Before the weekend, an article on Coin Update reported on the CCAC meeting and provided a look at all of the candidate designs. This post will recap the recommendations of both the CFA and CCAC.
Coin Update article: 2011 United States Army Commemorative Coin Designs.
During their respective meetings, the CFA and CCAC both voiced complaints and issues regarding the quality of the coin design candidates. In several cases, they chose to reject all of the designs provided by the US Mint. This is something that seems to be happening with increasing frequency, despite the US Mint Director's frequent statements about sparking a Neo Renaissance in coin design and achieving a new level of artistic excellence.
For the Army Commemorative $5 gold coin obverse, the CCAC recommended a design showing five soldiers from different periods: the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and today. The CFA had favored a design featuring a full length view of soldiers from the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and World War II.
Three candidate designs were provided for the $5 gold coin reverse. Each one featured the Seal of the United States Army with some differences in the surrounding inscriptions, lettering, or borders. The design shown below was selected by the CCAC. The version recommended by the CFA does not include the inscription "Department of the Army" and the remaining inscriptions are rearranged.
There were five different design candidates for the obverse of the 2011 Army Commemorative Silver Dollar. Four of the five featured a globe in the background. The CCAC selected a design featuring a male and female soldier back to back with the globe in the background. The CFA refused to back any of the provided designs.
For the reverse of the silver dollar, the CFA and CCAC each recommended a different design. The CFA recommended an image of the Great Seal of the United States with the core values of the Army encircling the seal: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage. The CCAC recommended a design featuring three soldiers, one carries a wounded soldier and the other protects them.
For the 2011 Army Commemorative Half Dollar, both the CFA and CCAC rejected all of the provided obverse designs. These designs were representations of the work that the Army does in peace time.
For the reverse design, both recommended a design featuring a Revolutionary War soldier carrying a musket. Thirteen stars appear above and an inscription reads "First in Service to the Nation". The image is reminiscent of the Drummer Boy on the reverse of the 1976 Bicentennial Washington Quarter.
US Mint Pricing Policy
An update is available for last week's post regarding the pricing for the United States Mint's numismatic gold coins. The Mint released a statement explaining why prices were not reduced.
According to the statement, an internal policy with additional criteria is used to determine whether pricing changes will be made. The Wednesday PM London Fix price is used to determine the trend of gold prices in comparison to the calculated average.
This is the first I have heard about this separate internal policy and I do not believe it has been mentioned or published previously. This also seems to be the first time that the internal policy was invoked to override the procedure described in the US Mint's policy provided in the Federal Register.
The full story is on Coin Update: US Mint Responds on Numismatic Gold Coin Pricing Policy
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