2012 United States Infantry Silver Dollar Design Candidates

The Commission of Fine Arts and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee recently reviewed design candidates for the 2012 Infantry Silver Dollars. These coins will be issued next year to commemorate the legacy of the United States Army Infantry and the establishment of the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center.

The program includes silver dollars with a maximum mintage of 350,000 coins, across proof and uncirculated versions. Coins may be issued during the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2012. A surcharge of $10 per coin shall be paid to the National Infantry Foundation for the purpose of establishing an endowment to support the maintenance of the Museum and Soldier Center following its completion.

According to the authorizing legislation, the designs "shall be emblematic of the courage, pride, sacrifice, sense of duty, and history of the United States Infantry." The final designs will be selected by the Secretary of the Treasury following consultation with the National Infantry Foundation, Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), and review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC).

There were a relatively large number of design candidates provided by the United States Mint, with twelve different alternatives for the obverse and seven different for the reverse. The CFA and CCAC each made different recommendations.

The CFA recommended the designs shown below:



The CCAC recommended this alternate obverse and reverse:



The National Infantry Foundation had expressed preferences for obverse designs #3 (recommended by CFA) and #6 (shown below) and reverse designs #1 (recommended by CCAC), #3 (shown below), and #7 (recommended by CFA).



The various reviews haven't produced much of a consensus. The recent design selections by the Secretary of the Treasury have tended to agree with at least someone's recommendations, so it seems likely that the final designs will be taken from the field of six alternatives above.

All nineteen different design candidates can be seen in this Coin Update News article. At a later date, the site will have more in depth coverage of the CCAC's discussions.

Other Upcoming Commemorative Coins and Medals

The other commemorative coin program authorized for 2012 will mark the bicentennial of the writing of the Star -Spangled Banner with silver dollars and $5 gold coins. Candidate designs for this program have not yet been released.

The programs for 2013 will commemorate the centennial of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America and the United States Army 5-Star Generals.

So far, one program has been authorized for 2014. This will mark the semi centennial of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Before any of these releases, there will be commemorative silver medals issued for the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001. The CFA and CCAC were in near agreement about the designs for the medals, although the final selection has not yet been officially announced. The medals are expected to be available ahead of the anniversary date.

September 11th Silver Medal Designs

Later this year, the United States Mint will issue silver medals in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the establishment of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center.

Originally, there had been proposals for commemorative coins, but after two programs were already authorized for 2011, another bill was introduced seeking National Medals. This bill was passed by the House of Representatives and Senate and signed by the President on August 6, 2010 to become Public Law 111-221.

Each September 11th Medal will contain one ounce of silver. The maximum authorized mintage is set at 2 million. A recommendation is included that one half of the medals should be struck at West Point and one half at Philadelphia. The law states that the design "shall be emblematic of the courage, sacrifice, and strength of those individuals who perished in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the bravery of those who risked their lives to save others that day, and the endurance, resilience, and hope of those who survived."

The Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) recently reviewed the 10 obverse design candidates and 16 reverse design candidates provided by the United States Mint.
Both the CFA and the CCAC recommended the obverse design shown above. The figure of Liberty holds a Lamp of Remembrance. Two shapes in the background represent the Twin Towers and inscriptions read "Always Remember" and "2001-2011".

The CFA made a recommendation that the circle around the flame should be removed since it is "an unnecessary and distracting feature." They also recommended removing the shapes in the background since the medal commemorates events at multiple locations.
The CFA recommended the reverse design pictured above. The eagle is intended to symbolize the strength of the survivors and all Americans while the background depicts falling water, reminiscent of the waterfalls at the Memorial. The quote "No Day Shall Erase Your From the Memory of Time" is from Virgil's Aeneid.

The CCAC recommended an alternative candidate that features the same basic design but includes the words "Honor" and "Hope" rather than the quote.

Final design selections will be made by the Secretary of the Treasury.

The US Mint has previously indicated that they intend to release the medals close to the anniversary date. The authorizing legislation allows the medals to be struck until December 31, 2012. There is no sales ending date indicated.

The price of each medal will include a $10 surcharge payable to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center to support operations and maintenance following its completion.

For images of all obverse and reverse design candidates for the September 11th Silver Medals, as well as specific coverage of the CCAC's discussions, please read today's article on Coin Update News.

