Library of Congress Commemorative Coins

In May 1998 Rep. William M. Thomas (R-CA) introduced legislation that called for the issuance of commemorative coins to mark the bicentennial of the Library of Congress – a major cultural institution in Washington, DC that is the world’s largest library and includes the Congressional Research Service that provides research to member of Congress and congressional committees.

The Library of Congress, or LOC as it is known by its several thousand employees, was one of the first institutions established when the seat of the U.S. government moved from Philadelphia to Washington, DC. After the British burned the Library along with the White House and Congress in 1814 during the war of 1812, Thomas Jefferson sold his personal library to the government to create the nucleus for the rebuilt Library of Congress. The building that still houses that collection was named for Jefferson, while two other LOC buildings are named for James Madison and John Adams.

Public Law 105-268, which became law on October 19, 1998 when President William J. Clinton signed it into law, called for the issuance of two coins to celebrate the LOC’s bicentennial – a silver dollar to be issued in uncirculated and Proof plus either $5 gold coins as has been issued since 1984, or a $10 bimetallic coin that weighs 16.259 grams and is made of 48% gold and 48% platinum (with the rest being alloy) in quantities to be established by the Secretary of the Treasury.

Both coins feature graceful designs that are rooted in the architecure and symbolism of the LOC.

Thankfully for collectors, the Treasury Secretary opted for the $10 coin, which to this day remains the only ringed bimetallic coin ever issued by the U.S. Mint; the only coin made specifically of a quarter ounce of gold and a quarter ounce of platinum; the only U.S, coin that honors a library; and one of only four modern commemoratives that carry the $10 denomination along with the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics gold coin, 2003 First Flight gold coin and 2020 Mayflower gold coin.

Silver dollar and Bimetallic $10

The designs of each LOC coin were different from each other and were emblematic of the institution itself. The silver dollar obverse features a book that is open with its spine resting on another book while the torch of learning, which rests at the top of the dome on the LOC’s Jefferson building, appears in the background. The reverse shows a side view of the dome. The obverse was designed by Thomas D. Rogers, while the reverse was designed by John Mercanti, the 12^th Chief Engraver at the Mint.

Both versions of the silver dollar were struck at the Philadelphia Mint and limited to an authorized maximum mintage of 500,000 coins. The pre-issue prices were $25 and $28 that later went to $27 and $32.

The design of the $10 coin included an obverse design by Mercanti that within the inner platinum core shows the hand of Minerva raising the torch of learning with the Jefferson building dome in the background, while the outer gold ring features inscriptions for the LOC, year of issue and Liberty. The flame of the torch that begins in the core is placed so that the flame itself appears in the gold portion to make it look like fire.

The reverse of this coin that was designed by Thomas D. Rogers shows the seal of the LOC that is similar to the Great Seal surrounded by a laurel wreath on the platinum core with inscriptions for the denomination and country of issue on the gold ring.

The $10 coins, struck at the West Point Mint, were "coins of many firsts," according to the Mint, in which "the outer ring is stamped from a sheet of gold, then a solid core of platinum is placed within the ring."

They were optimistically given a 200,000-mintage limit. The coin was priced initially at $380 for the mint state and $395 for the Proof, which after June 6, 2000 were raised to $405 and $425, which was much higher than the $200 or so collectors had been paying for the $5 gold coins of recent years.

On April 24, 2000, a launch ceremony for the coins and the USPS postage stamp for the LOC’s bicentennial was held at the Jefferson building where members of the LOC staff could purchase the coins.

Surcharges of $10 for each dollar and $50 for each $10 coin were paid to the LOC Trust Fund Board to help fund outreach programs and the LOC’s bicentennial programs.

It is not clear why the Treasury Secretary chose to issue a ringed bimetallic $10 coin over the $5 gold he could have picked, but it may have been because the $10 coin carried a larger surcharge than $5 gold coins, which would help the LOC raise more money. Another reason was to make the first commemoratives of a new millenium different from anything that had come before.

Production of this coin was problematic because platinum is much softer than gold, and the differing densities of the metals make them hard to work with together. On some examples the platinum core rattles inside the ring of gold.

Sales of the silver dollars were solid at 53,264 and 198,503 respectively for the mint state and Proof dollars, but probably due to the $400-price tag the $10 coin did not sell well, reaching only 7,262 for the uncirculated version and 27,445 for the Proof.

Today the silver dollar is very reasonabally priced in mint state and Proof, and high grade examples are low population coins.

Why the $10 is So Valuable

Later, when collectors found out the mint state bimetallic coin had such a low mintage for coins of that period, it started to acquire a strong secondary market premium, which eventually pushed prices for this coin to as much as $4,000 ungraded and $5,000 for MS70 examples by the mid-2000s.

Experts believe that in addition to the low mintage, the $10 coin became popualr because it was a new kind of coin for a new era and one that is unique in our coinage history.

It is noteworthy that the coin has been listed in 100 Greatest Modern U.S. Coins since the first edition appeared in 2011, where it remains in the fourth edition at number 25.

Today buyers have an excellent opportunity to take advantage of prices for the $10 bimetallic coin are much lower than they were in the past, which makes this a great time to add the most valuable modern commemorative issued to date -- whether you want the BU version or the Proof.

Plus, with a quarter ounce of gold and a quarter ounce of platinum, both versions of the $10 coin have substantial intrinsic value. For all these reasons the $10 coin is always in demand.

Sources:

Scott Schechter and Jeff Garrett, 100 Greatest Modern U.S. Coins (Whitman, 2017)

Q. David Bowers, A Guide Book of United States Commemorative Coins (Whitman, 2017)