What was the first U.S. coin with sports on it?

Among modern programs, the first sports coin was the 1983 Los Angeles Olympics silver dollar with a discus thrower. It began the 1983 to 1984 Olympic program.

Has the U.S. Mint made Olympic coins for every Games?

No. The Mint lists Olympic programs for 1983 to 1984, 1988, 1992, 1995 to 1996 and 2002. There has been no U.S. Olympic commemorative since the 2002 Salt Lake City program.

Are there U.S. coins for the 2026 World Cup?

Yes. The FIFA World Cup 2026 program includes a $5 gold coin, a silver dollar and a clad half dollar, and the Mint opened sales on June 4, 2026.

Are the Youth Sports Quarters commemorative coins?

No. They are circulating quarters issued from 2027 to 2030 under Public Law 116-330, so they will appear in everyday change at face value.

Which U.S. sports coins were curved or dome shaped?

The 2014 National Baseball Hall of Fame coins were curved, and the 2020 Basketball Hall of Fame coins were dome shaped by law. The basketball coins were also the Mint's first colorized coins.

Sports on Coins: From the 1984 Olympics to the Youth Sports Quarters

Published 3 November 2026 · 7 min read · Youth Sports Quarters

A Kennedy half dollar and three Washington quarters on a worn dugout bench beside a glove and a baseball as two young players walk out at dusk

Sports on coins in the United States began with the 1983 to 1984 Los Angeles Olympic commemoratives and grew through Olympic, World Cup and Hall of Fame programs, all sold to collectors at a premium. The 2027 to 2030 Youth Sports Quarters are different: they are the first circulating U.S. coin series built entirely around sports, so they will turn up in ordinary change.

Here is the full record of U.S. sports coins, program by program, with the denominations and the Mint's own sales figures where it publishes them.

Every U.S. program with sports on coins

The table lists modern U.S. commemorative programs with a sports theme, using the U.S. Mint's commemorative coin list, the public laws, and PCGS. "Coins sold" comes from the Mint's historical commemorative sales table, which counts all versions combined.

Year	Program	Denominations	Coins sold
1983 to 1984	Los Angeles Olympics	Silver $1 (1983 and 1984), $10 gold (1984)	5,045,474
1988	Seoul Olympics	$5 gold, silver $1	1,895,112
1992	Olympics (Albertville and Barcelona)	$5 gold, $1, half dollar	1,478,354
1994	World Cup USA	$5 gold, silver $1, half dollar	1,548,237
1995	Special Olympics World Games	Silver $1	441,065
1995 to 1996	Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games (with Paralympics)	16 designs: $5 gold, silver $1, half dollar	2,425,844
1997	Jackie Robinson	$5 gold, silver $1	169,428
2002	Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games	$5 gold, silver $1	250,583
2014	National Baseball Hall of Fame	$5 gold, silver $1, half dollar (curved)	884,892
2020	Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame	$5 gold, silver $1, half dollar (dome shaped)	222,581
2022	Negro Leagues Baseball	$5 gold, silver $1, half dollar	97,113
2026	FIFA World Cup 2026	$5 gold, silver $1, half dollar	Not yet published
2027 to 2030	Youth Sports Coin Collection: quarters and Paralympic half dollar	Quarter, half dollar (circulating)	Not yet issued

Olympic commemoratives, 1983 to 2002

Los Angeles, 1983 to 1984

The Los Angeles Games brought back modern commemoratives. The Mint lists three designs: a 1983 silver dollar with a discus thrower, a 1984 silver dollar showing the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and a 1984 $10 gold eagle with torch runners. PCGS counts 13 separate issues across the P, D, S and W mints, and notes three firsts: the $10 coins were "the first legal-tender gold coinage produced by the U.S. Mint since 1933," the first U.S. coins with a W mint mark for West Point, and the first commemoratives with a P mint mark.

Seoul 1988 and the 1992 Games

The 1988 program for the Seoul Olympics had two coins, a $5 gold and a silver dollar. The 1992 program covered both the Albertville Winter Games and the Barcelona Summer Games with a $5 gold coin, a dollar and a half dollar.

Atlanta, 1995 to 1996, including the Paralympics

The Centennial Olympic Games program is the largest U.S. sports program by number of designs. It produced eight designs in 1995 and eight in 1996. The 1995 coins were the Stadium and Torch Runner $5 gold coins and silver dollars for cycling, track and field, gymnastics and the Paralympics, and half dollars for baseball and basketball. The 1996 coins were the Cauldron and Flag Bearer $5 gold coins, silver dollars for high jump, rowing, tennis and the Paralympics, and half dollars for soccer and swimming.

Those two Paralympics silver dollars came three decades before the 2027 half dollar, which puts a Paralympic sport on a circulating coin. The Mint has named one for each year: wheelchair basketball in 2027, para climbing in 2028, para ice hockey in 2029 and para snowboarding in 2030. Our 2027 Kennedy half dollar page covers the first one.

Salt Lake City, 2002

The 2002 Winter Olympic Commemorative Coin Act (Public Law 106-435) allowed up to 80,000 $5 gold coins and 400,000 silver dollars, with minting authority ending December 31, 2002. The Mint's table records 250,583 sold. It is the most recent U.S. Olympic commemorative program.