2011 First Spouse Gold Coins

The United States Mint has announced the design selections for the 2011 First Spouse Gold Coins. The coins will feature Eliza Johnson, Julia Grant, Lucy Hayes, and Lucretia Garfield, the wives of the 17th to 20th Presidents.

These designs are announced somewhat later than usual, perhaps as a result of a longer design candidate review phase. When the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) had reviewed the designs for the 2011 First Spouse Coins and 2012 Presidential Dollars, they only supported two out of the 55 candidates provided by the United States Mint.

They had voiced concerns that many of the obverse portraits seemed to be copies of portraits done by other artists. Of even greater concern were the glaring historical innacurracies present on some of the reverse design candidates, such as a scene which contained a sewing machine years before its invention.

As a result of the meeting, the CCAC formed a subcommittee on design excellence. Their task was to produce a visual definition of design excellence and develop specific recommendations for addressing the design quality for future coins. (The recommendations included in this report will be discussed in a future Coin Update article.)

The United States Mint also responded by providing newly prepared design candidates for two of the 2011 First Spouse Gold Coins. These were discussed by the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) and the CCAC at meetings held in late November.

Due to a delay in obtaining information, articles covering theCCAC's discussion and recommendations for the follow up design candidates were just published today. You can read the separate articles covering Eliza Johnson and Lucy Hayes coins.

The final design selections which were made by the Secretary of the Treasury, after weighing the input of the CCAC, CFA, and United States Mint, are shown below.


The Eliza Johnson First Spouse Gold Coin features her portrait on the obverse and a scene from the children's ball held for President Andrew Johnson's 60th birthday. Three children are shown dancing, with a fiddler in the background. The obverse was designed by Joel Iskowitz, and the reverse was designed by Gary Whitley.

The CFA had supported the chosen obverse, while the CCAC had selected a different portrait. For the reverse, the final selection matched the CCAC's recommendation, while the CFA had chosen an alternate scene from the children's ball which included the First Lady.


The 2011 Julia Grant First Spouse Gold Coin features her portrait on the obverse, designed by Donna Weaver. The reverse of the coin features a scene of Julia Dent and Ulysses S. Grant riding on horseback at her family's plantation. This was designed by Richard Masters.

The CFA had supported the chosen obverse design, but was not satisfied with any of the reverse design candidates and made no recommendation. The CCAC did not make a recommendation for any of the provided obverse or reverse designs at their first meeting. In this case, the US Mint did not provide a second batch of candidates for the November meeting.


The Lucy Hayes First Spouse Gold Coin includes the First Lady's portrait on the obverse and a scene of the first White House Easter Egg Roll on the reverse. The obverse is designed by Susan Gamble, while the reverse is designed by Barbara Fox.

Both the CCAC and CFA had recommended the selected obverse and reverse designs. The reverse design was one of those included within the second batch of candidates reviewed in November.


The 2011 Lucretia Garfield First Spouse Gold Coin will be the last release of the series for the year. Her portrait appears on the obverse, designed by Barbara Fox, with a scene of her painting on the reverse, designed by Michael Gaudioso.

Both the CFA and CCAC had recommended a different obverse design, although both had supported the selected reverse design. The CFA did make a recommendation that the reverse design should be simplified by removing some background elements. The US Mint did act on this recommendation by eliminating the windows, drapery, and furniture that were originally present in the design.

2011 Presidential $1 Coin Images

The United States Mint has released more images for 2011 coins. This set is for the uncirculated and proof versions of the 2011 Presidential Dollars. I wanted to quickly share these images before getting back to the survey results.

This year's coins will feature the 17th to 20th Presidents of the United States, namely Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, and James Garfield. The release dates for the coins will be February 17, May 19, August 18, and November 17, 2011, according to Federal Reserve Bank Services.

Newly released Presidential Dollars can be obtained from many banks at face value. Unlike the America the Beautiful Quarters, financial institutions are provided with a specified period during which they can order unmixed quantities of each design.

The US Mint also sells 25-coin numismatic rolls. With this year's price increase, the rolls will be $39.95 each.


Andrew Johnson Presidential Dollar
17th President
Designed by Don Everhart


Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Dollar
18th President
Designed by Don Everhart


Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Dollar
19th President
Designed by Don Everhart


James A. Garfield Presidential Dollar
20th President
Designed by Phebe Hemphill

2011 ATB Quarters and Native American Dollar Images

The United States Mint has recently released images for some of the upcoming 2011 coins. Previously, only line art images had been available. The new coin images include the 2011 America the Beautiful Quarters and the 2011 Native American Dollar.

