Owner Comments:
(1991-1995) World War II 50th Anniversary Coins
Public Law 102-414 102d Congress - This Act may be cited as the "World War II 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coins Act". To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the United States' involvement in World War II. The design of the coins shall be symbolic of the participation of the United States in World War II. In addition, the design of the gold coin shall be emblematic of the Allied victory in World War II, and the silver coin shall be emblematic of the Battle of Normandy.
• Denominations. —the secretary shall mint and issue the following coins:
Five Dollar Gold Coins
♦ Not more than 300,000 Five Dollar Gold coins and be composed of 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy
One Dollar Silver Coins
♦ Not more than 1,000,000 One Dollar Silver coins and shall contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent
copper
Half dollar Clad Coins
♦ Not more than 2,000,000 Half Dollar Clad coins and shall contain an alloy of 75 percent copper and 25
percent nickel.
• The coins authorized under this title may be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities and only 1 facility of the
United States Mint may be used to strike any particular combination of denomination and quality for the coins
minted under this Act.
Approved October 14, 1992
(The coins minted under this title may be issued beginning January 1993. Coins may not be minted under this title after December 31,1993.)
Background
Released on May 28, 1993, this coin was authorized in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the United States’ involvement in World War II.
Characteristics
The obverse design of the coin features an American serviceman with rifle raised celebrating victory.
The reverse of the coin features "V" for victory at the center of the coin, with the Morse code cryptic for the letter "V" superimposed over the victory symbol and laurel leaves.
Recipient Organization: The Battle of Normandy Foundation and the World War II Memorial
Surcharges from coin sales were primarily to be dedicated to:
• Endow and dedicate, on the 50th Anniversary of D-Day, a United States D-Day and Battle of Normandy
Memorial in Normandy, France and to encourage and support visits to the memorial by United States citizens,
and especially students.
• Expenses incurred in establishing a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to
honor members of the Armed Forces of the United States who served in World War II and to commemorate
the participation of the United States in that war.
World War II (WWII or WW2), also known as the Second World War, was a global war. It is generally considered to have lasted from 1939 to 1945, although some conflicts in Asia that are commonly viewed as becoming part of the world war had been going on earlier than that. It involved the vast majority of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, with more than 100 million people, from more than 30 different countries, serving in military units. In a state of "total war", the major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare, it resulted in an estimated 50 million to 85 million fatalities. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history.
The Empire of Japan aimed to dominate East Asia and was already at war with the Republic of China in 1937, but the world war is generally said to have begun on 1 September 1939 with the invasion of Poland by Germany and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by France and the United Kingdom. From late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany formed the Axis alliance with Italy, conquering or subduing much of continental Europe. Following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories between themselves of their European neighbors, including Poland and the Baltic states. The United Kingdom and the other members of the British Commonwealth were the only major Allied forces continuing the fight against the Axis, with battles taking place in North Africa as well as the long-running Battle of the Atlantic. In June 1941, the European Axis launched an invasion of the Soviet Union, giving a start to the largest land theatre of war in history, which tied down the major part of the Axis' military forces for the rest of the war. In December 1941, Japan joined the Axis, attacked the United States and European territories in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific.
The Axis advance was stopped in 1942. Japan lost a critical battle at Midway, near Hawaii, and never regained its earlier momentum. Germany was defeated in North Africa and, decisively, at Stalingrad in Russia. In 1943, with a series of German defeats in Eastern Europe, the Allied invasion of Italy which brought about that nation's surrender and American victories in the Pacific, the Axis lost the initiative and undertook strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the United States defeated the Japanese Navy and captured key Western Pacific islands.
The war in Europe ended with an invasion of Germany by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union culminating in the capture of Berlin by Soviet and Polish troops and the subsequent German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945. Following the Potsdam Declaration by the Allies on 26 July 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 August and 9 August respectively. With an invasion of the Japanese archipelago (known as Operation Downfall) imminent, and the Soviet Union having declared war on Japan by invading Manchuria, Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945, ending the war in Asia and cementing the total victory of the Allies over the Axis.
World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world. The United Nations (UN) was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The great powers that were the victors of the war—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, and France—became the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers started to decline, while the decolonization of Asia and Africa began. Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to stabilize postwar relations and cooperate more effectively in the Cold War.