1998 Black Revolutionary War Patriots Silver Proof & Stamps Commemorative Set

This set had the lowest production of this issue at 6,648 sets.

The obverse of the coin shows Crispus Attucks, and the reverse shows a detail from the new Black Patriots Memorial, to be built on the National Mall. The memorial will honor not only the patriots, but their families as well.

In addition to the coin itself, a young collectors edition and a coin and stamp set were offered. The coin and stamp set featured four postage stamps, honoring four African American patriots: Frederick Douglass; Harriet Tubman; Benjamin Banneker; and Salem Poor.

The obverse was designed by John Mercanti, who has been at the U.S. Mint since 1974. Recently, he has designed the 2000 Library of Congress Bimetallic Ten Dollar obverse and Silver Dollar reverse, the reverse of the Leif Ericson Silver Dollar, and the obverse designs for the George H. W. Bush and the Hubert Humphrey medals. He also designed the Bicentennial of the Congress Gold Five Dollar; the Eisenhower Silver Dollar obverse; the Mount Rushmore Gold Five Dollar obverse; the Korean War Silver Dollar obverse; the 1991 USO Anniversary Silver Dollar obverse; and two of the 1995 Atlanta Centennial Olympic Silver Dollar obverses (track & field and cycling).

Ed Dwight designed the reverse. He is a former Air Force test pilot, an engineer and the first African American to be trained as an astronaut. He holds an MFA in sculpture. He has created a wide range of gallery art, but he has focused on large-scale installations honoring African Americans, including his commission to create the Black Patriots Memorial featured on this coin.