How About Commemorative Coins with Unusual Denominations?

Decisions about which denominations to produce in a monetary system often involve discussions of efficiency. For instance, how many coins do you need to make any specific total, versus how many different denominations of coins should be produced?

But what if coins or even currency are not issued for the purpose of everyday commerce?

With this year being the 250^th anniversary of American Independence, why couldn’t commemorative coins or currency be issued in the denominations of either $17.76 or $2,026.00?

Non-circulating coins are already being struck with special finishes, privy marks, non-standard metal content, and color. So, why not get even more creative and issue pieces of unusual denominations?

In the United States, the Mint can only strike coins or prepare paper money authorized by legislation signed into law. In Congress, HR 1761, which we introduced almost sixteen months ago, calls for a $250 Federal Reserve Note to be issued that bears the portrait of the current president, Donald Trump. No further actions have been taken since this Bill was assigned to the House Committee on Financial Services. Its prospects of passage appear remote.

If you think about it from the perspective of the federal government’s finances, I suspect that a Series 2026 $17.76 Federal Reserve Note put into circulation and distributed through banks and credit unions could sell tens of millions of pieces. Further, I would predict that almost none of them would ever again be put into further circulation. That could be an unexpected boost to the finances of the federal government. It would also probably spark another surge in numismatists.

What do readers think? I suspect that half of you who have read this far are screaming, “They can’t do that!” But stranger things have happened.

Last time I asked—Which U.S. president was depicted on a U.S. coin when he was alive and serving in that office? The 1926 Sesquicentennial of American Independence Half Dollar commemorative depicted the overlapping busts of the first president, George Washington, and then the currently serving President John Calvin Coolidge, Jr.

Here is this week’s question. Who was the first U.S. Postmaster General to be depicted on U.S. currency? Come back next week for the answer.

Patrick A. Heller was honored as a 2019 FUN Numismatic Ambassador. He is also the recipient of the American Numismatic Association 2018 Glenn Smedley Memorial Service Award, the 2017 Exemplary Service Award, the 2012 Harry Forman National Dealer of the Year Award, and the 2008 Presidential Award. Over the years, he has also been honored by the Numismatic Literary Guild, Professional Numismatists Guild, National Coin & Bullion Association, and the Michigan State Numismatic Society. He is the communications officer of Liberty Coin Service in Lansing, Michigan, and writes “Liberty’s Outlook,” a quarterly newsletter on rare coins and precious metals subjects. He now volunteers with the National Coin & Bullion Association as its Industry Issues Advisor.  Past newsletter issues can be viewed at www.libertycoinservice.com. Some of his radio commentaries, "Things You ‘Know’ That Just Aren’t So,” and “Important News You Need To Know,” can be heard at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday and Friday mornings on 1320-AM WILS in Lansing (which streams live and becomes part of the audio archives posted at www.1320wils.com).

You may also like:

Expected 2026 U.S. Numismatic Boom Underway

As Money Changes, So Do Collectors

Are You Having “Fun” with Numismatics?