The U.S. Mint provided Coin World with the wrong information and images regarding the March 21 Commission of Fine Arts recommendations for the 2021 through 2025 Proof American Eagle platinum five-coin series.

The incorrect information was published in the April 8 print edition ofCoin World  as well as disseminated online.

Inside Coin World: Nearly all U.S. coins series are threatened by counterfeiters: Modern counterfeiting risks from China, a counterfeit note from the 1840s newly rediscovered, and a look at Flying Eagle cents, all in the April 8 issue of “Coin World.”

Publication of the incorrect information provided by the Mint was called to Coin World's attention by CFA member Justin Shubow via email March 23. The correct information was further confirmed via email March 24 by CFA secretary Thomas Luebke. Mint officials acknowledged the mistake on March 25.

The correct designs recommended by the CFA use the stages of growth of an oak tree to illustrate the five freedoms espoused in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution:

??Freedom of Religion

??Freedom of Speech

??Freedom of the Press

??Freedom to Assemble Peaceably

??Freedom to Petition the Government to Redress Grievances

At their March 21 meeting, CFA members reviewed three sets of designs, each containing five designs, one design for each of the five years of the themed program. Each set was executed by a member of the U.S. Mint engraving staff or its Artistic Infusion Program assemblage of outside artists. The CFA also considered a number of single designs that were originally presented at the CFA's Oct. 18, 2018, meeting to demonstrate the planned themes for each annual design.

The same designs are scheduled to be considered by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee at its April 16 and 17 meetings. Whatever obverse designs are given final approval by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, each will be paired with the eagle reverse by AIP artist Patricia Lucas-Morris that was introduced on the 2018 Proof American Eagle platinum coin.

The correct CFA design recommendation set “uses the lifecycle of the oak tree from seedling to a mighty oak as a metaphor for our country’s growth as a nation that values freedom. Liberty grows to a thing of strength and beauty from a seed — our Bill of Rights. Each of the freedoms enumerated in the First Amendment contributes to the growth and development of the nation.”

?? For 2021, the recommended design “depicts a seedling and an acorn surrounded by the inscriptions ‘WITH FREEDOM OF RELIGION’ and ‘LIBERTY GROWS.’ ” 

?? For 2022, the design “features a juvenile oak tree framed with the inscriptions ‘WITH FREEDOM OF SPEECH’ and ‘LIBERTY BLOSSOMS.’ ”

?? For 2023, the design “portrays the branch of mature oak tree with acorns amid the inscriptions ‘WITH FREEDOM OF THE PRESS’ and  ‘LIBERTY BEARS FRUIT.’ ” 

?? For 2024, the design “showcases several types of oak leaves assembled between the inscriptions ‘WITH THE RIGHT TO ASSEMBLE’ and ‘LIBERTY SPREADS.’ ”

?? For 2025, the design “features a mature spreading, impressive oak tree between the inscriptions ‘WITH THE RIGHT TO PETITION’ and ‘LIBERTY ENDURES.’ The oak, known for its strength, can live up to 200 years and is a symbol of endurance.”

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