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United States of America
200th Anniversary of the Library of Congress
2000 P
BU Silver Dollar 38.1mm (26.73 grams) 0.900 Silver
Reference: KM# 311 | Engraver: Thomas D. Rogers, John M. Mercanti
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 1800 2000 IN GOD WE TRUST LIBERTY TDR, Two books, one is open with its spine resting on the other closed book. The torch of learning appears in the background.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA E PLURIBUS UNUM ONE DOLLAR Pั, The dome of the Library of Congress Jefferson Building.
Coin Notes:
To celebrate the 200th anniversary of its founding, the 2000 Library of Congress Silver Dollar was issued by the United States Mint. The same commemorative coin program also included the issuance of a gold and platinum bimetallic coin, which today commands more interest than the silver dollar.
The Library of Congress Silver Dollars were produced at the Philadelphia Mint and carry the “P” mintmark on the reverse. The coins were sold individually in proof or uncirculated versions, available from April 24, 2000, to December 31, 2000. The maximum authorized mintage for the coins was 500,000 across both options. Final sales reached just over half this level.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
 The Library of Congress (LC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the de facto national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. The library is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.; it also maintains a conservation center in Culpeper, Virginia. The library’s functions are overseen by the librarian of Congress, and its buildings are maintained by the architect of the Capitol. The Library of Congress is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its “collections are universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 450 languages.”
Congress moved to Washington, D.C., in 1800 after sitting for 11 years in the temporary national capitals in New York City and Philadelphia. In both cities, members of the U.S. Congress had access to the sizable collections of the New York Society Library and the Library Company of Philadelphia. The small Congressional Library was housed in the United States Capitol for most of the 19th century until the early 1890s. Most of the original collection had been destroyed by the British in 1814 during the War of 1812, and the library sought to restore its collection in 1815. They bought Thomas Jefferson’s entire personal collection of 6,487 books. After a period of slow growth, another fire struck the library in its Capitol chambers in 1851, again destroying a large amount of the collection, including many of Jefferson’s books. After the American Civil War, the Library of Congress grew rapidly in both size and importance, which sparked a campaign to purchase replacement copies for volumes that had been burned. The library received the right of transference of all copyrighted works to deposit two copies of books, maps, illustrations, and diagrams printed in the United States. It also began to build its collections, and its development culminated between 1888 and 1894 with the construction of a separate, extensive library building across the street from the Capitol. Two adjacent buildings were added in the 1930s and 1970s.
The library’s primary mission is to research inquiries made by members of Congress, carried out through the Congressional Research Service. The library is open to the public, although only high-ranking government officials and library employees may check out books and materials.
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