This 1992 Olympic United States of America Half Dollar is the exact item you will receive and has been certified Authentic by REM Fine Collectibles.
The 1992 Olympic Half Dollar was issued along with separate gold and silver coins for the 1992 Olympic Games. The summer games were held in Barcelona, Spain and the winter games were held in Albertville and Savoie, France.
The 1992 Summer Olympics (Spanish: Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, Catalan: Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad (Spanish: Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, Catalan: Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. This was the second (after 1968) "Olympic Games" to be held in a Spanish-speaking nation, then followed by the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Beginning in 1994, the International Olympic Committee decided to hold the Summer and Winter Olympics in alternating even-numbered years. The 1992 Summer and Winter Olympics were the last games to be staged in the same year. This games was the second and last two consecutive Olympic games to be held in Western Europe after the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France held five months earlier.
The obverse design of the half dollar features a female gymnast in motion against the background of an American flag. Inscriptions read “In God We Trust”, “1991”, and “Liberty”. The Olympic rings with USA also appear. The obverse was designed by William C. Cousins.
On the reverse of the coin is an image of the Olympic torch and an olive branch designed by Steven M Bieda. The inscriptions above and below read “United States of America” and “Half Dollar”. A central inscription reads “Citius Altius Fortius” which is Latin for “Faster, Higher, Stronger”.
The maximum authorized mintage for the 1992 Olympic Half Dollar was set at 6 million, which proved excessive compared to the final sales. Proof versions of the coins were struck at the San Francisco Mint and uncirculated versions were struck at the Philadelphia Mint. The coins were sold individually, or in two and three coin uncirculated or proof sets, and a six coin commemorative set.
As an incentive to collectors, the US Mint included cards with authentic American Olympic athlete’s autographs. The autograph cards were included in the two and three coin proof sets and six coin sets while supplies lasted.
Released on January 17, 1992, this coin was authorized to support the training of American athletes participating in the 1992 Olympic Games that took place in Barcelona, Spain. Surcharges collected from the coin sales were to be used by the United States Olympic Committee for the objects and purposes of the Committee as established in the Amateur Sports Act of 1978.
Commemorative coin programs are created by acts of Congress to honor a person, place, or event. Surcharges from the sales of these coins help fund a variety of organizations and projects that benefit the public. Commemorative coins are only available from the United States Mint for a limited time, as specified by public law.
Year of Issue: 1992
Authorizing Legislation: Public Law 101-406
Recipient Organization: United States Olympic Committee
Characteristics:
The obverse design of the coin features a gymnast in motion with the Olympic rings and stars in the background.
The reverse of the coin features an olive branch crossing the Olympic torch.
Obverse Inscriptions:
IN GOD WE TRUST
1992
USA
LIBERTY
Reverse Inscriptions:
CITIUS ALTIUS FORTIUS
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
E PLURIBUS UNUM
HALF DOLLAR
Mint & Mint Mark: San Francisco
Obverse Designer: William Cousins
Reverse Designer: Steven Bieda
Weight: 11.3400 g
Composition: 91.67% copper, 8.33% nickel
Diameter: 30.61 mm
Maximum Authorized Mintage: 6,000,000
1992-P Uncirculated Olympic Half Dollar
Final Mintage: 161,607
1992-S Proof Olympic Half Dollar
Final Mintage: 519,645
Olympic Highlights:
At the innovative opening ceremony, Greek mezzo-soprano Agnes Baltsa sang "Romiossini" as the Olympic flag was paraded around the stadium. Alfredo Kraus later sang the Olympic Hymn in Catalan, Spanish and French, as the flag was hoisted.
The Olympic cauldron was ignited using a flaming arrow, lit from the flame of the Olympic torch. It was shot by Paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo, who aimed the arrow over the top of the cauldron to ignite the gas emanating from it. The arrow landed outside the stadium. This unusual method for lighting the cauldron had been carefully designed to avoid any chance of the arrow landing in the stadium if Rebollo missed his target.
South Africa rejoined the Summer Olympics having been banned for its apartheid policy after the 1960 Summer Olympics. The Women's 10,000 metres event was hotly contested. White South African runner Elana Meyer and black Ethiopian runner Derartu Tulu (winner) ran hand-in-hand in a victory lap.
Germany sent a unified team having reunified in 1990, the last such team was at the 1964 Summer Olympics.
As the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991, the formerly Soviet-occupied states of Estonia and Latvia sent their own teams for the first time since 1936, while Lithuania sent its own team for the first time since 1928. The other former Soviet republics competed together as the Unified Team, which consisted of present-day Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The Unified Team finished first in the medal standings, edging the United States.
