Owner Comments:

As a recreational sport, tennis is enjoyed by millions of people. The U.S. Tennis Association (USTA), the sport’s national governing body devoted to promoting and growing the sport, has more than 700,000 members and is the largest tennis organization in the world. The widespread popularity of the sport appears not to have translated into sales of the 1996 Olympic Tennis commemorative dollar coin, however, as a mere 15,983 Uncirculated dollars were sold along with 92,016 Proofs. The mintage figure for the Uncirculated coins is the third-lowest silver dollar mintage figure in the entire commemorative program. The poor sales are blamed on the glut of coins issued to commemorate the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, 32 in all counting Proofs and Uncirculated versions. Other sports that enjoy mainstream popularity, such as baseball and basketball, experienced slightly better sales because of specific promotions. Such was not the case with this issue, perhaps because the obverse design features a female player, which may have slightly limited the opportunity for promotion. The Proof coin does seem to enjoy a price premium a bit greater than its mintage might otherwise warrant, and this may be simply because this coin is often purchased as a gift to give to tennis-playing friends or family members. When it comes to Olympic sports, tennis certainly isn’t the first one to come to mind. In fact, during the 12 Olympic Games held between the 1924 Paris Olympics and the 1988 Seoul Olympics, tennis was either not offered or was played for exhibition only. Certainly the four major tournaments of the sport—the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open—are all more prestigious tournaments within the sport of professional tennis than the Olympic Games. Interestingly, tennis at the Olympics is actually growing. Since 2004, results have counted towards professional rankings. At the upcoming 2012 London games, competition in mixed doubles will be offered for the first time since 1924. Furthermore, all matches will be held at the All-England Club, site of the Wimbledon Championships, in hopes that the austerity of the venue will contribute to athlete and fan enthusiasm for tennis at the games.

Garrett, Jeff; Schechter, Scott. 100 Greatest US Modern Coins (Kindle Locations 3787-3791). Ingram Distribution. Kindle Edition.