Letter
Dear Mr. Peterson:
In its meeting of 20 September, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed alternative designs for a third set of Congressional Gold Medals in accordance with the Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2008. The Commission provided the following recommendations on the two submitted medals:
Crow Creek Sioux Tribe. The Commission members recommended obverse #2, commenting that the simple background with a clear horizon results in a more legible design than the similar composition of obverse #1. They recommended reverse #1 but suggested configuring the perimeter text as shown in reverse #2, with "World War I / World War II" at the upper rim and "Act of Congress 2008" along the lower rim.
Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe. The Commission members concluded that neither of the two obverse alternatives was satisfactory and did not offer a recommendation; they commented that the eagle was overly large in both compositions, and appeared to be attacking the soldier in obverse #1. They recommended reverse #2 with the request to use the more standard spelling of "Theater" in the phrase "Pacific Theatre," and to horizontally align the text "World War II" and "Act of Congress 2008." They also requested coordination of the typefaces on the obverse and reverse designs, commenting more generally that selecting a single artist for the obverse and reverse would likely result in improved coordination of design alternatives for coins and medals.
The Commission was pleased to have the opportunity to meet you at the presentation. As always, the staff is available to assist you with the future submissions.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary
Richard A. Peterson, Deputy Director
United States Mint
801 9th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20220
cc: Ron Harrigal, U.S. Mint