The mid-1990s was a busy time for the United States Commemorative Coin program. No fewer than 72 different commemorative issues, including the various proof and uncirculated finishes for given design types, were produced from 1994 through 1997 at the United States Mint; roughly half of these singularly dedicated to honoring the 1996 Summer Olympic Games held in Atlanta, Georgia. Among these myriad commemoratives arose a silver dollar honoring the Special Olympics, an international sports organization established in 1968 for those with intellectual disabilities.

The coin was soon finalized with the resultant portrait of Eunice Shriver Kennedy on the obverse, designed by T. James Ferrell. The reverse, by Thomas D. Rogers incorporates a long-stemmed rose, a Special Olympics medal on a competitor’s ribbon, and the following inscription: “’AS WE HOPE FOR THE BEST IN THEM, HOPE IS REBORN IN US.’ EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER, FOUNDER.