United States bicentennial coinage
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During the second half of 1975, the United States Mint begin minting all quarter, half dollar and dollar coins with special designs on their reverse, commemorating the 200th anniversary (bicentennial) of the independence of the United States. This special minting was continued until December 31, 1976. The designs were chosen in an open contest announced by the U.S. Treasury in 1973. The reverse of the quarter bore a Colonial drummer, contributed by Jack L. Ahr. That of the half dollar coin bore an image of Independence Hall, Philadelphia submitted by Seth Huntington, and that of the dollar coin showed the Liberty Bell superimposed over an image of the Moon, submitted by Dennis R. Williams
Each denomination was minted on cupronickel-clad planchets composed of 8.33% nickel and 91.67% copper, the standard composition for all circulating U.S. quarters, half dollars, and dollar coins minted after 1965. As collectors' items, limited numbers of each denomination were also minted in clad (in mint and proof sets) and in 40% silver proof versions, mounted in a cardboard backing encased in transparent polystyrene. The composition of the silver version is identical to the Kennedy half dollars minted from 1966 to 1970.
The Bicentennial dollar coin exists in two major varieties, the result of a die change midway through production. One type has thicker lettering for the motto and denomination; the other is noticeably thinner. Neither variety is particularly scarce.
Because very large quantities of the circulation-variety commemoratives were minted, the two lower-denomination (the Eisenhower dollar no longer circulates) Bicentennial coins are still often found in everyday commerce and carry no premium over face value. In particular, the half dollar can be found in almost uncirculated condition if asked for at a bank, since the denomination is unpopular and many have remained in vaults for years. In all, many millions of the Bicentennial coins, including the collectors' issues mentioned above, remain in uncirculated condition, the sheer volume of available specimens keeps prices low.
All of these coins bore the date "1776-1976" on the obverse, making it impossible to tell which were minted in 1975 and which were minted in 1976. In 1977, the original reverse designs and normal dates returned.
