Proposed designs for a U.S. Mint program in recognition of the nation’s semiquincentennial in 2026 featuring non-round Liberty Bell-shaped gold coins and similar silver medals were reviewed and recommended Nov. 21 during a Commission of Fine Arts meeting.

The advisory panel also recommended proposed designs for the congressional gold medal authorized to recognize Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. The panel also recommended designs for coins and medals depicting DC Comics superheroes Batman and Wonder Woman, 2025 numismatic products in the Mint’s series of Comic Art gold coins and silver medals.

Liberty Bell

The non-round Liberty Bell program is proposed by the U.S. Mint to celebrate the 2026 semiquincentennial but is not yet approved by Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen.

The Mint program calls for a 1-ounce .9999 fine gold $250 coin in the shape of the Liberty Bell as well as a half-ounce gold $125 version.

The program anticipates also including .999 fine silver medals.

In its recommendation letter, the CFA suggests, “For the obverse depiction of the Liberty Bell’s wooden yoke, the Commission members recommended refinement of the wood texture lines to avoid a cartoonish appearance. They also recommended coordination of the fonts for the obverse and reverse; the contrasting cursive lettering for LIBERTY on the obverse should be used only if it is historically consistent with Thomas Jefferson’s handwriting as intended.”

For the reverse of the two coins, the CFA members agreed with the CCAC’s preference for the improved legibility of rendering the denomination as digits instead of words.

Till, Till-Mobley medal

CFA members recommended the same images for the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley congressional gold medal that the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee recommended Nov. 19 during its YouTube video conference.

On Aug. 28, 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till was kidnapped, beaten, and shot in Money, Mississippi, where he had traveled from Chicago to stay with his great uncle. His body was discovered three days later in the Tallahatchie River.  His uncle was able to provide eyewitness testimony, but his murderers were still acquitted.

His mother, Till-Mobley served as chair and co-founder of the Emmett Till Justice Campaign, which had the dual purpose of reopening investigation into Till’s murder case and advocating for federal legislation to ensure that other racially motivated murders during the Civil Rights era were investigated and, when possible, prosecuted.

The obverse both review bodies recommend depicts Mamie Till-Mobley embracing her son, the two enveloped by angel’s wings.

The recommended reverse features the grieving mother lifting draped fabric from a tableau of the scene at Emmett’s open casket, exposing the horrific violence inflicted upon her son.

The CFA recommends adjusting the composition of the reverse design to avoid crowding the inscription LET THE WORLD SEE.

Comic art

The U.S. Mint-initiated Comic Art Coin and Medal Program is a three year series that anticipates featuring three DC Comics characters per year. The product line for each character will include one half ounce .999 fine gold $50 coin, one 2.5-ounce silver medal, one 1-ounce silver medals, and one 1.2-inch-diameter copper-nickel clad medal.

For each of the three years in the program (2025-2027), three comic art character designs will be struck in gold and silver, and the matching clad medals will be struck in the following year.

The program is a collaboration between DC Comics, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. and the U.S. Mint.

The obverse designs were rendered and will be sculpted by U.S. Mint Chief Engraver Joseph F. Menna. Proposed reverse designs are the work of the Mint’s medallic artists who will also sculpt their respective designs if approved.

For the recommended Batman obverse design, the CFA requested adjusting the top line of the footwear on Batman’s right leg to avoid a distracting alignment with the outlined edge of his left leg.

For the Wonder Woman proposed designs, consistent with the CCAC, CFA members recommend a proposed obverse illustrating Wonder Woman superimposed over an American flag.

The panel agrees with the CCAC’s assessment that a border of stars in a related version would not improve the design.

For the reverse, the CFA recommends a dynamic pose of Wonder Woman airborne among doves in flight above the globe. It prefers this design to a more static composition with a standing figure preferred by the CCAC.

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