Classic Commemoratives, Proof & Special Strikes

While the vast majority of commemorative coins issued by the United States Mint between 1892 and 1954 were released with only business-strike or uncirculated surfaces, a few issues saw limited proof production. These proofs, numbering most cases in the hundreds or less, are extremely rare in the context of classic commemorative coinage and are highly sought after by US coin enthusiasts.

All of these proof classic commemorative coins trade for four figure prices or more and are, in most cases, remarkably challenging to find. While commemorative enthusiasts don't generally pursue these coins as part of a regular-issue set, some of the more affluent specialists do seek these coins. The inclusion of these coins in any collection -- needless to say -- helps separate those commemorative sets from more "ordinary" commemorative coin collections that include only the relatively more common business-strike examples.