First Design for American Breakfast Cereal Heritage Dollar Coin Program Approved by CCAC

At Friday’s meeting of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC), design candidate portfolios were reviewed for the American Breakfast Cereal Heritage Act, which calls for a series of $1 commemorative coins that will enter into production in 2019, the 125th Anniversary of the introduction of Corn Flakes.

Corn Flakes were created by John Harvey Kellogg for patients at his Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan.

With the recipe, Kellogg, sought not only to reduce the effects of indigestion amongst the patients in his charge (who had to adhere to a strict vegetarian diet) but to also help reduce the sexual urges of his patients – which Kellogg believed were inflamed due to an unhealthy diet. It was thought at the time that spicy foods incited the passions.

The first approved design features popular cereal icon Tony the Tiger, a character created by Kellog artist Eugene Kolkey in 1951. The coin features Tony with one arm crossed against his chest giving a “thumbs up” from his other hand, signaling his popular catchphrase “They’re grrrrreat!”.

The design is the work of U.S. Mint artist Phebe Hemphill, whose most recent design highlight was the 2017 Liberty 225th Anniversary gold coin.

Also discussed at the meeting were the designs for the 2020 and 2021 dollar coins. The 2020 design features Quisp, a popular cereal introduced by Quaker in 1965. The 2021 coin will feature Waffelo Bill from the Ralston cereal Waffelos, which was introduced in 1979. The designs for both of these coins were sent back to the artists for further revisions.

The American Breakfast Cereal Heritage coins will feature a bowl of cereal on the obverse and the mascot character on the reverse. The program was signed into law on August 30, 2017 by President Donald J. Trump.

After the CFA and the CCAC make design recommendations, it is up to Secretary of the Treasury to provide final approval. The coins are to be struck using the same metallic composition as the Native American and Presidential dollar series.