More than 20 years before the 50 State Quarters and 30 years before the Presidential Dollar series, the United States had a circulating commemorative coin program that lasted 2 years and proved popular among the masses.
The Bicentennial coin designs appeared on U.S. circulating quarters, half-dollars, and dollar coins in made in 1975 and 1976. I’m going to share more about this historic commemorative coin program that remains so popular with American coin collectors.
History Of Bicentennial Coins
In 1970, the United States American Revolution Bicentennial Commission proposed the idea of minting special coins to commemorate our nation’s Bicentennial.
After pitching the idea to President Nixon and deciding to what extent the special commemorative coin program should reach (both in terms of denominations involved and how the coins should be distribute), the House Committee on Banking and Currency proposed on July 24, 1973 that the U.S. should strike double-dated commemoratives (1776-1976) for quarters, half-dollars, and dollar coins.
Furthermore, it was declared that there be an open design competition for a special image on the reverse side of these coins, and that the final designs be ready for release into circulation on July 4, 1975.
By December 1973, when the design contest closed, some 900 designs had been submitted.
In March of 1974, the designs selected were:
- Jack L. Ahr’s Revolutionary drummer boy for the quarter
- Seth Huntington’s rendering of Independence Hall for the half-dollar
- Dennis Williams’ patriotic image of the Liberty Bell and the moon (on which the U.S. had made several landings from 1969 into the early 1970s) for the dollar coin
How Many Bicentennial Coins Were Minted?
Hundreds of millions of Bicentennial coins were struck during 1975 and 1976 — both in the regular copper-nickel clad composition for circulation and in a 40% silver clad composition for collectors.
The silver Bicentennial coins were sold in mint sets and proof sets. These mint sets and proof sets were first sold in 1975 and remained U.S. Mint offerings into the mid-1980s.
The U.S. Mint ended up melting millions of unsold silver Bicentennial coins!
Bicentennial Coin Varieties
During the 2-year minting of Bicentennial coins, the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco Mints struck uncirculated versions of all 3 denominations. Plus, the San Francisco Mint struck proof versions in both copper-nickel clad and silver.
Making things even more interesting, the U.S. Mint refined the reverse lettering on the Bicentennial dollar coin for 1976. Thus:
- There exists a “Type I” and a “Type II” Bicentennial dollar in the case of the copper-nickel clad regular strikes and proofs.
- There is only a “Type I” Bicentennial dollar for the silver clad uncirculated and proof offerings.
The Current Value Of Bicentennial Coins
Generally speaking, all circulated (worn) copper-nickel clad Bicentennial coins are worth face value.
However, I have noticed more and more coin dealers in recent years paying a very small but still-meaningful markup of 5 to 20 cents over face for lightly worn copper-nickel Bicentennial dollars.
Typical uncirculated copper-nickel Bicentennial quarters are usually worth less than 50 cents.
Uncirculated Bicentennial half-dollars are generally worth 75 cents to $1.
Type II uncirculated Bicentennial dollars are worth around $2 to $3.
Type I uncirculated Bicentennial dollars tend to bring in $1 to $5 more than their Type II counterparts.
Bear in mind these price quotes apply only to average-quality coins of the above mentioned grades. You may have exceptional-quality uncirculated coins that would command a premium above the values listed here. Or, your Bicentennial coins may have unsightly imperfections which would lower the value of your coins.
The Current Value Of Bicentennial Sets
Regular 1975 and 1976 mint sets, which contain the 12 regular-strike coins minted in those years (the cent, nickel, dime, quarter, half-dollar, and dollar each from the Philadelphia and Denver Mints) are selling for around $8 to $9.
The San Francisco-produced silver mint sets which sell for around $45 to $60, depending on the quality of the coins.
Regular 1975 and 1976 copper-nickel proof sets sell for $7 to $10.
Silver 1976 proof sets can be found for $40 to $50.
Rare Bicentennial Coin Errors To Look For
The most fascinating, verified Bicentennial quarter error is the legendary “double denomination” error, where 1976 Bicentennial quarters were accidentally struck directly on top of already minted dimes and dollar coins. This includes a spectacular, one-of-a-kind 1976-S Proof quarter mistakenly struck over a 1967 Roosevelt dime — creating a dual-date coin showing bits of both the 1967 and 1776–1976 dates. This coin sold at auction for thousands of dollars.
With regard to Bicentennial half dollar errors, be sure to look closely at the design details. Since the Mint was hammering these out as fast as humanly possible to keep up with the public demand, heavy mechanical grease, metal shavings, and debris would frequently pack tightly inside the tiny crevices of the steel coin dies. When the die slammed down onto the half dollar blank, that compressed gunk physically blocked the metal from flowing. On the best “struck-through grease” varieties of the 1976 half dollar, you will find copies where parts of the date “1776-1976” or the words “IN GOD WE TRUST” are completely invisible (or look like ghostly phantom shapes). So you’ll want to check the surface texture under a light: if the missing letters are totally smooth and flat, it’s a real Mint error. If the area looks scratched or gouged, someone just scraped it off in their garage.
If you’ve got a Bicentennial dollar coin, you aren’t looking for a Mint mistake — you’re looking for a total design pivot that collectors love! As I said above, when the Mint first started punching out these giant dollars in 1975, they used what we call Type 1 lettering. Flip your dollar coin to the back and look at the words “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” On a Type 1, the letters are wide and blocky. The Mint soon realized the wide font was causing some strike issues and relatively early in production moved toward a more refined, serifed font (serifs are the little feet at the ends of many letters). The presence of the finer lettering indicates a Type 2 dollar. Type 1 Bicentennial dollars are much scarcer than their Type 2 counterparts and therefore carry much stronger premiums in general.
Are Bicentennial Coins Still In Circulation?
While the Bicentennial quarter, half-dollar, and dollar coins were all intended for circulation and did see use in commerce, only the Bicentennial quarters remain in everyday circulation (and even these have been getting harder to find in recent years).
It’s possible to get Bicentennial half dollars and Bicentennial dollars from some banks, but your best bet for finding either the half-dollar or dollar Bicentennial coins will be at your local coin dealer.
If you’re looking to get ahold of uncirculated or proof Bicentennial coins, consider shopping for them via a coin dealer or online. Bicentennials are still highly collectible patriotic commemoratives.
A List Of All U.S. Coins Currently In Circulation
Other U.S. Bicentennial Coins
- U.S. Congress Bicentennial Coins (1989) — $5 gold coin, $1 silver dollar, and 50-cent half dollar
- Library of Congress Bicentennial Coins (2000) — $10 coin, $1 silver dollar
- West Point Bicentennial Coins (2002) — $1 silver dollar coin
- Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Coins (2004) — $1 silver dollar coin
- Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial cents (2009) — Log Cabin/Birth-Early Life penny, Formative Years penny, Professional Life penny, Presidency penny
Do you have a 1776-1976 Bicentennial coin? Think there might be something unique about it? Post a photo of your coin in the comments below and I’ll try to help!
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