Letter
Dear Mr. Moy:
In its meeting of 20 September, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed the proposals for the four reverse designs of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Coin Redesign Program for 2009, with the obverse continuing to bear Victor David Brenner's portrait of President Lincoln.
The Commission's recommendations were as follows:
Reverse One: Lincoln's birth and humble beginnings in Kentucky.
The Commission preferred design #LC-R-1-05 because of the use of only one element—the log cabin where he was born, unencumbered by distracting landscape elements. The size of the rendition of the cabin made this design preferable to design #LC-R-1-02.
Reverse Two: Lincoln's formative years in Indiana.
The Commission recommended design #LC-R-2-04 for its simplicity and strength.
Reverse Three: Lincoln's professional life in Illinois.
The choice for this reverse was design #LC-R-3-02, because it depicts both the young adult Lincoln and the Old Illinois Statehouse in which he served, with the comment that the proportion of Lincoln's figure in relation to the Statehouse is awkward and should be restudied.
Reverse Four: Lincoln's Presidency in Washington, D.C.
The Commission recommended design #LC-R-4-03, which they said is superior to the other renditions of the unfinished Capitol dome, a symbol of Lincoln's presidency that surpasses the Lincoln Cottage and Soldiers' Home themes.
As always, the staff is available to assist you in future submissions.
Sincerely,
/s/
Thomas E. Luebke, AIA
Secretary
Edmund C. Moy, Director
United States Mint
801 9th Street, NW, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20220
cc: Kaarina Budow, U.S. Mint