Besides providing a better idea of what the coins will look like in hand, the images also seem to portray the coins with the brilliant finish that will be used for uncirculated coin sets.

The circulation release dates for 2011 America the Beautiful Quarters according to Federal Reserve Bank Services will be January 24, April 4, June 13, August 29, and November 14. The coins have already been released in proof format within the 2011 Proof Set and will all be released in the 2011 Mint Set on February 8.

The 2011 Native American Dollar was scheduled to launch yesterday on January 12, but the ceremony was canceled with a future date not yet announced. Numismatic rolls are scheduled for March 28. Based on past practice, the coins may also be available in $250 boxes through the Direct Ship Program.


Gettysburg National Military Park Quarter
Designed by Joel Iskowitz
Sculpted by Phebe Hemphill
Circulation Release January 24, 2011


Glacier National Park Quarter
Designed by Barbara Fox
Sculpted by Charles L. Vickers
Circulation Release April 4, 2011


Olympic National Park Quarter
Designed by Susan Gamble
Sculpted by Michael Gaudioso
Circulation Release June 13, 2011


Vicksburg National Military Park Quarter
Designed by Thomas Cleveland
Sculpted by Joseph Menna
Circulation release August 29, 2011


Chickasaw National Recreation Area Quarter
Designed by Donna Weaver
Sculpted by Jim Licaretz
Circulation release November 14, 2011


2011 Native American Dollar Obverse
Designed by Glenna Goodacre


2011 Native American Dollar Reverse
Designed by Richard Masters
Sculpted by Joseph Menna

2011 Native American Dollar

Today, the United States Mint announced the reverse design selection for the upcoming 2011 Native American Dollar.

The design depicts the hands of Supreme Sachem Ousamequin Massasoit and Governor John Carver exchanging the ceremonial peace pipe after the initiation of the first formal written peace alliance between the Wampanoag tribe and the settlers at Plymouth Bay. The reverse was designed by Richard Masters and sculpted by Joseph Menna.

The obverse of the coin will continue to feature the portrait of Sacagawea and child, designed by Glenna Goodacre.

Under the authorizing legislation for the series, the final design selection is made by the United States Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate, the Congressional Native American Caucus of the House of Representatives, Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), the National Congress of American Indians, and review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC).

Both the CFA and CCAC had recommended the selected design, out of the six design candidates originally prepared by the US Mint. The design featuring hands exchanging a peace pipe is more symbolic and less literal than the other design candidates. This is a direction that has been urged by the CCAC in their earlier critiques on the quality of the US Mint's coin designs.

It is worth noting that the CFA had recommended studying the text and placement of the "$1" inscription on the selected design, noting that it "may convey an inappropriately commercial association with the coin's theme of diplomacy." The US Mint did not make any modification to the design from the original presented.

2011 Medal of Honor Gold and Silver Coin Designs

The United States Mint has announced the final design selections for the 2011 Medal of Honor Commemorative Coins. The program was authorized to recognize and celebrate the establishment of the Medal of Honor and its recipients with the issuance of $5 gold coins and silver dollars.

The Secretary of the Treasury had the final authority to select designs for the program, following consultation with the Boards of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), and review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC).

Mint News Blog previously provided a look a the leading candidate designs following the reviews and comments of the CFA and CCAC. Interestingly, the final design selections are in full agreement with the recommendations of the CCAC. The CFA had favored alternate designs for the reverse of the $5 gold coin and the obverse of the silver dollar, and declined to provide a recommendation for the reverse of the silver dollar.

The obverse of the 2011 Medal of Honor $5 Gold Coin, designed and sculpted by Joseph Menna, features a depiction of the original Medal of Honor, authorized by Congress as the highest personal decoration of the Navy. Inscriptions include "Liberty", "In God We Trust", "Medal of Honor", and the dates "1861" and "2010".

The reverse of the gold coin includes the full figure Minerva, who is included within the central image of the original Medal of Honor. She holds a shield and the union flag with a cannon and munitions behind her. The inscriptions read "United States of America", "E Pluribus Unum" and the face value "$5". The reverse was designed by Joel Iskowitz and sculpted by Michael Gaudioso.

