The United States Mint has released images of struck examples of the three 2019 American Legion 100th Anniversary commemoratives to be issued to the public at noon Eastern Time March 14.

The Mint will be offering Proof and Uncirculated versions of the program’s gold $5 half eagle, silver dollar and copper-nickel clad half dollar. The gold coin has a maximum authorized mintage of 50,000 coins, the silver dollar 400,000 coins, and the half dollar, 750,000 coins, across all product options.

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The adopted designs approved by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were unveiled during an Aug. 29, 2018, event held in Minneapolis during the Legion’s 100th national convention.

The gold coins are being struck at the West Point Mint with the W Mint mark while the silver dollars will bear the P Mint mark of the Philadelphia Mint where they are being produced. The Proof half dollar will bear the S Mint mark of the San Francisco Mint and the Uncirculated half dollar the D Mint mark of the Denver Mint.

The half eagle obverse, designed by U.S. Mint Artistic Infusion Program artist Chris Costello and sculptured by U.S. Mint Sculptor-Engraver Phebe Hemphill, commemorates the inception of the American Legion and its mission to serve America and its war veterans. The outer geometric rim design from the American Legion emblem, the Eiffel Tower, and V for victory represent the formation of the organization in Paris in 1919 at the end of World War I.

The reverse for the gold coin, by AIP designer Paul C. Balan and sculptured by then Mint Sculptor-Engraver Joseph F. Menna, depicts a soaring eagle, a symbol of the United States during times of war and peace alike. The American Legion emblem is depicted above the eagle.

The silver dollar obverse is also by Balan and is sculptured by Mint Sculptor-Engraver Renata Gordon. The design depicts the American Legion emblem adorned by oak leaves and a lily, commemorating the founding of the American Legion in Paris. The silver dollar reverse by AIP artist Patricia Lucas-Morris, sculptured by Mint Sculptor-Engraver Michael Gaudioso, represents the founding of the American Legion in Paris in 1919. Above the crossed American and American Legion flags is a fleur de lis and the inscription 100 YEARS OF SERVICE.

The copper-nickel clad half dollar obverse executed by AIP artist Richard Masters and sculptured by Hemphill, depicts two children standing and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, the little girl proudly wearing her grandfather’s old American Legion hat. The reverse, also by Masters, and sculptured by Menna, completes the phrase “I pledge allegiance to the flag …” from the obverse, with “...of the United States of America.” The design depicts an American flag waving atop a high flagpole as seen from the children’s point of view from the ground below. The American Legion’s emblem is featured just above the flag.

The American Legion was founded in Paris on March 15, 1919, by members of the American Expeditionary Force occupying Europe after World War I, who were concerned about the welfare of their comrades upon their return to the United States.

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