CCAC recommends American Legion coin designs
- Published: Mar 16, 2018, 6 AM
Proposed designs for the commemorative 2019 American Legion Centennial gold $5 half eagle, silver dollar, and copper-nickel clad half dollar were recommended March 13 by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.
The 11-member panel assessed the merits of 12 obverse and 10 reverse designs for the gold $5 coin, 13 obverse and 11 reverse designs for the silver dollar and seven obverse and five reverse designs proposed for the clad half dollar.
The coin design submissions were rendered by members of the Mint’s engraving staff and artists with the United States Mint’s Artistic Infusion Program.
The U.S. Mint’s narratives for the designs the CCAC recommended are:
??Gold $5 obverse: 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.
??Gold $5 reverse: portrays a respectful presentation of a properly folded American Flag, according to the American Legion Flag Code. This display of honor for the American Flag, which represents the ideals of justice, freedom, and democracy for which our veterans fought, represents the American Legion’s service to the nation. The additional inscription reads “For God and Country.”
Wendell Wolka concludes his series of columns on allegorical figures depicted on obsolete notes with tips on identifying several figures by their accessories. Also in this issue, we take a look at a few of the dozens of abbreviations in numismatics.
??Silver dollar obverse: depicts the American Legion emblem adorned by oak leaves and a lily, commemorating the founding of the American Legion in Paris, France.
??Silver dollar reverse: represents the founding of the American Legion in Paris in 1919. Above the crossed American and American Legion flags are simplified elements of the Arc de Triomphe and the inscription “100 Years of Service.”
??Clad half dollar obverse: depicts two children standing and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, the little girl proudly wearing her grandfather’s old American Legion hat. The additional inscription reads “I pledge allegiance to the flag …”
??Clad half dollar reverse: completes the phrase begun on the obverse, “… 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 coins are to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the American Legion, founded in Paris on March 15, 1919, by members of the American Expeditionary Force who were occupying Europe after World War I and were concerned about the welfare of their comrades and the communities upon their return to the United States.
The program calls for the production and release, in Proof and Uncirculated versions combined, of no more than 50,000 gold coins, 400,000 silver dollars and 750,000 copper-nickel clad half dollars.
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