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The Olympic Games hold a special place in the hearts and minds of many Americans. The interest in the Olympic Games is apparent both in the amount of press coverage the events receive, and in the amount of merchandising that appears along with the Olympic Games.

The U.S. Mint has given Olympic enthusiasts and coin collectors alike a common interest by producing a variety of commemorative coins to celebrate the Olympic Games. Although these coins have been produced in silver, some of the most prized coins in these series are the gold Olympic coins.

The first modern Olympic gold coin released by the U.S. Mint was the 1984 Olympic Ten Dollar Gold Eagle. As the Olympics were being held in Los Angeles, California, in 1984, commemorating the games with a gold coin made perfect sense.

The 1984 Olympic Ten Dollar Gold Eagle, designed by James Peed, features Olympic runners on the obverse, with the American Eagle featured on back. This coin was minted at the West Point, N.Y. U.S. Mint facility, and 2,000,000 were produced.

The 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea, were commemorated with one of the most elegant designs in the Olympic coin series. The Olympic Gold Five Dollar coin is engraved with a likeness of Nike, the goddess of victory, overlaid with the word “liberty” on the obverse. The reverse is engraved with the two most enduring symbols of the Olympic Games – the Olympic flame and the five Olympic rings. Elizabeth Jones was responsible for the image of Nike, while Marcel Jovine contributed the Olympic flame and rings.

The Olympic Gold Five Dollar Coin was minted at West Point, N.Y., and was limited to a production of 1,000,000 coins.

For the 1992 Olympic Games in France and Spain, the U.S. Mint created the 1992 Olympics Gold Five Dollar coin which features an image of a sprinter on the obverse, designed by James Sharpe. James Peed returned to the drawing board for the reverse, which is engraved with the American Eagle and the Olympic rings.

Only 500,00 of the 1992 Olympic Gold Five Dollar coins were produced at the West Point, N.Y. U.S. Mint Facility.

The Olympic Games returned to the United States for the 1996 Centennial Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. The U.S. Mint pulled out all the stops to commemorate the Olympics’ return to the United States, releasing an extensive series of Olympic coins in 1995 and 1996.

The gold coins released as part of the 1995-1996 Olympic series include:

• 1995 Centennial Olympics Stadium Gold Five Dollar coin, which featured an obverse image of the Olympic Stadium with a reverse image of bald eagle, limited to a run of 175,000
• 1995 Centennial Olympics Torch Runner Gold Five Dollar coin, featuring a torch-bearing runner on the obverse and the reverse image of a bald eagle, limited to a run of 175,000
• 1996 Centennial Olympics Cauldron Gold Five Dollar piece, which depicted the lighting of the Olympic flame on the obverse, with the mark of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games surrounded by laurel leaves on the reverse, and limited to production of 300,000 pieces
• 1996 Centennial Olympics Flag Bearer Five Dollar Gold piece, featuring a flag bearer leading a crowd, and also featuring the mark of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games design on the reverse, limited to a 300,000 run.

The 2002 Winter Olympics, held in Salt Lake City, Utah, were also commemorated with several coins. This series included a 2002 Olympic Winter Games Five Dollar Gold piece, which featured Donna Weaver’s designs of the Winter Olympics Crystal Emblem on the obverse and the Olympic flame and cauldron image on the reverse. This coin, produced at the West Point, N.Y. mint facility, had a small production of only 80,000 coins.

Those who are Olympic Games fans, or those who just enjoy collecting gold coins will find an array of gold coins produced by the U.S. Mint sure to intrigue and please. As far as hobbies go, few have as much intrinsic monetary value as collecting coins – especially when the coins are both commemorative of an important international event and made of gold.

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