Majority of the US coins are commemorative. The practice of commemorating in coin a certain person, event or place as being an integral part in history has been a long tradition even during the time of the Greeks and Romans.

There are two categories of commemorative coins. First, old commemorative coins that begun in 1892. Examples of these coins include the Lincoln coin made for the centennial of his birth. Fifty years after, the Lincoln Memorial replaced the figure in the small cent celebrating his 150th birthday. The great statesman Benjamin Franklin was also shown on the half dollar from 1948 to 1963. In 1922, President Grant’s profile appeared in a souvenir 50 cent coin to commemorate his 100th anniversary.

Modern commemorative coins on the other hand are those that began in the 1980s. Examples are the Library of Congress ten-dollar coin issued in 2000. Also, in the same year, The United States issued the Sacagawea dollar in honor of the woman who helped Lois and Clark in their expeditions.
Another woman featured in the dollar was Susan B. Anthony, the famed suffragette and feminist whose figure was recently shown in 1999. There are also old commemorative coins of her issued from 1979 to 1981.