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The 1900 Lafayette Commemorative Silver Dollar is the only silver dollar ever struck in the classic U.S. commemorative coin series that ran from 1892 to 1954. It wasn't made for daily spending. It was made to raise money for a statue of a French general who helped win the American Revolution, and that backstory is a big part of why collectors still chase this coin more than 125 years later.
If you're holding one, or thinking about buying one, you're holding a coin with a split personality. Part of its value comes from the silver inside it. Most of its value comes from history, scarcity in top condition, and demand from collectors who want a piece of a one-time fundraising campaign that linked two countries.
What Is the 1900 Lafayette Commemorative Silver Dollar?
It's a one-dollar commemorative coin struck by the Philadelphia Mint to help fund a statue of General Lafayette in Paris, tied to the 1900 Paris Exposition. Unlike Morgan dollars or Peace dollars, it was never meant for everyday commerce. It carries a $1 face value but was sold to the public for $2 as a fundraiser.
It's also unique in another way: it's the only silver dollar denomination coin in the entire early commemorative series. Every other coin in that series came in smaller denominations like half dollars or quarters. That single fact gives the Lafayette dollar a special spot in any collection focused on U.S. commemorative coinage.
Why Was the 1900 Lafayette Dollar Made?
The coin exists because a group wanted to put a statue of Lafayette in Paris and needed a fast way to raise cash. The Lafayette Memorial Commission worked out a deal to have the U.S. Mint strike commemorative dollars, then sold them to the public at double face value to fund the project.
The U.S. Treasury bought the silver on the open market, and the Philadelphia Mint turned it into coins. This was a common approach for early commemoratives: let a coin do double duty as both money and a donation receipt.
The Lafayette Dollar Story
1899
Silver purchased and coins struck The U.S. Treasury bought silver on the open market, and Philadelphia Mint workers struck the entire authorized run in a single day, December 14, 1899.
1900
Coins dated and sold Despite being struck in 1899, every coin carries the date 1900, tied to the Paris Exposition and the statue campaign.
1900
Statue unveiled in Paris The Lafayette Memorial Commission used proceeds from coin sales to help fund the statue of General Lafayette on horseback in Paris.
Early 1900s
Unsold coins melted Roughly 14,000 of the 50,026 struck coins went unsold and were later melted, shrinking the surviving population.
Today
Collector demand grows Surviving pieces, especially in high grade, trade for well above their silver content due to scarcity and historic interest.
ℹ️ Info: Here's a detail most articles skip: the entire mintage of 50,026 coins was reportedly struck in a single day at the Philadelphia Mint, on December 14, 1899, using an older press. That's an unusually fast production run for a coin this historically loaded.
Why Does the Coin Say 1900 If It Was Struck in 1899?
The date on the coin refers to the Paris Exposition and the statue project it was meant to fund, not the year it left the press. Mint records show the actual striking happened in December 1899, ahead of the 1900 date stamped on every coin.
This mismatch trips up a lot of new collectors. It's not an error and it's not a variety worth a premium. It's simply how the coin was designed to mark an event rather than its own strike date.
What Does the 1900 Lafayette Dollar Look Like?
The coin was designed by Charles E. Barber, the same Mint engraver behind the Barber dime and Barber quarter. The obverse shows George Washington alongside Lafayette, a pairing meant to highlight the alliance between the two nations during the Revolutionary War. The reverse ties back to the memorial itself, honoring the statue project the coin helped fund.
Putting two men on one side of a U.S. coin was unusual for the era, which adds to the coin's appeal for collectors who like design history as much as bullion content. If you enjoy other Barber-designed coins from this same period, the 1900 Barber Dime's collector appeal and 1900 Barber Quarter values by grade make good companion reading, since all three share design DNA from the same engraver working in the same year.
How Many 1900 Lafayette Dollars Were Made?
The Mint struck 50,026 coins total, including a small number of assay pieces used for quality testing, out of an authorized mintage of 50,000. Not all of them survived, though. Around 14,000 unsold coins were later melted down, leaving a commonly cited surviving population of about 36,026 pieces.
50,026
Total coins struck (including assay pieces)
~14,000
Coins melted after failing to sell
~36,026
Estimated surviving population today
0.77344
Troy ounces of pure silver per coin
That melt number matters. A mintage of 50,000 sounds fairly generous for a commemorative, but losing nearly 28% of the run to the melting pot means real-world scarcity, especially in problem-free condition, is higher than the raw mintage number suggests.
How Much Silver Is in a 1900 Lafayette Commemorative Silver Dollar?
Each coin weighs 26.73 grams and is struck from a 90% silver, 10% copper alloy, giving it about 0.77344 troy ounces of pure silver. The diameter runs 38.10 mm, noticeably larger than a modern quarter or half dollar.
At $67 an ounce for silver at the time of writing, the melt value works out to about $51.82 per coin. That number is a useful floor, not a price target. Almost every 1900 Lafayette dollar you'll find for sale trades well above that melt figure because collectors, not silver stackers, drive the market for this coin.
What Is a 1900 Lafayette Commemorative Silver Dollar Worth?
Prices for the 1900 Lafayette dollar range from a few hundred dollars in circulated grades up to tens of thousands for the finest known examples. Grade drives almost all of the price difference here, far more than it does for common-date bullion coins.
Grade
Approximate Value
XF (Extremely Fine)
$350
AU (About Uncirculated)
$670
MS60 (Mint State)
$1,065
MS63
$1,476
MS64
$2,457
MS65
$5,700
MS66 and above
Many tens of thousands
Notice the jump between MS64 and MS65, and then again above MS66. That's not a typo. A coin that looks nearly identical to the naked eye can be worth four or five times more once a grading service assigns it a higher number, because so few examples survive without contact marks, cabinet friction, or weak strikes in the finest tiers.