World Cup and Special Olympics coins

Soccer has two U.S. commemorative programs. The 1994 World Cup USA program had a $5 gold coin, a silver dollar and a half dollar. In 2026 the Mint returned to the sport with the FIFA World Cup 2026 coins, authorized by Public Law 118-143: a $5 gold, a $1 silver and a clad half dollar, in proof and uncirculated finishes. The Mint's June 2026 press release says sales opened June 4, 2026, with surcharges going to FWC2026 US, Inc., and FIFA pledging them to military family youth soccer programs. The Mint has not yet published final sales.

The 1995 Special Olympics World Games silver dollar is the other single-event coin, with 441,065 sold.

Baseball, basketball and the Hall of Fame programs

Three 21st century programs honored sports institutions, and two of them changed the shape of U.S. coins.

2014 National Baseball Hall of Fame. A $5 gold coin, a silver dollar and a half dollar, all curved. The Mint names this program and the 2019 Apollo 11 coins as its curved coin issues. It is the best seller of the Hall of Fame group, at 884,892 coins.
2020 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Public Law 115-343 required that the coins "be in the shape of a dome" and allowed up to 50,000 gold, 400,000 silver and 750,000 clad coins. The Mint says the program introduced its first colorized coins.
2022 Negro Leagues Baseball. Public Law 116-209 marked the centennial of the Negro Leagues with a $5 gold, a silver dollar and a half dollar, with surcharges going to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Sales totaled 97,113.

Baseball also appears on the 1997 Jackie Robinson coins, a silver dollar and $5 gold coin marking the 50th anniversary of his integration of the major leagues. PCGS notes the uncirculated $5 had a mintage of only 5,174. The baseball thread runs straight to 2027, when baseball is one of the first five quarters; see our baseball quarter page.

Football has no commemorative program of its own: the Mint's list includes no Pro Football Hall of Fame coin. American football gets its first coin dedicated to the sport in 2028; before that it appeared only on the 2018 Jim Thorpe Native American $1.

How sports commemoratives work

Every program in the table needed its own act of Congress, which sets the denominations, the maximum mintage and the year the coins can be issued. The coins are legal tender, but the Mint sells them directly to collectors at a premium and does not release them into circulation.

Part of each price is a surcharge that goes to an organization named in the law. For the sports programs above, recent laws set surcharges of $35 on each $5 gold coin, $10 on each silver dollar and $5 on each half dollar. The Negro Leagues coins supported the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, and the 2026 World Cup coins support FWC2026 US, Inc. Because sales vary so widely (from 884,892 for baseball in 2014 to 97,113 for the Negro Leagues in 2022), some of these coins are far scarcer than others.

Sports on circulating coins before 2027

Before 2027, sports appeared on circulating coins only now and then. The clearest example is the 2002 Indiana state quarter, which shows a race car over an outline of the state in honor of the Indianapolis 500. The 2018 Native American $1 honored Olympian and football player Jim Thorpe, though the Mint presents those dollars as collector coins. The 2028 Native American $1 is set to feature Native Hawaiian surfing.

Those were single designs inside programs about other subjects. No earlier circulating series was about sports.

Why the Youth Sports Quarters are a first for sports on coins

The Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020 (Public Law 116-330) created a quarter program running from January 1, 2027, to the end of 2030, with up to five sports a year and 20 in all, plus a Paralympic half dollar each year. The Mint calls the program the Youth Sports Coin Collection, and in its October 26, 2026 announcement it named all 20 quarter sports. Every commemorative in the table above was a limited, premium product. These quarters are made for everyday use and cost 25 cents at face value.

The 2027 sports are baseball, golf, soccer, softball and snowboarding. Several later ones echo the commemoratives above: swimming, gymnastics, and track and field in 2028, and basketball and tennis in 2029. Our list of all 20 sports has the full lineup, our 2027 quarters page covers the final 2027 designs, our soccer quarter page links the series back to the World Cup coins, and how the sports were chosen explains the public survey. For a family starting out, our coin collecting for kids post shows how to turn the search into a game, and our 2027 coins post lists everything else new next year.

Frequently asked questions

What was the first U.S. coin with sports on it?: Among modern programs, the first sports coin was the 1983 Los Angeles Olympics silver dollar with a discus thrower. It began the 1983 to 1984 Olympic program.
Has the U.S. Mint made Olympic coins for every Games?: No. The Mint lists Olympic programs for 1983 to 1984, 1988, 1992, 1995 to 1996 and 2002. There has been no U.S. Olympic commemorative since the 2002 Salt Lake City program.
Are there U.S. coins for the 2026 World Cup?: Yes. The FIFA World Cup 2026 program includes a $5 gold coin, a silver dollar and a clad half dollar, and the Mint opened sales on June 4, 2026.
Are the Youth Sports Quarters commemorative coins?: No. They are circulating quarters issued from 2027 to 2030 under Public Law 116-330, so they will appear in everyday change at face value.
Which U.S. sports coins were curved or dome shaped?: The 2014 National Baseball Hall of Fame coins were curved, and the 2020 Basketball Hall of Fame coins were dome shaped by law. The basketball coins were also the Mint's first colorized coins.

Sources

Published 3 November 2026. Facts checked against the sources listed above. The 2027 designs are final, published by the U.S. Mint on 26 October 2026; later years' designs are not chosen yet.