Ref: http://www.usmint.gov/batterup/?action=curvedcoin

The First Curved Coin from the United States Mint

The National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act (Public Law 112-152), signed into law on August 3, 2012, requires the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue up to:

• 50,000 $5 gold coins
• 400,000 $1 silver coins
• 750,000 half-dollar clad coins

These coins are being issued in recognition and celebration of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2014.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame Coins are scheduled to go on sale in early 2014.

Surcharges for each coin sold are authorized to be paid to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, an independent not-for-profit educational institution, to help fund its operations. Surcharges per coin are:

• $35 for each gold coin
• $10 for each silver coin
• $5 for each half-dollar coin

From April 11-May 11, 2013, a nationwide competitionwas held to determine the obverse design for the coin.

Coin Designs

The common obverse (heads) design depicts a glove that, combined with the baseball design featured on the reverse, exemplifies the most basic elements of our national pastime or a simple game of catch in the backyard or at the local sandlot. The glove design also highlights the unique concavity of the coin.

The winning design, submitted by Cassie McFarland, was selected from the finalists by the Department of the Treasury on September 4, 2013, after consultation with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

The common inscriptions on each coin’s obverse are LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST, and 2014. The obverse design was sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart.

Common Obverse of the 2014 National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin

The common reverse (tails) design of each coin depicts a baseball similar to those used in Major League Baseball^®. The final design, also designed and sculpted by Everhart, was approved by the Department of the Treasury on May 20, 2013, after consultation with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

The common inscriptions on each coin’s reverse are UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Additional inscriptions (seen below) are:

• FIVE DOLLARS on the gold coin
• ONE DOLLAR on the silver dollar
• HALF DOLLAR on the clad coin

Reverses of the 2014 National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin

Hi-resolutions versions are available from the Pressroom Image Library.

Coin Specifications

Curved, Not Flat

The National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative $5 gold, $1 silver, and one-half dollar clad coins will have a shape such that the obverse is concave and the reverse is convex. While these will be the first curved coins ever minted by the United States Mint, it did produce the curved 1973 Roberto Walker Clemente Congressional Gold Medal in honor of the late Pittsburgh Pirates star right fielder.

The National Baseball Commemorative Coin Act specifically refers to modeling the coins after the convex/concave 2009 International Year of Astronomy Coins minted and issued by the Monnaie de Paris (French Mint). The United States Mint’s National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative $5 gold, the $1 silver and one-half dollar clad coins will also be closely modeled after the Royal Australian Mint’s Southern Cross curved coins.

Research and development on the curved National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coins is unprecedented in recent United States Mint history. It covered height of relief limitations; milling, turning and grinding operations; coinability issues; laser frosting and proof polishing; and proof, uncirculated and clad test strikes.

During the planning phase for the minting and production of its first-ever curved coins, the Royal Australian and Perth Mints provided valuable technical insight to the United States Mint.

Specifications

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an independent not-for-profit educational institution dedicated to fostering an appreciation of the historical development of baseball and its impact on our culture. The Museum supports this mission by collecting, preserving, exhibiting and interpreting its collections for a global audience, as well as honoring those who have made outstanding contributions to the National Pastime.

The Baseball Hall of Fame’s centerpiece is its historic gallery, where the plaques of all 300 members line the oak walls. Only 1 percent–one in 100–who have played baseball in the major leagues have a plaque in the Hall of Fame.

The museum’s collections contain more than 35,000 three-dimensional artifacts representing all facets of the game, from its inception in the mid-19th century to the present. These include bats, baseballs, uniforms, player equipment, ballpark artifacts, awards, artwork, textiles, tickets, collectibles and assorted memorabilia. In addition, the institution’s archives contain in excess of 130,000 baseball cards and 2.6 million library items, including photographs, books, magazines, newspaper clippings, films, video and audiotapes.

Since its opening in 1939, more than 15 million baseball fans have visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museumto learn about the history of the sport and the game’s unique connection to the American experience.

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Ref: http://www.coinnews.net/2013/10/15/mcfarland-wins-baseball-coin-design-competition/

McFarland Wins Baseball Coin Design Competition

by MIKE UNSER on OCTOBER 15, 2013 · 7 COMMENTS