Results: Best 2010 US Mint Coin Design So Far

A little over a week ago, I created a poll where Mint News Blog readers could vote on what they believe is the best US Mint coin design for the year so far.

A total of 725 votes were cast across the eleven different coins issued during 2010, which featured a new design on at least one side of the coin. Two coins received more than 50% of the total votes, signaling two strong favorites. The third highest number of votes were cast for a medal honoring the Women Airforce Service Pilots. In the end, the 2010 Native American Dollar edged out the 2010 Lincoln Cent by a margin of 21 votes.

The complete results of the poll are listed below:

	Votes	Percentage
2010 Native American Dollar	196	27.03%
2010 Lincoln Cent	175	24.14%
Women Airforce Service Pilots Medal	103	14.21%
2010 Yellowstone Quarter	86	11.86%
2010 Boy Scouts Silver Dollar	54	7.45%
2010 Disabled Veterans Silver Dollar	35	4.83%
2010 Abigail Fillmore First Spouse Gold	32	4.41%
2010 Hot Springs Quarter	24	3.31%
2010 Jane Pierce First Spouse Gold	10	1.38%
2010 Franklin Pierce Dollar	6	0.83%
2010 Millard Fillmore Dollar	4	0.55%

The 2010 Native American Dollar features the second reverse design for the series honoring the accomplishments and contributions of Native Americans. The theme was "Government - The Great Tree of Peace". The well balanced reverse features a depiction of a Hiawatha Belt encircling a bundle of five arrows. These images are symbolic of the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois Confederacy. Five figures on the belt represent the five original nations with the central symbol also a representing the Great White Pine. The bundle of arrows symbolizes the strength in unity of the Iroquois Confederacy.

When candidate designs for the coin were originally presented to the Commission of Fine Arts and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, this design was the strong favorite of both. Other design candidates were varied depictions of a white pine tree topped by an eagle.

The Hiawatha Belt design has been included in the CCAC's recently compiled image reference guide of design excellence.

The 2010 Lincoln Cent features a new reverse design intended to represent Lincoln's preservation of the United States as a single and united country. This concept is represented with a depiction of the Union Shield. The thirteen vertical stripes represent the original thirteen states joined together in support of the federal government, represented by the horizontal bar above. This symbol dates back to the 1780's and was used widely during the Civil War era.

On an overall basis, opinions expressed for this design were more divided. Based on comments received on previous Mint News Blog posts and Coin Review, people seem to either love the design or hate it. Supporters cite the clean and classic depiction of an historical symbol. Dissenters call the design too simple or mention that they would have have preferred a more contemporary or widely recognized symbol.

The CFA and CCAC were also split on this design. The CFA initially supported a design depicting a bundle of wheat stalks, but after this design was removed from consideration, they switched to a modernistic depiction of a 34 star flag. The CCAC supported the depiction of the Union Shield, although there was apparently some dissent within the group. The CCAC Chairman recently stated that he liked the design, while member Donald Scarinci, who is on the newly formed Subcommittee for Coin Design Excellence, said the design makes him "want to vomit." Initially, there were 18 different design candidates for the 2010 Lincoln Cent reverse.

As mentioned, I will likely revisit this topic with another poll to vote on the coin designs released in the second half. This will include the still undecided (or unannounced) design for the 2010 Proof Platinum Eagle, which will depict the principle "To Establish Justice" and the Lincoln Presidential Dollar, among others.