On the obverse of the gold coin, a view of the Capitol dome is featured. On the inscription “Liberty” above, the letter “Y” appears transposed, as the shading was done on the wrong side of the letter. The remaining inscriptions include “In God We Trust” and “1798-1989″. The reverse design features the majestic eagle in the old Senate chamber. Inscriptions include “Bicentennial of the Congress”, “United States of America”, “E Pluribus Unum”, and “Five Dollars”. Both the obverse and reverse were designed by John Mercanti.
The Congress Bicentennial $5 Gold Coins were available in both proof and uncirculated versions struck at the West Point Mint. The coins were sold individually or as part of a three coin proof set, three coin uncirculated set, or comprehensive six coin set. The maximum authorized mintage was set at a lofty one million coins.
Final sales during the period of availability reached 164,690 proofs and 46,899 uncirculated coins. Although this was significantly below the maximum authorized mintage and lower than some previous commemorative gold coins, ultimately the mintage level proved high compared to subsequent issues. Present day collectors can acquire these coins at prices based primarily on the value of the precious metal content.
Coin Specifications
Designer: John Mercanti
Weight: 8.3590 g
Composition: 90% gold (0.242 ounces of gold)
Diameter: 21.6 mm
Maximum Authorized Mintage: 1,000,000
1989-W Uncirculated Congress $5 Gold
Pre-Issue Price: $185.00
Regular Price: $200.00
Final Mintage: 46,899
1989-W Proof Congress $5 Gold
Pre-Issue Price: $195.00
Regular Price: $215.00
Final Mintage: 164,690
Other 1989 Congress Bicentennial Commemorative Coins
The obverse of the silver dollar features a full view of Thomas Crawford’s bronze Statue of Freedom, which was placed atop of the Capitol dome in 1863. Clouds and rays of sunlight appear in the background of the view. The inscriptions read “Liberty”, “In God We Trust”, “1789″, and “1989″.
On the reverse of the coin is the mace of the House of Representatives. A close up view of the staff topped by an eagle on a world globe is pictured. The inscriptions include “United States of America”, “One Dollar”, “E Pluribus Unum”, and “Bicentennial of the Congress”. Both the obverse and reverse designs were modeled by Chester Young Martin and designed by William Woodward.
The 1989 Congress Silver Dollar was offered in proof version struck at the San Francisco Mint and in uncirculated version struck at the Denver Mint. The maximum authorized mintage across both options was 3 million coins. The silver dollars were sold individually or incorporated into different two and three coin sets and one six coin sets. A pre-issued discount price was available before regular pricing went into effect.
Coin Specifications
Designer: William Woodward
Weight: 26.7300 g
Composition: 90% Silver (0.7736 ounces of silver)
Diameter: 38.1 mm
Maximum Authorized Mintage: 10,000,000
1989-D Uncirculated Congress Silver Dollar
Pre-Issue Price: $23.00
Regular Price: $26.00
Final Mintage: 762,198
1989-S Proof Congress Silver Dollar
Pre-Issue Price: $25.00
Regular Price: $29.00
Final Mintage: 135,203
Other 1989 Congress Commemorative Coins
1989 Congress Bicentennial Half Dollar
1989 Congress Bicentennial $5 Gold Coin
The obverse design of the half dollar depicts a close up of the bust of Thomas Crawford’s Statue of Freedom, which is found at the peak of the Capital Dome. A view of the full statue is used for the silver dollar. The inscriptions on the half dollar include “Bicentennial of the Congress” above, “In God We Trust” and “Liberty” below, and the anniversary dates “1789″ and 1989″ to each side. The obverse was designed by Patricia Lewis Verani.
Pictured on the reverse is a full view of the Capitol Building accentuated with a pattern of seven stars above and three stars to each side below. The inscriptions read “United States of America”, “E Pluribus Unum”, and “Half Dollar”. The reverse was designed by William Woodward based on modeling produced by Edgar Z. Steever.
The 1989 Congress Half Dollar was offered in both proof and uncirculated versions. The proof coins were produced at the San Francisco Mint and the uncirculated coins were produced at the Denver Mint. The coins were sold individually or as part of sets including two, three, or six coins. The coins were initially sold at a pre-issue discount price before regular pricing came into effect.
Coin Specifications
Designer: Patricia L Verani (obverse), William Woodward (reverse)
Weight: 11.3400 g
Composition: 91.67% copper, 8.33% nickel
Diameter: 30.61 mm
Maximum Authorized Mintage: 4,000,000
1989-D Uncirculated Congress Half Dollar
Pre-Issue Price: $5.00
Regular Price: $6.00
Final Mintage: 163,753
1989-S Proof Congress Half Dollar
Pre-Issue Price: $7.00
Regular Price: $8.00
Final Mintage: 767,897
Other 1989 Congress Commemorative Coins
