The 1916 McKinley gold dollar was struck to help raise funds for a memorial to the martyred president, who was assassinated in 1901. The coin represents a collaborative design effort by Charles E. Barber and George T. Morgan, featuring a portrait of William McKinley on the obverse and the memorial building on the reverse.

Despite high hopes for this coin's success, relatively few were sold. The vast majority are known in uncirculated grades. Most are known in grades of MS63 to MS66, with pieces grading higher quite scarce.