Commemorative coins honoring “The Star Spangled Banner,” Dr. Martin Luther King and fallen firefighters have been endorsed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.
A 2012 coin would mark the bicentennial of “The Star Spangled Banner,” a 2013 coin would mark the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and a 2014 coin would recognize the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial.
The recommendations are contained in the CCAC 2009 annual report, which was acted upon when it met Feb. 23.
As for circulating commemoratives, the CCAC recommended a redesign of George Washington’s image on the obverse of the quarter, according to CCAC Chairman Mitch Sanders.
It would also like to see a five-year program focused on introducing modern Liberty designs on circulating coinage, with one design a year being introduced, Sanders said.
The CCAC also recommended a redesign of the American Eagle silver bullion coin in light of its use for 25 years, Sanders said, with a single artist designing both the obverse and reverse of the coin.
And it endorsed the “Expressions of America” art medals program that would provide opportunities for innovation and advanced design techniques, Sanders said.
The CCAC also provided comments on proposed design narratives for 2011 First Spouse bullion coins and medals. After comments by Doreen Bolger and John Alexander, the committee was generally most favorable toward narratives related to significant, historical contributions, Sanders said.
Specifically, comments were most positive about the narrative for Eliza Johnson that focused on her early marriage, the narrative that told of Julia Grant following her husband to military outposts, Lucy Hayes’ introduction of the Easter egg roll at the White House (a tradition that continues to this day) and Lucretia Garfield’s front porch campaign for her husband’s election.
The committee will later see designs related to these and other narratives as part of the final design selection process, Sanders said.
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