How Does Grade Affect the Value So Much?
Grade matters this much because the jump from "nice" to "exceptional" gets rarer at every step up the scale, and buyers pay steep premiums to own the best surviving example they can afford. A coin with honest, even wear in XF condition might sell for a few hundred dollars, while a coin with sharp details and no handling marks in MS65 can sell for over ten times that.
Collectors mainly sort 1900 Lafayette dollars into three buckets:
Low-grade circulated coins showing real wear from handling
XF and AU coins with light wear but strong detail
Mint State coins ranging from MS60 up through gem grades like MS65 and higher
There's no proof version of this coin listed in standard references, so every 1900 Lafayette dollar you'll encounter is a regular strike. That simplifies collecting, since you're only chasing grade and condition, not a separate proof variety.
How Can You Tell a Real 1900 Lafayette Dollar From a Fake?
Check the weight and size first: a genuine coin weighs 26.73 grams and measures 38.10 mm across. Anything noticeably off from those numbers is a red flag before you even look at the design.
Confirm the weight lands close to 26.73 grams on a jeweler's scale
Measure the diameter at about 38.10 mm
Look for honest, even wear rather than artificial scratches meant to mimic circulation
Check for cleaning marks, hairlines, or rim damage, all of which hurt value
For anything priced in the thousands, buy a coin already graded by a major third-party service like PCGS or NGC
That last point matters more with this coin than with common-date silver dollars. Because the price gap between adjacent grades is so large, a coin that's been dipped, polished, or lightly cleaned can look like a bargain but grade several points lower than advertised once it's professionally inspected. As an NGC authorized dealer, our team can walk you through what grading involves if you're weighing whether a raw coin is worth submitting.
Buying a Raw vs. Graded 1900 Lafayette Dollar
Pros
✓ Raw coins often cost less upfront
✓ Graded coins remove most guesswork on condition
✓ Graded coins are easier to resell at a fair price later
Cons
✗ Raw coins carry more risk of cleaning or hidden damage
✗ Grading fees add cost for lower-value coins
✗ Bad grading calls on raw coins can cost far more than the fee saved
How Does It Compare to Other 1900-Era Coins?
The 1900 Lafayette dollar sits in a different category from the workhorse silver dollars of the same era, mainly because it was never meant to circulate. A 1900 Morgan dollar was struck for everyday commerce by the millions, while the Lafayette dollar was a limited fundraising issue capped at just over 50,000 pieces.
That difference shows up in price. A common-date Morgan dollar from 1900 often trades close to its silver melt value in lower grades, while even a worn Lafayette dollar sells for many times its melt value. If you want the fuller picture on how mintmarks and mintage numbers shape Morgan dollar prices, Morgan dollar values from the same year is worth a read, and browsing Morgan Silver Dollars directly shows how much that mintage gap changes pricing in practice. For a look at another 1900-dated coin with its own quirks, the 1900 Indian Head Cent's place in coin history covers a completely different denomination from the same calendar year.
What Should You Know Before Buying One?
Treat the silver melt value as a starting point, not a fair price, since collector demand almost always pushes the real number higher. At $67 an ounce for silver at the time of writing, melt sits around $51.82, but even beat-up circulated examples commonly sell for many times that because of the coin's limited surviving supply and its place as the only silver dollar in the classic commemorative series.
Decide your budget by grade tier, since jumping one grade level can double or triple the price
Ask for photos of the rim, fields, and portrait before buying online
Favor graded coins once you're spending more than a few hundred dollars
Keep the coin in a protective holder to avoid new handling marks that could hurt future value
If you already own family coins or inherited a small collection and aren't sure what you have, it's worth having someone look at the whole group rather than guessing off one coin's date and denomination.
Looking to add a 1900 Lafayette Commemorative Silver Dollar to your collection, or just browsing what's available in early commemoratives and Morgan dollars? Check out our coin and bullion shop to see current stock. And if you're on the other side of the deal and want to sell a coin like this, a full collection, or other precious metals, you can mail in your items from anywhere in the US or stop by our Salem, Oregon location if you're local.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a 1900 Lafayette Commemorative Silver Dollar worth today?
Prices run from about $350 in XF condition up to several thousand dollars in Mint State grades, with the rarest top grades like MS66 and above reaching tens of thousands of dollars.
How much silver is in a 1900 Lafayette dollar?
Each coin holds about 0.77344 troy ounces of pure silver, worth roughly $51.82 at $67 an ounce at the time of writing.
Why does the coin say 1900 if it was struck in 1899?
The date reflects the year of the Paris Exposition and the Lafayette statue project it funded, while the actual striking happened at the Philadelphia Mint in December 1899.
How many 1900 Lafayette dollars were made?
The Mint struck 50,026 coins total including assay pieces, but roughly 14,000 unsold coins were later melted, leaving about 36,026 known survivors.
Is the 1900 Lafayette dollar rare?
It's fairly available in lower circulated grades but genuinely scarce in high Mint State grades like MS65 and above, where prices climb sharply.
Was the Lafayette dollar ever used as everyday money?
No, it was a commemorative issue sold to the public for $2 each to raise funds for a statue of Lafayette in Paris, not a coin meant for daily circulation.
Who is pictured on the 1900 Lafayette dollar?
The obverse shows George Washington alongside General Lafayette, designed by Mint engraver Charles E. Barber.
Is the 1900 Lafayette dollar real silver?
Yes, it's struck from a 90% silver and 10% copper alloy, the same standard used for other classic U.S. silver coinage of that era.
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