Honoring Mount Rushmore‘s 50th Anniversary
The 50th Anniversary of the completion of Mount Rushmore was going to be celebrated in 1991, so Congress authorized coinage and ordered the US Mint to issue six distinct coins to honor the U.S. monument and four of our most revered Presidents. The Mint issued a $5 gold coin, a $1 silver coin, and a clad $.50 cent piece in proof and uncirculated finishes.
1991 Mount Rushmore Golden Anniversary Clad Half Dollar
The Mount Rushmore Golden Anniversary Clad Half Dollar had two designers. Marcel Jovine, the creator of numerous commemorative coin designs, designed the obverse. He created a view of Mount Rushmore, as originally carved by Gutzon Borglum, in the center of the coin, depicting Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The sun’s rays are emanating from behind the carving, and the word “LIBERTY” separates the rays. Beneath the carving is “IN GOD WE TRUST” and the date “1991.”
The reverse of this coin was designed and sculpted by Thomas J. Ferrell. It depicts a great North Western American Bison, commonly referred to as a Buffalo, and it is facing to the left. Above the Bison are the words “GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY,” and below it is the phrase “E PLURIBUS UNUM.” Around the outer periphery are 50 five-pointed stars, representing the states of the Union, and on the inner periphery are the phrases “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and the denomination “HALF DOLLAR”.
This coin was struck with an uncirculated finish at the Denver Mint with a “D” mintmark, and it was also struck as a proof at the San Francisco Mint with an “S” mintmark.
1991 Mount Rushmore Golden Anniversary Silver Dollar
The next coin in this commemorative series was the Mount Rushmore Golden Anniversary Silver Dollar. The obverse was designed by Marika Somogyi. Much like the clad half dollar, the silver dollar also featured a view of Mount Rushmore on its obverse. Although there are no rays emanating from this depiction, the word “LIBERTY” does, again, appear above the carving. On the carving itself, below the portraits, the anniversary date “1991” was added. In two lines are “GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY” and “MOUNT RUSHMORE NATIONAL MEMORIAL”. On the lower periphery are two laurel branches with a ribbon emblazoned with “IN GOD WE TRUST”.
On the reverse of the coin is the Great Seal of the United States, the sun’s rays coming from behind the seal, above an outline of a map of the United States. There is a five-pointed star to indicate Mount Rushmore’s approximate location in the United States. The words “SHRINE OF DEMOCRACY” are emblazoned across the map. Below those words are “E PLURIBUS UNUM” and on the upper periphery is “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and on the lower periphery is the denomination “ONE DOLLAR”. The reverse was designed by the U.S. Mint’s former Chief Engraver, Frank Gasparro. Chester Y. Martin was the obverse sculptor.
While the uncirculated version was struck at the Philadelphia Mint and bears a “P” mintmark, the proof version was struck in San Francisco and bears an “S” mintmark. The authorized mintage for the silver dollar was 2,500,000 coins, but only 133,139 uncirculated and 738,419 proof coins were sold.
1991-W Mount Rushmore Golden Anniversary Gold $5 Coin
The last coin in this set was the Mount Rushmore Golden Anniversary Gold $5 Coin. Like the clad half dollar and the silver dollar, it was also struck in uncirculated and proof. However, both versions of this gold coin were struck at the Mint at West Point.
Because both minor coins depicted the Mount Rushmore carving, the designers of the gold coin did not repeat that design. The obverse of the coin, designed by John Mercanti, depicted a bald eagle in flight, but it still included a small rendition of Mount Rushmore in the distance. In the eagle’s claws, he is seemingly holding a chisel and mallet for sculpting work, and in its beak is a ribbon on which the obligatory “IN GOD WE TRUST” was inscribed. Completing the obverse design are six five-pointed stars, the word “LIBERTY”, and the date “1991”.
The reverse is somewhat unusual in that instead of an image, the words “MOUNT RUSHMORE NATIONAL MEMORIAL” in a calligraphy-type font dominate the center. This commemorative coin is unusual in that its reverse is dominated by calligraphic lettering rather than a pictorial design. The upper and lower peripheries include the phrases “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” and the denomination “FIVE DOLLARS”. Below the calligraphy is the “W” mintmark for West Point. The reverse was designed by Robert Lamb and sculpted by William C. Cousins.
The coins were offered individually or as part of a three-coin set in uncirculated or proof finishes. Additionally, they were offered a complete six-coin set. Of the authorized mintage of 500,000 coins, only 31,959 uncirculated coins and 111,911 proof coins were sold individually and in sets. Shop modern U.S. gold commemorative coins and U.S. silver modern commemorative coins today.