The 2011 Medal of Honor Silver Dollar obverse, designed and sculpted by Jim Licaretz, features a depiction of the three modern Medals of Honor for the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Inscriptions include "Liberty", "In God We Trust", "Medal of Honor", and "1861-2011".

The reverse of the silver dollar features a scene of an Army infantry soldier carrying a wounded soldier to safety under enemy fire. The image is intended to represent the courage, selfless sacrifice, and patriotism of the Medal of Honor recipients. Inscriptions read "United States of America", "E Pluribus Unum", and "One Dollar".

Coin Legislation Update

In the past two days there has been progress for a number of bills related to coins. I have covered each of the bills in more depth on Coin Update, but I will summarize here.

H.R. 1177 was passed in the Senate. This bill will authorize the 2013 commemorative coin program honoring the U.S. Army's 5-Star Generals. With the President's signature, the bill will become law.

H.R. 6166 was passed in the House. This bill would authorize one ounce American Palladium Eagle bullion and collector coins featuring designs by Adolph A. Weinman. To become law, the bill must also pass in the Senate and then receive the President's signature.

H.R. 6162 also passed in the House. This bill directs the Secretary of the Treasury to perform research and development related to the metallic compositions of circulating coins for the purpose of making recommendations to Congress. Other portions of the bill seek to amend existing law to facilitate the production of Proof Gold and Silver Eagles, as well as change the specifications for America the Beautiful silver bullion coins.

CCAC Recommends Two Designs Out of 55 Candidates

The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) recently sent a strong message to the United Stats Mint about the quality of coin design candidates. During their most recent meeting, they recommended only one obverse and one reverse design out of the total 55 candidates provided by the Mint.

The meeting was held on July 27, 2010 in Philadelphia. The committee reviewed 21 different design candidates for the 2012 Presidential Dollar obverses and 34 different design candidates for the 2011 First Spouse Gold Coin and Bronze medal obverses and reverses.

The same design candidates had been previously reviewed by the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) who were not nearly as critical. The CFA issued recommendations for seven different obverse designs and three different reverse designs, while withholding recommendations for only one obverse and one reverse.

The CFA's recommendations and comments were covered in two articles previously published on Coin Update. (See the articles for the 2012 Presidential Dollars and the 2011 First Spouse Gold Coins.)

The CCAC's single recommendation for an obverse and reverse design were shared by the CFA. These were the obverse design #2 and the reverse design #5 for the Lucretia Garfield First Spouse Gold Coin.

The main reason the CCAC recommended so few designs was a change in procedures adopted at the beginning of the meeting. In order to receive a recommendation, a particular candidate must receive at least half of the eligible votes. Each member of the ten member committee can award 0, 1, 2, or 3 points per design. Therefore, in order to receive a recommendation, a candidate must earn at least 15 points.

The recommended obverse and reverse for the Lucretia Garfield coins had earned 16 and 17 points each.

Based on the recently published minutes of the CCAC meeting, recurring issues with the obverse designs seemed to be the fact that the portraits were copies of work done by other artists and not truly original. Another recurring issue was glaring historical inaccuracies such as the inclusion of a sewing machine on one reverse design years before it was invented.

Five US Mint artists were in attendance at the meeting, including John Mercanti, Don Everhart, Joseph Menna, Phebe Hemphill, and Renata Gordon. The CCAC Chairman requested that art staff be present at all future meetings in order to maintain an ongoing dialogue. In the past, CCAC members have gone out of their way to state that they believe the problem is with the US Mint's procedures rather than the skill of the artists.

Earlier this year the CCAC formed a subcommittee on design excellence, tasked with producing a "visual definition of design excellence" and developing recommendations for addressing design quality for future proposals. The final report of the CCAC Subcommittee's will be sent to the Secretary of the Treasury.

2010 Platinum Eagle Design Revealed

Although a formal announcement has not yet been made, the designs of the 2010 Proof Platinum Eagle were recently revealed on the United States Mint's website. The design theme is "To Establish Justice" continuing the six year series exploring the core concepts of American democracy.

Earlier this year, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) and the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) had reviewed nine candidate designs provided by the United States Mint. Six of the designs had presented an image of blindfolded Justice holding scales with additional allegorical symbols incorporated into some designs. The remaining candidates included a depiction of the Statue of Liberty's torch, the Supreme Court's western pediment, and the west front door.

