The 1992 Columbus Silver Dollar was issued for the quincentenary of Columbus’ discovery of the Americas. Surcharges from the sale of the coins were used to benefit the newly established Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Coins and Fellowship Foundation.
The obverse design of the coin features a full length portrait Christopher Columbus standing with a banner in his right hand and a scroll in his left. He stands next to a globe and there is a scene of ships and land in the upper portion of the background. The inscriptions read “Liberty”, “In God We Trust”, “Columbus Quincentenary” and the date “1992″. The obverse was designed by John Mercanti.
On the reverse is a split image of the Santa Maria and the Discovery space shuttle, intended to provide a striking contrast between the explorations then and now. Inscriptions include “United States of America”, “One Dollar”, “E Pluribus Unum”, and the anniversary dates “1492-1992″. The reverse was designed by Thomas D. Rogers.
From a maximum authorized mintage of 4 million coins, the US Mint recorded sales of 492,190. The uncirculated version of the of the coin was struck at the Denver Mint and proof version was struck at the Philadelphia Mint.
The US Mint offered the 1992 Columbus Silver Dollar in an array of packaging options. The coins were available individually in proof or uncirculated, in two or three coin sets, either proof or uncirculated, and finally in a comprehensive six coin set containing each coin of the program in both proof and uncirculated versions.