Letter
Dear Mr. Croft:
In its meeting of 15 March, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed alternative designs for the three coins to be issued for the American Legion 100th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program. Expressing support for the selections preferred by the Mint’s liaison from the American Legion, as well as by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, the Commission members present provided the following recommendations and comments.
Five-dollar gold coin. The Commission members recommended obverse #3 and the reverse that was presented as the one-dollar silver coin’s reverse #7. They agreed with the liaison that this reverse design, featuring an eagle along with the American Legion seal, would be thematically preferable to the funereal associations of the folded American flag depicted on the reverse preferred by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee. The Commission also supported the Mint’s intended modifications of this reverse to revise the denomination and the scale of the “E Pluribus Unum” text within the composition in order to be legible on the smaller-sized gold coin.
One-dollar silver coin. The Commission members recommended obverse #5 and reverse #11, consistent with the preferences of the liaison and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee. For the reverse, they supported the suggestion to replace the central architectural ornament within the decorative arch with a fleur-de-lis symbol, as shown in other designs such as silver obverse #6; they added that the fleur-de-lis should appear to be disengaged from the arch to avoid implying that these elements are part of a single architectural composition.
Half-dollar clad coin. The Commission members recommended obverse #5 and reverse #6, consistent with the preferences of the liaison and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee. For the obverse, they suggested further study of the rendering of the girl’s face to improve its artistic quality.
As a quorum was not present for the review of this submission, these recommendations will be placed on the administrative agenda for confirmation at the Commission’s meeting of 19 April. As always, the staff is available to assist you with future submissions.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary
David Croft
Acting Deputy Director
United States Mint
801 9th Street, NW, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20220