By CoinWeek News Staff ….
On Monday, June 27, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) will hold a three-hour public meeting at Gaylord Hall on the campus of Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Besides advising on the future of the U.S. Mint’s palladium coin program and electing jurors for the Breast Cancer Awareness Commemorative Coin design competition, the Committee will review and discuss candidate designs for the five 2018 America the Beautiful Quarters program issues.
In addition, the CCAC will review and discuss designs for both the Term One and Term Two President Obama Presidential Medals.
2018 America the Beautiful Quarters
The America the Beautiful Quarters Program began right after the completion of the 50 State Quarters Program and its adjunct District of Columbia and Territories program.
Authorized by Public Law 110–456 (source: PDF), the America the Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008, called for the Treasury Department and the Mint to issue “redesigned quarters dollars emblematic of national parks or other national sites in each state, the District of Columbia, and each territory.
Similar to the issuance order of the 50 State Quarters Program, America the Beautiful National Parks quarters are issued one per state, based on the order in which the selected site was first established as a National Park.
2018 will be the ninth year of the putative 12-year program that started in 2010 and will end no sooner than 2021. Five parks are honored each year of the program. In the order of release, the 2018 roster includes:
- Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore – Michigan
- Apostle Islands National Lakeshore – Wisconsin
- Voyageurs National Park – Minnesota
- Cumberland Island National Seashore – Georgia
- Block Island National Wildlife Refuge – Rhode Island
Featured below are the 2018 candidate designs for each coin (all images courtesy of the United States Mint).
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Voyageurs National Park
Cumberland Island National Seashore
Block Island National Wildlife Refuge
On June 16, the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) reviewed the candidate design portfolios and made their own preferences known. For Pictured Rocks, the CFA chose side eight. For Apostle Islands, side nine was selected. Side six was chosen as the CFA’s preferred candidate for Voyageurs National Park. For Cumberland Island, the commission prefers side six, and for Block Island, the CFA recommends side six as well.
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About the CCAC
In accordance with 31 U.S.C. 5135, the CCAC:
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Advises the Secretary of the Treasury on any theme or design proposals relating to circulating coinage, bullion coinage, Congressional Gold Medals, and national and other medals.
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Advises the Secretary of the Treasury with regards to the events, persons, or places to be commemorated by the issuance of commemorative coins in each of the five calendar years succeeding the year in which a commemorative coin designation is made.
- Makes recommendations with respect to the mintage level for any commemorative coin recommended.
The CCAC was established in 2003 by Congress under Public Law 108-15.
-courtesy of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee
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