Since 1892, the United States Mint has told the story of America through commemorative coins. Each of these coins celebrates a person, place, organization, event, or otherwise significant element of American history. The topics that commemorative coins have represented range from local to national interests. A perceived excess in the number of commemoratives being issued and a parochial focus on regional, rather than national issues, led to the end of the silver commemoratives in 1954. Decades later, so-called “modern commemoratives,” many of which are silver and gold, began to be issued in 1982.