Some Questions About Modern US Commemorative Dollars

I'm sorry, but this is not an accurate statement. Neither the striking of the National Wildlife Refuge silver medals by the US Mint in 2003 nor the medals struck in subsequent years has a direct cause-and-effect connection to the limit placed on US commemorative coins years earlier.

Congress imposed the two-program per year limit for commemorative coins in 1996 via a bill that would become Public Law 104-208 when it was signed by President William Clinton. This bill was specific to commemorative coins.

The Mint has long had the authorization to strike medals without case-by-case Congressional authorization (such authorization dates back to 1873). It is free to collaborate with other Government Agencies and Departments on medal projects; such was the case with the National Wildlife Refuge medals.

The medal route was not chosen, however, because commemorative coins were not an option. As Congress had only authorized one commemorative program for 2003 (the Wright Brothers' First Flight Centennial), a program for the National Wildlife Refuge centennial could have also been considered. No bills calling for a NWR commemorative coin program were introduced, however.

This year's American Liberty medal is not specifically a commemorative medal. While it does celebrate the concept of liberty in America, the medal is part of the Mint's new Liberty-themed gold coin and silver medal series that is expected to become an annual program - it is a thematic or topical series rather than a commemorative series and is not sponsored by a private organization (as all NCLT US commemorative coins are) or a vehicle for fundraising via surcharges (as all NCLT US commemorative coins are).

Commems, I stand corrected. I used the wrong words, all I meant to say is exactly what you state so much more eloquently and correctly. I know that the mint can strike medals without specific congressional authorization. I should have simply said that the mint was able to strike the medals because they were not coins and therefore not subject to the limits that were set, and as you stated, without a law being passed the mint took the initiative to strike the NWR medals (I guess those were my first "subscription" orders). I thank you for your expertise and your willingness to share it. Your knowledge enriches us all.

I like the classic commemoratives due to low mintage and the fact that they have already been around for 50-100 years. The day you can buy equal weight silver modern commemoratives for less that similar bullion coins I will be a buyer. Accumulating silver or gold for the long haul can be lucrative if you can resist selling out when it seems gold and silver prices are going down and will stay down forever. They never do stay down forever and if commodity prices spike you can make a lot of money or you can just hold on as insurance against calamity. Usually, for gold or silver prices to really spike something bad has to happen in the economy. So you sit with pounds of silver waiting for economic collapse. This can be depressing unless you just like silver and gold coins for their own sake. If our economy picks up then I predict gold prices will fall, but silver may do well because it is a manufacturing metal. It has many broad industrial uses.