Proposed designs reviewed Feb. 20 by the Commission of Fine Arts for a 2020 Presidential dollar honoring the late President George H.W. Bush and a First Spouse gold $10 coin honoring the late first lady Barbara Bush have been recommended by the panel.

The CFA-recommended portraits for the two coins are the ones favored by the Bush family.

As with all Presidential dollars, the obverse of the Bush coin will depict a portrait of the president along with inscriptions that identify his term in office. The Statue of Liberty reverse introduced in 2007 and used on all coins was designed and sculpted by since retired U.S. Mint Sculptor-Engraver Donald Everhart II.

The recommended reverse for the Barbara Bush $10 coin depicts an open book atop a stack of books within a central circle. Separate inscriptions HISTORY and SCIENCE appear on the spines of two stacked books, highlighting “their importance in the steps of learning, freedom, and independence,” according to the Mint’s design narrative. FAMILY LITERACY is inscribed in an arc over a sun and its rays emanating from an open book. The denomination and fineness in gold appear around the outside border with mandated inscriptions.

The CFA’s recommendations will be forwarded to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin or his designee for final approval.

The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee is scheduled to review the same designs in  March.

The CFA was presented with 11 proposed obverse designs for the Bush Presidential dollar. Whatever design is approved by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin or his designee will be paired with the common reverse that has served the Presidential dollar series.

The CFA also scrutinized 11 obverse designs and 12 reverse designs for the half-ounce gold .9999 fine $10 coin.

Mint officials have not disclosed how many different versions of the Bush Presidential dollar will be issued, with what finishes, and at which Mints. 

The two Bush coins and medal were made possible by an extension of the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005, Public Law 109-145. The President George H.W. Bush and First Spouse Barbara Bush Coin Act was signed into law by President Trump on Jan. 27, 2020, as Public Law 116-112.

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