Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee often goes its own way in choosing designs it thinks the Treasury secretary should adopt.
Good thing, too, in the case of the designs considered April 28 following an April 16 review by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts.
The CFA choice of a sheaf of wheat that symbolizes unity for a 2010 Lincoln cent was later noticed to be a knockoff of a 1924 German rentenpfennig.
This design was then withdrawn by the Mint with the statement, “Prospective coin designs go through an iterative internal review process during which a design may be removed or modified based on a variety of cumulative considerations, including coinability, legal sufficiency, artistic integrity and appropriateness.
“The United States Mint ultimately decided to remove design LP-18 from consideration after determining that it was inappropriately similar to a 1920s era German pfennig.”
Members of the CCAC didn’t even put the wheat sheaf design on their list of preferences.
Chairman Mitch Sanders said the members ranked all 18 designs being reviewed on a point scale where the maximum possible was 27.
Topping this list with 19 points was design LP-13 showing a shield (see images at right).
Second choice with 10 points was LP-17.
Third choice was LP-2 with 7 points.
Fourth choice was LP-1 with 4 points.
Fifth choice with 3 points was LP-16.
Members of CCAC were more in tune with CFA members with their choice for the 2010 Native American dollar coin reverse.
The design with a bundle of arrows, LP-5, received the highest possible point total of 27.
As an also ran, LP-3 showing an eagle atop a pine tree, received 2 points.
The CCAC members also formally asked to discuss redesign of the Lincoln cent obverse at its next public meeting.