The CCAC had supported the version of blindfolded Justice that has been chosen, with some recommended changes to the design and inscriptions. It appears that the US Mint did act on their suggestion to add a loop to the scale to make it mechanically correct. The CFA had supported the design featuring the torch of the Statue of Liberty, citing its suitability in combination with the obverse design. By law, the final design decision was made by the Secretary of the Treasury.

Some details about the offering were also revealed. The coins will carry a maximum authorized mintage of 10,000 coins. This represents an increase from last year's level of 8,000 coins, which sold out after about a week. The household ordering limit is set at five, which matches last year's level.

The price of the one ounce platinum coins will be dependent on the average price of platinum in the week leading up to the release. Within the current range of $1,550 to $1,649.99 per ounce, the coins would be priced at $1,892 each. Last year, the coins were priced at $1,792 based on an average platinum value from $1,450 to $1,549.99 per ounce.

The release date for the 2010 Proof Platinum Eagle is currently scheduled for August 12, 2010.

Results: Best 2010 US Mint Coin Design So Far

A little over a week ago, I created a poll where Mint News Blog readers could vote on what they believe is the best US Mint coin design for the year so far.

A total of 725 votes were cast across the eleven different coins issued during 2010, which featured a new design on at least one side of the coin. Two coins received more than 50% of the total votes, signaling two strong favorites. The third highest number of votes were cast for a medal honoring the Women Airforce Service Pilots. In the end, the 2010 Native American Dollar edged out the 2010 Lincoln Cent by a margin of 21 votes.

The complete results of the poll are listed below:

	Votes	Percentage
2010 Native American Dollar	196	27.03%
2010 Lincoln Cent	175	24.14%
Women Airforce Service Pilots Medal	103	14.21%
2010 Yellowstone Quarter	86	11.86%
2010 Boy Scouts Silver Dollar	54	7.45%
2010 Disabled Veterans Silver Dollar	35	4.83%
2010 Abigail Fillmore First Spouse Gold	32	4.41%
2010 Hot Springs Quarter	24	3.31%
2010 Jane Pierce First Spouse Gold	10	1.38%
2010 Franklin Pierce Dollar	6	0.83%
2010 Millard Fillmore Dollar	4	0.55%

The 2010 Native American Dollar features the second reverse design for the series honoring the accomplishments and contributions of Native Americans. The theme was "Government - The Great Tree of Peace". The well balanced reverse features a depiction of a Hiawatha Belt encircling a bundle of five arrows. These images are symbolic of the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois Confederacy. Five figures on the belt represent the five original nations with the central symbol also a representing the Great White Pine. The bundle of arrows symbolizes the strength in unity of the Iroquois Confederacy.

When candidate designs for the coin were originally presented to the Commission of Fine Arts and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, this design was the strong favorite of both. Other design candidates were varied depictions of a white pine tree topped by an eagle.

The Hiawatha Belt design has been included in the CCAC's recently compiled image reference guide of design excellence.

The 2010 Lincoln Cent features a new reverse design intended to represent Lincoln's preservation of the United States as a single and united country. This concept is represented with a depiction of the Union Shield. The thirteen vertical stripes represent the original thirteen states joined together in support of the federal government, represented by the horizontal bar above. This symbol dates back to the 1780's and was used widely during the Civil War era.

On an overall basis, opinions expressed for this design were more divided. Based on comments received on previous Mint News Blog posts and Coin Review, people seem to either love the design or hate it. Supporters cite the clean and classic depiction of an historical symbol. Dissenters call the design too simple or mention that they would have have preferred a more contemporary or widely recognized symbol.

The CFA and CCAC were also split on this design. The CFA initially supported a design depicting a bundle of wheat stalks, but after this design was removed from consideration, they switched to a modernistic depiction of a 34 star flag. The CCAC supported the depiction of the Union Shield, although there was apparently some dissent within the group. The CCAC Chairman recently stated that he liked the design, while member Donald Scarinci, who is on the newly formed Subcommittee for Coin Design Excellence, said the design makes him "want to vomit." Initially, there were 18 different design candidates for the 2010 Lincoln Cent reverse.

As mentioned, I will likely revisit this topic with another poll to vote on the coin designs released in the second half. This will include the still undecided (or unannounced) design for the 2010 Proof Platinum Eagle, which will depict the principle "To Establish Justice" and the Lincoln Presidential Dollar, among others.

What is the best US Mint coin design so far this year?

