— This week, the United States Mint began selling sets of its 2026 coins, featuring designs celebrating the country's semiquincentennial. The collection is special for another reason, though — it includes examples of the same coins that were launched to the International Space Station earlier this year.

Out of the 10 coins in the annual set, eight are of the type chosen by the mint to be sent into low Earth orbit by NASA. In May, a SpaceX Dragon capsule brought to the space station a Jefferson nickel, an "Emerging Liberty" dime, an "Enduring Liberty" half dollar and five quarters. Each of the 25-cent pieces had different themes, including the Mayflower Compact, Revolutionary War, the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and Gettysburg Address.

All eight coins were dual-dated 1776 to 2026, in recognition of the milestone anniversary of the country declaring its independence. Only the 1776-2026 Lincoln penny and Sacagawea dollar coin, as included in the proof set for sale, did not fly.

"Proof that these coins are truly out of this world!" the mint announced in July, sharing photos of some of the coins in microgravity. "These images, captured aboard the International Space Station, show select 2026 U.S. Mint circulating coins commemorating our nation's semiquincentennial in orbit above Earth."

The coins flew to and from space aboard SpaceX's 34th mission to restock the orbital outpost under a commercial resupply services contract with NASA. They were off the planet for 32 days, 14 hours and 5 minutes before splashing down packed inside the Dragon capsule on June 17.

"[The coins] are now part of an unforgettable chapter in U.S. Mint history," read the July 13 post on Facebook.

The eight flown coins were from the same batches as the coins that entered circulation earlier this year. With the exception of the nickel (which only had the dual-date added), the semiquincentennial designs are being retired. The Roosevelt dime and Kennedy half dollar will return in their place and the mint will introduce its American Youth Sports Program quarters in 2027.

Mint officials, including director Paul Hollis who was at the May launch, have not said what the plans are for the eight coins now that they are back on Earth. Hollis shared a photo of the "Enduring Liberty" half dollar from its time on the station on Tuesday (Oct. 6), describing it as "stunning" and thanking NASA for the image.

Although not the first U.S. coins to be flown into space, the 2026 set of eight remains relatively rare examples of American currency launched off Earth. Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts, as well as early space program engineers, sometimes packed coins to become souvenirs of the missions, but that practice came to an end in 1972.

Following a congressional investigation into the astronauts' choice of personal items, NASA set a policy that crew members could not fly certain types of mementos, including coins, which "by their nature, lend themselves to exploitation by the recipients." The directive still stands today.

Since then, coins — including twelve gold Sacagawea dollars and two Apollo 11 curved commemoratives — have been taken into space at the request of the mint.

Other U.S. coins, including pennies and quarters, have been flown as equipment used for student science demonstrations, a color calibration target and mass offsets. The coins have been flown to the space station, the surface of Mars and the farthest edge of our solar system.