Coin Collectors Go For The Gold With Olympic Coins
With the 2016 Rio Olympics ramping up in Rio de Janeiro during the month of August, many coin collectors are turning their eyes toward Olympic commemorative coins. The U.S. Mint produced its fist Olympic commemorative coin in 1983, and since then has struck dozens of different varieties of Olympic coins, when counting both uncirculated and proof versions. It's certainly possible, but definitely cost prohibitive, to collect one of each U.S. Olympic coin. Many hobbyists take on the challenge of buying all Olympic coinage, but most modern coin collectors will focus on more topical themes, such as coins with certain sports themes (swimming, gymnastics, etc.), all pieces from a certain Olympiad (I.E. XXIII 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games or XIX 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games), or coins from a particular denomination, such as half dollars or silver dollars. Coin collectors who pursue Olympics coins find the relative affordability of the proof copper-nickel clad half dollars and silver dollars often very attractive. And what's not to like? Most of the proof Olympic coins can be bought on the secondary market for a fraction of the original U.S. Mint issue prices. Very few Olympic coins are considered scarce, though there are certainly some pieces that can set the coin collector back a pretty penny, including a number of 1995-1996 Olympic commemorative coins. These include the 1996 Swimming and Soccer half dollars, 1995 Cycling silver dollar, all 1996 Olympic silver dollars, and most of the uncirculated $5 gold half eagles. Here's a rundown on all of the Olympic commemorative coin types and their approximate values:
- 1983 XXIII Los Angeles Discus Thrower Silver Dollar - $30 proof and uncirculated
- 1984 XXIII Los Angeles Olympic Coliseum Silver Dollar - $35 proof, $30 uncirculated
- 1984 XXIII Los Angeles Torch Bearers $10 Gold Eagle - $750 proof and uncirculated
- 1988 XXIV Seoul Olympiad Silver Dollar - $25 proof and uncirculated
- 1988 XXIV Seoul Olympiad $5 Gold - $375 proof and uncirculated
- 1992 XXV Barcelona Olympiad Gymnastics Half Dollar - $7 proof, $10 uncirculated
- 1992 XXV Barcelona Olympiad Baseball Silver Dollar - $35 proof and uncirculated
- 1992 XXV Barcelona Olympiad Runner $5 gold - $375 uncirculated and proof
- 1995 XXVI Atlanta Olympiad Basketball Half Dollar - $12 proof, $18 uncirculated
- 1995 XXVI Atlanta Olympiad Baseball Half Dollar - $16 proof, $18 uncirculated
- 1996 XXVI Atlanta Olympiad Swimming Half Dollar - $28 proof, $135 uncirculated
- 1996 XXVI Atlanta Olympiad Soccer Half Dollar - $75 proof, $125 uncirculated
- 1995 XXVI Atlanta Olympiad Gymnastics Silver Dollar - $40 proof, $45 uncirculated
- 1995 XXVI Atlanta Olympiad Paralympics Silver Dollar - $40 proof, $32 uncirculated
- 1995 XXVI Atlanta Olympiad Track and Field Silver Dollar - $35 proof, $80 uncirculated
- 1995 XXVI Atlanta Olympiad Cycling Silver Dollar - $40 proof, $135 uncirculated
- 1996 XXVI Atlanta Olympiad Tennis Silver Dollar - $70 proof, $250 uncirculated
- 1996 XXVI Atlanta Olympiad Paralympics Silver Dollar - $65 proof, $250 uncirculated
- 1996 XXVI Atlanta Olympiad Rowing Silver Dollar - $65 proof, $250 uncirculated
- 1996 XXVI Atlanta Olympiad High Jump Silver Dollar - $40 proof, $250 uncirculated
- 1995 XXVI Atlanta Olympiad Torch Runner $5 Gold - $350 proof, $700 uncirculated
- 1995 XXVI Atlanta Olympiad Stadium $5 Gold - $350 proof, $1,300 uncirculated
- 1996 XXVI Atlanta Olympiad Flag Bearer $5 Gold - $350 proof, $1,300 uncirculated
- 1996 XXVI Atlanta Olympiad Cauldron $5 Gold - $350 proof, $1,300 uncirculated
- 2002 XIX Salt Lake City Winter Olympiad Silver Dollar - $40 proof and uncirculated
- 2002 XIX Salt Lake City Winter Olympiad $5 Gold - $350 proof and uncirculated
Clearly, there are many choices for coin collectors when it comes to the variety of Olympic commemorative coins as well as budget options. With so many great coins to choose from and the Olympic spirit surging in the midst of the 2016 Rio Games, now may just be the best opportunity for to begin building your Olympic coin collection or add on to the Olympics coin sets you already have. This is a great chance to literally go for the gold – and the silver and clad!
