Proposed Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Would Be US's First Curved Coin

[astrostu]

Via CoinNews.net

 

Newly introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives calls for uniquely designed commemorative coins to recognize and celebrate the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

 

Named the National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act and numbered H.R. 2527, the legislation would authorize the United States Mint in calendar year 2015 to produce $5 gold coins, silver dollars and clad half-dollars in collector proof and uncirculated qualities.

 

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The rather unique design provisions relate to:

 

A requirement that the Secretary of the Treasury must hold an obverse design competition, with the winner receiving at least $5,000. The judging panel would consist of the Secretary, three members of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) and three members of the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA).

 

An expectation for the commemorative coins to feature reverses that are convex in order to resemble a baseball and obverses that are concave to provide a "more dramatic display." H.R. 2527 specifically cites the 2009 International Year of Astronomy commemorative coins as an example. These coins were issued by the Monnaie de Paris (the French Mint) and have convex / concave features.

 

I actually have the silver version of the 2009 IYA coin that the article refers to. It's really quite cool, though a @#$% to photograph on the convex side. You can actually see me standing above it. I think this would be pretty cool, even if the last time I went to a baseball game was 20 years ago. If used judiciously and not for everything from now on, the curved coin I think would be a non-gimmicky novelty that would lend a nice touch to a baseball-commemorating coin.

 

[JStull]

Congress is concerned over a commemorative coin, when the nation is on the verge of default.

 

Marvelous!

[SkyMan]

Cool looking coin you posted! BTW, the symbols at the bottom of the reverse are representative of the planets.