Therefore, some of these coins had very low sales and now experience high prices. Most other commemorative coins are affordably priced and can be purchased through your favorite coin dealer or online.
Key Dates, Rarities, and Varieties
The following Modern Commemorative silver dollars usually sell for a premium due to their low availability and high demand.
1995-D Cent. Olympics - Cycling (Uncirculated)1996-D Cent. Olympics - Tennis (Uncirculated)1996-D Cent. Olympics - Paralympics (Uncirculated)1996-D Cent. Olympics - Rowing (Uncirculated)1996-D Cent. Olympics - High Jump (Uncirculated)1996-S National Community Service (Uncirculated)1997-P National Law Officers Memorial (Uncirculated)2001-D American Buffalo (Uncirculated and Proof)
Uncirculated or Proof
The mint issued most commemorative coins in both uncirculated business strike and Proof finish. Proof coins are easily distinguishable by their highly polished mirrored like fields.
Mint Marks
The mint produced modern commemorative silver dollars at four different mints: Philadelphia (P), Denver (D), West Point (W) and San Francisco (S). Since each design is unique to the theme being commemorated, the location of the mint mark varies depending upon the type of coin.
Modern Commemorative Silver Dollars Average Prices and Values
The following table lists the buy price (what you can expect to pay to a dealer to purchase the coin) and sell value (what you can expect a dealer to pay you if you sell the coin). All the prices and values listed below assume that the original mint packaging (i.e., box, holder, sleeve, etc.) is included and undamaged. The first column lists the date, theme, and mint mark, followed by the buy price and the sell value for an average Modern Commemorative Silver Dollar. These are approximate retail prices and wholesale values. The actual offer you receive from a particular coin dealer will vary depending on the actual grade of the coin and some other factors that determine its worth.
