Obverse: depiction of Thomas Crawford’s bronze Statue of Freedom, placed atop the Capitol dome in 1863, with clouds and rays of sunlight in the background. Inscriptions include LIBERTY, 1789 1989, IN GOD WE TRUST, and mintmark S.
Reverse: the Mace of the House of Representatives. Surrounding inscriptions read UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, BICENTENNIAL OF THE CONGRESS, ONE DOLLAR, along with engravers’ initials WW CYM.
About the coin: this silver dollar was issued in 1989 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the U.S. Congress. The obverse was designed by William Woodward, and the reverse by William Woodward and Chester Y. Martin. Proof coins were struck at San Francisco (S) and uncirculated coins at Denver (D). The maximum authorized mintage was 3 million, but actual mintages were lower: 762,198 proof and 135,203 uncirculated coins. Coins were sold individually and in two-, three-, and six-coin sets. Composition – 90% silver and 10% copper, actual silver weight 24.05 g, total weight 26.73 g, diameter 38.1 mm, thickness 3.7 mm, reeded edge.
