U.S. Capitol Visitor Center Commemorative Coins
Coin Description
Gold: Shows the Capitol building as it appeared in 1800.
Silver: Shows a contemporary interpretation of the U.S. bald eagle wrapped in a banner that says, "U.S. Capitol Visitor Center".
Clad: Features 16 stars - representing the 16 states that existed in 1800 - with inscriptions recognizing the 32 Senators and 106 House members of the 6th Congress.
Gold: Shows a building column.
Silver: Depicts the U.S. Capitol building.
Clad: Depicts the U.S. Capitol building.
The Story
Way back in 1800, the 106 members of the 6th Congress of the United States met for the first time in the new U.S. Capitol. Since that first meeting, a lot of people have ventured through the U.S. Capitol. Today, the Capitol receives nearly 5 million visitors a year!
To commemorate that historic meeting in one of the most important buildings in our nation’s history, Congress has passed a law instructing the United States Mint to mint three commemorative coins – a clad half-dollar coin, a silver dollar coin, and a gold five-dollar coin. Some of the money made from selling these coins helped pay for a new Capitol Visitors Center. The construction of the new Capitol Visitors Center represents the last possibility to extend the Capitol within its historic framework — underground.