CCAC recommends Boys Town commem designs
- Published: Mar 15, 2016, 12 PM
Designs for the 2017 Boys Town Centennial gold $5 half eagle, silver dollar and copper-nickel clad half dollar were reviewed March 15 by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.
The panel's recommendations flipped designs for the dollar and half dollar, opting to select designs for the dollar that were intended for the half dollar and vice versa.
Designs were selected from 10 pairs of obverse and reverse designs for the gold coin, 22 pairs of designs intended for the silver dollar and 13 pairs marked for the copper-nickel clad half dollar. The same designs are to be reviewed March 17 by the Commission of Fine Arts.
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Final design approval is by the Treasury secretary or his designee.
The designs were considered in pairs based on an earlier recommendation by the CCAC to U.S. Mint officials to have design proposals grouped. A paired obverse and reverse are not necessarily the work of the same member of the Mint's engraving staff or U.S. Mint Artistic Infusion Program.
For the gold $5 coin, the recommended obverse depicts a portrait of Boys Town's founder Father Edward J. Flanagan. The reverse depicts an outstretched left hand holding a young oak growing from an acorn, symbolic of the potential of each child helped by Boys Town to grow into a productive, complete adult.
For the silver dollar, the designs recommended were originally submitted for the copper-nickel clad half dollar. The recommended obverse depicts a young girl sitting alone on the ground and gazing upward into the branches of an oak tree as she seeks help. The empty space in the field is deliberate and intended to show the child's sense of loneliness, isolation and helplessness. On the reverse, the oak tree offers shelter and a sense of belonging to the family holding hands under it, the family including the girl depicted on the obverse.
For the half dollar, the recommended designs were originally submitted for the silver dollar denomination. The recommended obverse illustrates an older boy carrying a young polio victim, representing the early days of Boys Town. The reverse shows an older boy carrying a young girl, with the Boys Town pylon in the background, representing the present day logo and mission of Boys Town in the care of both boys and girls through the organization's life-changing programs.
MORE DESIGNS: Have a look at all of the proposed 2017 Boys Town Centennial coin designs discussed
The authorizing legislation, Public Law 114-30, calls for the maximum production and release by the U.S. Mint of 50,000 Proof and Uncirculated gold coins, 350,000 silver dollars and 300,000 copper-nickel clad half dollars.
Keep reading our March 15 CCAC meeting coverage:
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