The 1992 Columbus Silver Dollar was issued for the Quincentenary of Columbus’ discovery of the Americas. Surcharges from the sale of the coins were used to benefit the newly established Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Coins and Fellowship Foundation.
The obverse design of the coin features a full length portrait Christopher Columbus standing with a banner in his right hand and a scroll in his left. He stands next to a globe and there is a scene of ships and land in the upper portion of the background. The inscriptions read “Liberty”, “In God We Trust”, “Columbus Quincentenary” and the date “1992”. The obverse was designed by John Mercanti.
On the reverse is a split image of the Santa Maria and the Discovery space shuttle, intended to provide a striking contrast between the explorations then and now. Inscriptions include “United States of America”, “One Dollar”, “E Pluribus Unum”, and the anniversary dates “1492-1992”. The reverse was designed by Thomas D. Rogers.
The Columbus Silver Dollar was produced at the Denver Mint.