Learn About the 7 Issues of the Congressional Bicentennial

The Bicentennial of the establishment of our American Congress was commemorated on three coins – a clad Half Dollar coin, a Silver One Dollar coin and a Gold Five Dollar coin. This marked only the second time in commemorative coin history that a non-silver Half Dollar coin was struck.

The Half Dollar obverse, designed by Patricia Lewis Verani, depicted a close-up of the head of the Statue of Freedom that adorns the top of the US Capitol building. Freedom faces forward and to the left of her is the date “1789” and to the right are the date “1989” and the mintmark “D”. Around the periphery is “BICENTENNIAL OF THE CONGRESS” and just under Freedom’s bust is “IN GOD WE TRUST.” Around the lower periphery is the word “LIBERTY.”

The reverse of the clad Half Dollar was designed by William Woodward. It depicts a full version of the U.S. Capitol, with 7 five-pointed stars above and 6 five-pointed stars below. Under the Capitol are the words “E PLURIBUS UNUM.” Around the upper periphery is “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and on the bottom, periphery is “HALF DOLLAR” in two lines.

The Uncirculated version was struck at the Denver Mint and bears a “D” mintmark, while the Proof version was struck at the San Francisco Mint and has an “S” mintmark. 163,753 of the “D” mintmarked Uncirculated clad Half Dollar coins were struck and distributed while 767,897 of the “S” mintmarked Proof clad Half Dollars were struck. The design on the Uncirculated and Proof coins is the same except for the mintmark and the finish on the coin.

The Congress Bicentennial Silver Dollar also came in an Uncirculated and Proof version, with the Uncirculated coins being struck at the Denver Mint and the Proof coins struck at the San Francisco Mint.

William Woodward designed the obverse of the Silver Dollar. It depicts the full-length Statue of Freedom that sits atop the US Capitol. Clouds and rays of sunlight are behind Freedom and the upper periphery has the word “LIBERTY” while the lower has the words “IN GOD WE TRUST”. The date “1789” is to the left and the date “1989” and the mintmark “D” are to the right.

The reverse’s central image is the mace of the United States House of Representatives (the Peoples Body), and in the left field are the words “E PLURIBUS UNUM” and to the right are the words “BICENTENNIAL OF THE CONGRESS”. “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and “ONE DOLLAR” surround the outer periphery of the coin. Woodward again designed the reverse of this coin.

Up to 3 million Silver Dollars were authorized by Congress, but the Uncirculated coin struck at the Denver Mint only sold 135,2903, while the Proof coin struck at the San Francisco Mint sold 762,198 so the net mintage of approximately 900,000 coins was far under the authorized mintage. 

The final coin in the set was a $5.00 Gold Commemorative coin. US Mint Engraver John Mercanti designed the coin. The obverse features the US Capitol dome. Above the dome is the word “LIBERTY” while below the dome are the dates “1789 – 1989”. In the left field is “IN GOD WE TRUST.”

The reverse, also designed by Mercanti, features a Bald Eagle with wings outstretched perched atop the canopy of the Old Senate Chamber. Separated by the eagle and the canopy are “UNITED STATES” and “OF AMERICA.” The upper periphery has “BICENTENNIAL OF THE CONGRESS” and the lower periphery has the denomination “FIVE DOLLARS.”

Both the Uncirculated and Proof versions were struck at the West Point Mint. The Uncirculated coin sold 46,899 coins while the Proof version sold 164,690 coins.

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