The Commission of Fine Arts April 20 recommended proposed designs for the three-coin Greatest Generation commemorative coin program for 2024.

The enabling legislation calls for the production and sale in Proof and Uncirculated versions of up to 50,000 gold $5 coins, 400,000 silver dollars and 750,000 copper-nickel clad half dollars.

The coins, authorized under Public Law 117-162, are in celebration of the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

$5 coin designs

The CFA-recommended obverse for the gold $5 denomination “depicts an eternal flame, a symbol of commemoration and a reminder of our nation’s commitment during World War II,” according to the Mint’s design narrative. “The flame is flanked by laurels, signifying victory. The additional inscription is THEY ANSWERED THE CALL.”

The recommended reverse depicts “a folded flag with the additional inscription WWII MEMORIAL. Also featured is the inscription TO UNITE THE GENERATIONS OF TOMORROW.”

The CFA recommends reworking the folded flag to properly align the stars.

Dollar designs

The recommended obverse for the silver dollar reflects “an allegorical tableau of figures supporting a globe. Each figure represents a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces during WWII (Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy, Army, and Marine Corps) plus a figure representing the critical work of the Merchant Marines.” Additional inscriptions are WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL, 1941-1945, and DEFENDERS OF FREEDOM. The same proposed obverse design was recommended April 18 by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

The recommended reverse, also favored by the CCAC, depicts “a view from beneath a baldacchino, a sculptural canopy, inside a victory pavilion in the World War II Memorial featuring four eagles holding a laurel wreath. Inside the wreath is a globe centered on the Pacific Ocean.”

Half dollar designs

The recommended obverse for the copper-nickel clad half dollars was originally designed and submitted as a design for the silver dollar obverse. The design features a reimagining of the figure of Liberation on the World War II Victory medal, awarded to all who served in the Armed Forces during the War.

The design was also favored by the CCAC.

The recommended reverse for the half dollar was originally submitted for consideration as a half dollar obverse. It illustrates “the hands of three workers on the home front holding a hammer, a garden hoe, and a wrench, symbolic of America’s rapidly changing labor market during World War II as citizens of all ages worked in agriculture and manufacturing to produce large quantities of food, supplies, and equipment for U.S. troops.

“The additional inscription is FIGHTING FOR LIBERTY and ON THE HOME FRONT.”

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