1900 Lafayette Memorial Dollar

The story behind this coin

This silver dollar raised money for a monument to Lafayette in Paris and connected American schoolchildren with the project through a national subscription campaign. It was the first authorized U.S. coin to show a former president and the first commemorative silver dollar. The Lafayette Dollar was struck at the Philadelphia Mint on December 14, 1899, bears the inscription PARIS 1900, and was issued for the 1900 Paris Exposition, the centennial year of Washington’s death.

Design and symbolism

Obverse: Conjoined portraits of Washington and Lafayette.

Reverse: Lafayette monument.

Regular issues and mintages

The figures in this 1900 Lafayette Memorial Dollar table report the regular collector issues shown for this commemorative. Where sponsors returned unsold coins for melting, the listed quantity reflects net distribution rather than the larger number initially struck.