Commems Collection Modern: 1994 World Cup Official Coin Sets - Venues

Chicago - Soldier Field



The Chicago skyline view presented is dominated by the former John Hancock Building (now officially 875 North Michigan Avenue) with its distinctive twin antennae masts. The building itself is 1,128 feet tall, but its height stretches to 1,500 feet when measured to the top of the masts.


Mintages

One-Coin: 1,423
Two-Coin: 1,340


Matches - 5 Total

Knock Out Stage
June 17: Germany (1) vs. Bolivia (0)
June 21: Germany (1) vs. Spain (1)
June 26: Bulgaria (4) vs. Greece (0)
June 27: Spain (3) vs. Bolivia (1)

Round of 16
July 2: Germany (3) vs. Belgium (2)

Quarterfinals
No Games

Detroit - Pontiac Silverdome



The Detroit skyline presented is centered on its Renaissance Center (697 feet tall) which includes seven, interconnected skyscrapers in downtown Detroit on its riverfront.


Mintages

One-Coin: 1,565
Two-Coin: 2,301


Matches - 4 Total

Knock Out Stage
June 18: Switzerland (1) vs. United States (1)
June 22: Switzerland (4) vs. Romania (1)
June 24: Sweden (3) vs. Russia (1)
June 28: Brazil (1) vs. Sweden (1)

Round of 16
No Games

Quarterfinals
No Games

New York - New Jersey - Giants Stadium



The skyline presented is that of the southern tip of Manhattan/New York City at a time when the twin towers of the World Trade Center still stood within the city's Financial District. The office building with the pyramid-shaped spire to the left of the World Trade Center towers is 40 Wall Street (927 feet tall); it is the former Manhattan Company Building and opened in 1930.


Mintages

One-Coin: 1,347
Two-Coin: 1,657


Matches - 7 Total

Knock Out Stage
June 18: Republic of Ireland (1) vs. Italy (0)
June 23: Italy (1) vs. Norway (0)
June 25: Saudi Arabia (2) vs. Morocco (1)
June 28: Norway (0) vs. Republic of Ireland (0)

Round of 16
July 5: Bulgaria (1) vs. Mexico (1) / Bulgaria won 3-1 on Penalty Kciks

Quarterfinals
July 10: Bulgaria (2) vs. Germany (1)

Semifinals
July 13: Italy (2) vs. Bulgaria (1)

San Francisco - Stanford Stadium



The San Francisco skyline view has the Golden Gate Bridge in the foreground and downtown San Francisco in the background.


Mintages

One-Coin: 1,161
Two-Coin: 1,295


Matches 6 Total

Knock Out Stage
June 20: Brazil (2) vs. Russia (0)
June 24: Brazil (3) vs. Cameroon (0)
June 26: Columbia (2) vs. Switzerland (0)
June 28: Russia (6) vs. Cameroon (1)


Round of 16
July 4: Brazil (1) vs. United States (0)

Quarterfinals
July 10: Romania (2) vs. Sweden (2) / Sweden won 5-4 on Penalty Kicks

Semifinals
No Games

Wrapping Up

Overall sales volume for the World Cup USA coins were fairly good (IMO) but fell far short of authorized maximums:

- CuNi Clad Half Dollar: 5,000,000 authorized, 777,562 sold (~15.5%) - including 175,893 included in the 1994 Prestige Set
- Silver Dollar: 5,000,000 authorized, 658, 614 sold (~13.2%) - including 175,893 included in the 1994 Prestige Set
- Gold Half Eagle: 750,000 authorized, 112,061 sold (~14.9%)

Acknowledging this, I am still surprised by the low sales of the venue sets. Considering that the attendance at games was between ~53,000 and ~93,000 (generally driven by stadium capacity), I would have expected better results. I guess the Venn diagram for the intersection of coin collectors, spontaneous souvenir seekers and soccer fans shows a rather small common interest area!

Before I had a look at the sales figures for each option, I would have guessed that the stadiums with the most games (i.e., most sales opportunities) would be at the top of the sales charts. I would have been wrong. Detroit, with just four games hosted (#9 out of 9), was #1 in two-coin sales and #2 in one-coin sales. The site with the most games hosted - Los Angeles, with 8 games - was in the middle of the sales pack; NJ-NY hosted the second-most games (7) but finished ahead of Los Angeles in One-Coin as well as Two-Coin set sales.

I think the multi-city packaging approach had plenty of merit and commend the folks who came up with the idea. It's too bad it didn't fulfill its promise.

I enjoyed the tour of the venues and games. Thank you for sharing it with us.




We are aligned on this point. I am enough of a general sports fan to tune in when the USA soccer teams are competing in the World Cup - but I have very little interest in the general season soccer leagues.

I do fully support my Washington Nationals baseball club. Our 2019 World Series Champion flag will fly forever. I attended game 3 with my adult son and it was a joyous memory that will last a lifetime.