Post Your Coins With Stars

Fantastic!

Wrapping up my look at classic era US commemorative coins that include a star in their design, I present the coins of the 1992 Grant Birth Centennial. The primary designs of the coins do not include any stars, but the special "Star" symbol that was added to the obverse of a number of the silver and gold coins grants (pun intended) the Grant commemorative coins entrance to the "Star Club."

Ulysses S. Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio on April 27, 1822. Nearly 100 years later, in 1921, the Ulysses S. Grant Centenary Memorial Association was formed to honor and perpetuate his memory; he died of mouth/throat cancer on July 23, 1885 at his home in Wilton, NY. Among the Association's activities was the sponsoring of gold and silver commemorative coins to mark the centennial of Grant's birth. The silver coin issued was a half dollar, the gold coin was a $1.00 piece; the two coins share a common design.

The obverse presents a right-facing portrait of Grant, the reverse depicts the Point Pleasant house in which he was born. Of the 10,000 gold coins struck, a small, incuse, five-pointed star was added to 5,000; the star was added on the obverse to the right of Grant's portrait above the "GRANT" inscription. The star was added to the same number (5,000) of silver half dollars (same side, same location).

None of the gold coins were returned to the Mint for melting, so both the "Plain" and "with Star" varieties are equally available in the marketplace. In contrast, the net mintage of the silver "with Star" coin is just 4,256 while the net mintage of the "Plain" Grant half dollar variety is 67,405 (100,000 were struck). Thus, the silver "with Star" Grant coin is relatively much scarcer and its marketplace price indicates such.

The coin was designed by Laura Gardin Fraser. It was one of several US commemorative coins in which she was involved; others are the 1921 Alabama Statehood Centennial, the 1925 Fort Vancouver Centennial and the 1926-39 Oregon Trail Memorial half dollars, plus the 1999 George Washington Death Bicentennial Gold Half Eagle (the design was originally created for the 1932 Washington Birth Bicentennial quarter).

1922 Grant Birth Centenary Half Dollar, Star Variety




1922 Grant Birth Centenary Gold $1.00, Star Variety



You can find my previous posts about the Grant coins, here:

- 1922 Grant Birth Centenary Half Dollar, Plain Variety
- 1922 Grant Birth Centenary Half Dollar, with Star Variety
- 1922 Grant Memorial "Cousin"
- 1922 Grant Birth Centenary Coins - Beards.

Other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals can be found here: Read More: Commems Collection.

1966 Australia.
50 Cents - Elizabeth II 2nd Portrait - Round type.

1997 Republica de Bolivia.
2 Bolivianos large type.

1929 Brazil.
200 Reis

Over the years, many of Cuba's circulating base metal and silver coins have featured a star as part of their design. On the lesser denominations (i.e., five centavos and lower), the star has often been incorporated as part of the coin's denomination.

Here's a Two Centavos coin from 1915 to illustrate:

1939 Republica Del Paraguay.
5 Pesos.

JFK, Half Dollar, 1964