New Commemorative Coins Approved For 2016 And 2018

Two new commemorative programs were signed into law recently, one for the 100th Anniversary of the National Parks Service (NPS) and one for World War I American Veterans.

The NPS coin program is slated for release in 2016. It fills the second and last slot for that year; a 2016 Mark Twain commemorative program was already on the books.

There will be three NPS coins, a gold half eagle, silver dollar and clad half dollar with mintages of 100,000 / 500,000 / 750,000 respectively. Collected surcharges will go to the National Park Foundation to help it preserve and protect the country's natural resources that are under its purview.

I was hoping this one would be approved! The 100th anniversary of the NPS is certainly worthy of commemoration and should make for a great program.

The WWI coin will be issued in 2018, the centennial anniversary year of the armistice that brought the war to an end.

I know many folks aren't in favor of “celebrating” wars on coins, but I supported this piece. I see it not as a celebration of the war itself, but as an important reminder of the sacrifices made by those who fought to help preserve our freedom and way of life. Over 4 million US soldiers were in service during WWI and their efforts should never be forgotten. FYI: The last surviving US WWI veteran (Frank Buckles) died in 2011.

The WWI program is a single-coin program - a silver dollar with a mintage of 350,000.

At this time, there is only one program approved for 2017 (Lions Club) and one for 2018 (WWI Veterans). Only one commemorative coin proposal has been introduced in the current session of Congress (National Purple Heart Hall of Honor) which had been proposed previously but did not gain enough traction to get approved.

A US Coast Guard coin program was introduced in the previous session as well and garnered more than 300 co-sponsors. The three-coin program would include the standard gold/silver/clad coins and would be issued in 2017. Funds collected would go to support a National Coast Guard Museum. I think this one will likely be proposed again during the current session and have a real chance of getting approved.