The topic of U.S. coin design has been in the spotlight recently, following public complaints from some members of the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) and Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC).

Shortly after the criticisms, the US Mint opened its doors to some members of the press to explain their coin design process and allow some of their sculptors to respond. Here's a video segment posted on Wallet Pop and an article from Numismatic News.

A week later, the CCAC voted to form a subcommittee on Coin Design Excellence at their June 28 public meeting. So far the CCAC and subcommittee have adopted a list of 17 characteristics of design excellence and created a visual reference guide. The goal of these efforts will be to help "ignite the renaissance" in coin design. Responses to the subcommittee have ranged from positive to skeptical.

As a change of pace, I thought it would be interesting to have a poll allowing readers to vote for the best US Mint coin or medal design so far this year. By my count, there have been 11 different coins or medals released for circulation or issued with a unique design on at least one side of the coin.

I wanted to make this a "mid-year" poll, so I did not include the second half designs for America the Beautiful Quarters and Presidential Dollars, even though they have technically been issued in the component proof sets. I will likely revisit this topic with a second half or full year design poll at the end of the year.

Images of each coin or medal issued with a new design during the first half of 2010 appear below, followed by the poll.

2010 Lincoln Cent

2010 Hot Springs Quarter

2010 Yellowstone Quarter

2010 Millard Fillmore Dollar

2010 Franklin Pierce Dollar

2010 Native American Dollar

2010 American Veterans Disabled for Life Silver Dollar

2010 Boy Scouts of America Centennial Silver Dollar

2010 Abigail Fillmore First Spouse Gold

2010 Jane Pierce First Spouse Gold

Women Airforce Service Pilots Medal

Coin Update News: Latest US Mint Sales Report

2011 Medal of Honor Commemorative Coin Designs

The United States Mint recently provided design candidates for the upcoming 2011 Medal of Honor Commemorative Coins to the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) and Citizens Coinage Advisory (CCAC) for review and comment. The program includes a $5 gold coin with a maximum authorized mintage of 100,000 and a silver dollar with maximum authorized mintage of 500,000.

The Medal of Honor Commemorative coins are issued in recognition and celebration of the establishment of the Medal of Honor in 1861. This is America's highest award for valor in action against an enemy force that can be bestowed to an individual in the Armed Service of the United States. The coin designs are intended to be emblematic of the traditions, legacy, and heritage of the Medal of Honor and the distinguished service of its recipients.

For the obverse of the Medal of Honor $5 Gold Coin, both the CFA and CCAC recommended a design featuring an image of the Medal of Honor as it was originally created. The image is a simple depiction of the medal, free of any other design elements.

For the reverse of the gold coin, the CFA and CCAC recommended different design candidates. The CFA favored a design showing an eagle, a shield, two cannons, munitions, and a flag, but asked that the elements within the design be reduced. The CCAC recommended a design featuring a full figure of Minerva (who is also depicted on the Medal of Honor) holding a shield and flag with cannons and munitions in the background.

The Medal of Honor Silver Dollar obverse depicts the modern Medal of Honor for the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The CFA chose a depiction of the Medals separated from the neckbands, and the CCAC chose a version with the neckbands intact.

For the reverse design of the silver dollar, the CFA declined to make a recommendation from the available candidates, rejecting all four of the design provided. The CCAC chose a depiction of a soldier carrying a wounded comrade, citing the emotion present within the scene.

View all 2011 Medal of Honor Commemorative Coin Candidate Designs.

The recent CFA and CCAC meetings have brought increased attention to the two groups complaints about the quality of design candidates that the US Mint has been providing to the groups. The most frequent complaints have been that the designs should use abstraction, rather than presenting a literal interpretation of the theme, and that the designs should be simplified, distilling the art rather than jamming numerous images together. At recent meetings, the groups have sometimes rejected all provided design candidates, although this hasn't stopped the US Mint from using the rejected designs anyway.

At the CCAC meeting, there were concerns expressed that the US Mint may be filtering the design candidates before they are presented for review, potentially removing some of the best candidates from consideration. Both groups were critical of overall process that produces the coins, rather than the group of artists who create them.

Numismatic News recently ran an article where members of the CFA and CCAC expressed their disappointment on the overall poor quality of designs. You can read the full article here, but I will present a few notable quotes from the article below.

A quote from CFA secretary Tom Luebke, "The quality of designs remains embarrassingly low, both in the often amateurish character of the artwork and in the generally poor compositions."

