In its final form, the 1983-84 Los Angeles Olympics commemorative coin program was a multi-coin program - silver and gold - that offered collectors a variety of ways to assemble a meaningful numismatic souvenir of the Games. Before the program was enacted, however, it went through many proposed forms, some of which that likely would have proved unwieldy for many collectors.
I've decided to break the complicated story of the 1983-84 Los Angeles Olympic Games commemorative coin program into seven manageable parts:
1) The Senate coin bill
2) The coin bill's Senate Hearing (Part 1)
3) The coin bill's Senate Hearing (Part 2)
4) The coin bill's Senate Hearing (Part 3)
5) The 1981 House bills that offered alternative programs
6) The 1982 House bills that offered alternative programs
7) The amended Senate bill that became Public Law
I will be presenting the parts in separate posts over the next few days.
The effort to secure 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games coins began in Congress in May 1981 with the introduction of a coin bill in the Senate by Alan Cranston (D-CA) for himself and seven co-sponsors. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
The bill had two stated objectives:
1) mint coins to commemorate the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games
2) help finance the Games, and amateur athletics, without use of tax revenue
Four different coin types - in large quantities - were proposed:
- Copper-Nickel ("CuNi") Clad Dollar coins - up to 30 million, five designs in one series (5 coins)
- Silver (90%) Ten Dollar coins - up to 22.4 million, four designs in four series (16 coins)
- Gold (90%) Fifty Dollar coins - up to 2.4 million, four designs in four series (4 coins)
- Gold (90%) One Hundred Dollar coins - up to 1.6 million, four designs in four series (4 coins)
In all, the program was to consist of 29 different designs. Add in the availability of coins in Proof and Uncirculated qualities (Note: The One Dollar coins were only to be struck in Uncirculated.), and a complete collection of Los Angeles Olympic games coins would require the purchase of 53 coins!
The Mint was mandated to deliver the program's coin per the following schedule:
- CuNi Clad Dollar coins: no later than January 1, 1984
- Silver $10, Gold $50 and $100 coins
>>>> First Series: no later than July 1, 1982
>>>> Second Series: no later than January 1, 1983
>>>> Third Series:: no later than July 1, 1983
>>>> Fourth Series: no later than January 1, 1984
(At least collectors would have some breathing room between releases!)
Net proceeds from sales of the coins would benefit the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee {"LAOOC"), its staging of the 1984 Games and its programs supporting amateur athletics. A significant twist in the bill, however, was its provision that the role of the US Mint would be to strike the coins but not market or distribute them. The Mint would turn the coins over in bulk to the LAOOC and it, in turn, would work with private marketing companies to set coin prices, and promote and distribute the coins under financial agreements it had made with such firms. Spoiler Alert: This provision would prove to be a major stumbling block for the coin proposal.
Note: The bill specified that the Secretary of the Treasury was to add a surcharge of 15% of manufacturing costs (i.e., excluding bullion costs) to the coin price charged the LAOOC to create a profit margin for the Government.The designs for the coins were to be "emblematic of the Olympics, United States participation in the Olympics, United States athletes, and other symbols consistent with the purposes of this Act." The Secretary of the Treasury was to have final design decision authority, but was to consult with the LAOOC during the design selection process.
See
1983-84 Los Angeles Olympics - The Hearing / Part 1 to continue the story.
For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more modern commemorative coin stories, see:
Commems Collection
Posted 04/28/2026 7:14 pm
