The 1992 Barcelona Olympics and the Legendary “Dream Team”
In 1992, the Olympic Summer Games were held in Barcelona, Spain while the Winter Games were staged in both Albertville and Savoie, France. This Olympics featured an American Basketball team full of NBA All-Stars such as Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, and the team was dubbed “The Dream Team.”
To raise money for American Olympic athletes, Congress authorized the minting of 3 different Olympic coins of the usual assortment – a clad half dollar, a silver dollar and a gold $5 coin. One notable quality is that the design of all three coins shows athletes in motion, which is what one associates with the Olympics and the athletes. Once they were approved the obverse of the clad Half Dollar was designed by William Cousins. It depicts a female gymnast in motion with a large American flag filling the entire design. You can see some of the stars and stripes and above her is “IN GOD WE TRUST” and below her are the five Olympic rings, the date “1992” and the word “LIBERTY”.
The reverse of the clad Half Dollar depicts an Olympic torch, with an olive branch, representing peace as the central element. “E PLURIBUS UNUM” is to the right and around the peripheries are “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and “HALF DOLLAR” on the upper and lower periphery respectively. To the left of the torch is the Latin inscription, “CITIUS, ALTIUS, FORTIUS” which is the Olympic motto: (Faster, Higher, Stronger). The reverse was designed by Steven M. Bieda.
The Uncirculated version was struck at the Philadelphia Mint and has a “P” mintmark while the Proof version was struck at the San Francisco Mint and has an “S” mintmark. While 6,000,000 were officially authorized, less than 700,000 of the Uncirculated and Proof versions combined were sold.
The next coin to be struck was the 1992 Olympic Silver Dollar, both in Uncirculated and in Proof. The obverse of the coin depicted a baseball pitcher rearing back to fire a pitch to the plate while leaning off the pitcher’s mound. In front of the pitcher is the motto “IN GOD WE TRUST” and behind him are the five Olympic rings and the letters “USA” above the rings. The upper periphery has the word “LIBERTY” while the lower periphery has a large-sized date “1992”. It was designed by John R. Deecken.
The reverse of the Silver Dollar was designed by sculptor Marcel Jovine. It has an American shield with stars and stripes in the center. There is a large olive branch on either side of the shield and a banner below, on which is inscribed “E PLURIBUS UNUM.” The five Olympic rings are above the shield and the letters “USA” appear in one of the three top Olympic rings. The upper periphery has “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and the lower periphery has the denomination “ONE DOLLAR”.
The 1992 Olympic Silver Dollar in Uncirculated condition was struck at the Denver Mint and has a “D” mintmark, while the Proof version was struck at the San Francisco Mint and bears an “S” mintmark. Although 4,000,000 coins were authorized by Congress, fewer than 700,000 Uncirculated and Proof coins were struck combined.
Additionally, for the very first time, edge lettering appeared on a US commemorative coin. Written around the edge, four times is “XXV OLYMPIAD”.
The final coin to be authorized was the gold $5.00 coin. The obverse of the coin depicted a sprinter running to the left in a burst of speed. Superimposed behind the sprinter is an American flag, hanging vertically. Above the sprinter at the top periphery is the word “LIBERTY”, to the right is the date “1992” and the phrase “IN GOD WE TRUST” and to the left are the five Olympic rings and the letters “USA” above them. This obverse was designed by T. James Ferrell.
The reverse features a heraldic style eagle with up-spread wings which almost look like they are holding the five Olympic rings and the letters “USA” balanced between the wings. The eagle has a shield covering its breast and the shield is inscribed with “E PLURIBUS UNUM.” The upper periphery has “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and the lower periphery has the denomination “FIVE DOLLARS”. James Peed created this design.
Both the Uncirculated and Proof versions were struck at the West Point Mint and both carry the “W” mintmark. Although 500,000 coins were authorized by Congress, slightly over 100,000 coins were sold of Uncirculated and Proof coins combined.
The coins were marketed in a variety of ways. Every coin was sold individually so that one could complete a set with six separate purchases. The Uncirculated clad Half Dollar was paired with the Uncirculated Silver Dollar. Likewise, the Proof clad Half Dollar was also paired with the Proof Silver Dollar. There were two three-coin sets. One set paired the Uncirculated Clad Half Dollar, with the Uncirculated Silver Dollar and the Uncirculated Five Dollar Gold coin. The other three-coin set paired the Proof versions of the clad Half Dollar, Proof Silver Dollar and the Proof Five Dollar Gold coins. Finally, one could purchase a six-coin set that comprised one of each of the three denominations in both Uncirculated and Proof striking.
The Proof clad Half Dollar and the Proof Silver Dollars were also included in the 1992 Prestige Proof sets.
| Date | Mintmark | Denomination | Type | Mintage | Value |
| 1992 | P | Clad Half Dollar | Uncirculated | 161,607 | $20 |
| 1992 | S | Clad Half Dollar | Proof | 519,645 | $20 |
| 1992 | D | Silver Dollar | Uncirculated | 187,552 | $45 |
| 1992 | S | Silver Dollar | Proof | 504,505 | $50 |
| 1992 | W | $5 Gold | Uncirculated | 27,732 | $550 |
| 1992 | W | $5 Gold | Proof | 77,313 | $550 |
Don’t miss the chance to elevate your collection with our rare coins and currency offerings.
