Summary: From 1982 to 1995, Congress authorized 22 commemorative coin programs and directed that part of the proceeds from four programs be used to reduce the national debt. For 19 commemorative coin programs authorized since 1982--including all 12 programs since 1992--Congress directed that coin prices include surcharges to be paid to sponsoring groups. For the 22 programs, the government earned $179 million, while the sponsors earned $310 million on sales revenue of more than $1.6 billion. In recent years, however, the Mint's commemorative coin program has been plagued by problems: The number of commemorative coins has proliferated and may have saturated the market, coin prices have become higher than customers want to pay, and some coin themes have proven unpopular. In 1994, the Mint lost more than $4 million on one commemorative coin program, while the sponsor received more than $9 million. In 1995, the Mint had three commemorative coin programs, all of which lost money for the Mint but generated millions of dollars for the sponsors. In the case of the Mint's two-year program commemorating the 1996 Olympics, the Mint has lost upwards of $3 million while the sponsor has received $18 million so far. Although the Citizens' Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee has made several recommendations to Congress to reform the commemorative coin program, these proposals have yet to be adopted. In particular, the Committee recommended that Congress authorize circulating commemorative coins, which are coins sold at face value with distinctive designs that circulate and are used by the public for legal tender, as well as collected. GAO estimates that this proposal would provide about $225 million annually in seigniorage--the difference between the face value of the coins and their cost of production--and save about $16 million in annual interest on the national debt.