The separation of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia led to the Olympic debuts of Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Due to United Nations sanctions, athletes from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (consisting of present-day Serbia and Montenegro) were not allowed to participate with their own team. However, some individual athletes competed under the Olympic flag as Independent Olympic Participants. Serbia would return to the Olympics at the 2008 Summer Olympics and as well as Montenegro on would be its Olympic debut as separate states.
In basketball, the admittance of NBA players led to the formation of the "Dream Team" of the United States, featuring Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and other NBA stars. Prior to 1992, only European and South American professionals were allowed to compete, while the Americans used college players. The Dream Team won the gold medal and was inducted as a unit into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
Fermín Cacho won the 1,500 m in his home country, earning Spain's first-ever Olympic gold medal in a running event.
Chinese diver Fu Mingxia, age 13, became one of the youngest Olympic gold medalists of all time.
In men's artistic gymnastics, Vitaly Scherbo from Belarus, (representing the Unified Team), won six gold medals, including four in a single day. Scherbo tied Eric Heiden's record for individual gold medals at a single Olympics, winning five medals in an individual event (Michael Phelps would later equal this record in 2008).
In women's artistic gymnastics, Tatiana Gutsu took gold in the All-Around competition edging the USA's Shannon Miller.
Russian swimmers (competing for the Unified Team) dominated the men's freestyle events, with Alexander Popov and Yevgeny Sadovyi each winning two events. Sadovyi also won in the relays.
Evelyn Ashford won her fourth Olympic gold medal in the 4×100-metre relay, making her one of only four female athletes to have achieved this in history.
The young Krisztina Egerszegi of Hungary won three individual swimming gold medals.
In women's 200 m breaststroke, Kyoko Iwasaki of Japan won a gold medal at the age of 14 years and six days, making her the youngest-ever gold medalist in swimming competitions at the Olympics.
Algerian athlete Hassiba Boulmerka, who was frequently criticized by Muslim groups in Algeria who thought she showed too much of her body when racing, received death threats[14] and was forced to move to Europe to train, won the 1,500 metres, also holding the African women's record in this distance.
After being demonstrated in six previous Summer Olympic Games, baseball officially became an Olympic sport. Badminton and women's judo also became part of the Olympic program, while slalom canoeing returned to the Games after a 20-year absence.
Roller hockey, Basque pelota, and taekwondo were all demonstrated at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Several of the USA men's volleyball gold medal team from the 1988 Olympics returned to vie for another medal. In the preliminary round, they lost a controversial match to Japan, sparking them to shave their heads in protest. This notably included player Steve Timmons, sacrificing his trademark red flattop for the protest. The U.S. team ultimately progressed to the playoffs and won bronze.
Mike Stulce of the United States won the men's shot put, beating the heavily favored Werner Günthör of Switzerland.
On the 20th anniversary of the Munich massacre and the 500th anniversary of the Alhambra Decree, Yael Arad became the first Israeli to win an Olympic medal, winning a silver medal in judo. The next day, Oren Smadja became Israel's first male medalist, winning a bronze in the same sport.
Derek Redmond of Great Britain tore a hamstring during a 400-meter semi-final heat. As he struggled to finish the race, his father entered the track without credentials and helped him complete the race, to a standing ovation from the crowd.
Gail Devers came into the 100 meters hurdles as the favorite. Though her Olympic history shows her winning the 100 meters dash twice, the first time earlier in this Olympics, she primarily made her career as a hurdler. And true to form, Devers had a commanding lead in this race until the final hurdle. Devers came up short and hit the hurdle, foot first, hard, knocking her off balance. She stumbled toward the finish line, falling on the last step, but still finished fifth, .001 out of fourth place. Paraskevi Patoulidou of Greece won the gold medal to even her own disbelief, dropping to her knees on the track when she realized she had won.
Jennifer Capriati won the singles tennis competition at the age of 16. She had previously earned a spot in the semifinals of two grand slams at the age of 14.
Two gold medals were awarded in solo synchronized swimming after a judge inadvertently entered the score of "8.7" instead of the intended "9.7" in the computerized scoring system for one of Sylvie Fréchette's figures. This error ultimately placed Fréchette second, leaving Kristen Babb-Sprague for the gold medal. Following an appeal, FINA awarded Fréchette a gold medal, replacing her silver medal and leaving the two swimmers both with gold.
Indonesia won its first-ever gold medal after winning a silver medal at 1988 Olympics. Susi Susanti won the gold in badminton women's singles after defeating Bang Soo-hyun in the final round. Alan Budikusuma won the badminton men's singles competition, earning a second gold medal for Indonesia. Several years later, Susanti and Budikusuma married and she received the nickname golden bride or Olympic bride.