Letter
Dear Mr. Peterson:
In its meeting of 15 May, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed alternative designs for three Congressional Gold Medals honoring the Fallen Heroes of 9/11. The Commission provided the following recommendations:
New York medal. The Commission members recommended obverse #8 and reverse #13, with additional suggestions. For the obverse, they supported the balanced composition and the abstract depiction of the World Trade Center towers. They commented that the phrase "Always Remember" is difficult to read due to the background texture behind "Remember," and they suggested improving its legibility or shortening the phrase. For the reverse, they suggested removing one of the roses from the composition and eliminating the comma following the word "Country."
Pentagon medal. The Commission members recommended obverse #9 and reverse #8, consistent with the combination proposed by the contributing artist. They generally supported the emphasis on text for the reverse; noting that the text composition in reverse #8 includes an eagle, they recommended an obverse design that does not include an eagle motif. They also suggested that the obverse be simplified by eliminating the plantings shown along the Pentagon facade.
Pennsylvania medal. The Commission members agreed with the stakeholder preference to use reverse #5–B for the obverse design, and reverse #10 for the reverse. They supported the deletion of the text "September 11th, 2001" from #5–B as it would be redundant with the recommended reverse. They noted the appropriateness of depicting the U.S. Capitol, a possible target of Flight 93.
As always, the staff is available to assist you with 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: April Stafford, U.S. Mint