CCAC Member Donald Scarinci said, "The fact that the CFA and the CCAC only rarely see great coin and medal designs is not the fault of John Mercanti or the artists who work with him. The fault, unfortunately, is with the Director himself. The standard of excellence that Director Moy set for himself and his staff in 2007 (at the FIDEM convention) is the standard that history will use to judge his directorship. By his own standard, Ed Moy has failed."

In 2007 and 2008, US Mint Director Edmund Moy made some extremely bold and ambitious statements about sparking a "neo-Renaissance in coin design" that would "surpass the Golden Age of coin design which began at the start of the 20th century." You can read two of his speeches here.

By 2009, the United States Mint provided some admission that they had failed to live up to these ambitious goals. The 2009 Annual Report summarized some of the issues with US coin designs.

Our designs have tended to focus on literalism, functionality and the limitations of prescribed design elements. Too often, designs lacked a unifying balance or transcendent quality that clearly links them together as part of the body of American coinage. Ultimately, the United States Mint should produce art that serves as the highest aspiration of who we are as a country or what we seek to become.

To address the issue, the US Mint wrote a white paper to establish "the philosophic path for achieving artistic excellence." The five core principles of American numismatic design expressed in the white paper simply echoed the statements Director Moy made previously. Clearly, the US Mint's efforts towards improving coin design haven't produced the desired result. We'll have to see if the CFA and CCAC's public criticism will have any impact.

2011 Army Commemorative Coin Designs

The Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) and Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) recently reviewed candidate designs for the 2011 Army Commemorative Coin Program. The program includes a $5 gold coin, silver dollar, and half dollar. The US Mint provided three to five design candidates for the obverse and reverse of each coin.

Before the weekend, an article on Coin Update reported on the CCAC meeting and provided a look at all of the candidate designs. This post will recap the recommendations of both the CFA and CCAC.

Coin Update article: 2011 United States Army Commemorative Coin Designs.

During their respective meetings, the CFA and CCAC both voiced complaints and issues regarding the quality of the coin design candidates. In several cases, they chose to reject all of the designs provided by the US Mint. This is something that seems to be happening with increasing frequency, despite the US Mint Director's frequent statements about sparking a Neo Renaissance in coin design and achieving a new level of artistic excellence.

For the Army Commemorative $5 gold coin obverse, the CCAC recommended a design showing five soldiers from different periods: the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and today. The CFA had favored a design featuring a full length view of soldiers from the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and World War II.




Three candidate designs were provided for the $5 gold coin reverse. Each one featured the Seal of the United States Army with some differences in the surrounding inscriptions, lettering, or borders. The design shown below was selected by the CCAC. The version recommended by the CFA does not include the inscription "Department of the Army" and the remaining inscriptions are rearranged.



There were five different design candidates for the obverse of the 2011 Army Commemorative Silver Dollar. Four of the five featured a globe in the background. The CCAC selected a design featuring a male and female soldier back to back with the globe in the background. The CFA refused to back any of the provided designs.



For the reverse of the silver dollar, the CFA and CCAC each recommended a different design. The CFA recommended an image of the Great Seal of the United States with the core values of the Army encircling the seal: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage. The CCAC recommended a design featuring three soldiers, one carries a wounded soldier and the other protects them.





For the 2011 Army Commemorative Half Dollar, both the CFA and CCAC rejected all of the provided obverse designs. These designs were representations of the work that the Army does in peace time.

For the reverse design, both recommended a design featuring a Revolutionary War soldier carrying a musket. Thirteen stars appear above and an inscription reads "First in Service to the Nation". The image is reminiscent of the Drummer Boy on the reverse of the 1976 Bicentennial Washington Quarter.



US Mint Pricing Policy

An update is available for last week's post regarding the pricing for the United States Mint's numismatic gold coins. The Mint released a statement explaining why prices were not reduced.

According to the statement, an internal policy with additional criteria is used to determine whether pricing changes will be made. The Wednesday PM London Fix price is used to determine the trend of gold prices in comparison to the calculated average.

This is the first I have heard about this separate internal policy and I do not believe it has been mentioned or published previously. This also seems to be the first time that the internal policy was invoked to override the procedure described in the US Mint's policy provided in the Federal Register.

The full story is on Coin Update: US Mint Responds on Numismatic Gold Coin Pricing Policy