As a change of pace, I wanted to take a post to look at some of my favorite modern commemorative coin designs. Each of the coins highlighted below are beautiful in their own respect, but also include some specific aspects that make them worthy of discussion.

The coins include only modern commemorative coin issues. This does not include First Spouse Gold Coins or American Platinum Eagle reverse designs. I am also not including designs that were previously used on other U.S. coins (i.e. the 2001 American Buffalo Silver Dollar).

1988 Olympics $5 Gold Coin Obverse

Over the years, the US Mint has issued many commemorative coins for the Olympic Games, reaching its peak with the issuance of sixteen different designs for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. For the most part, the designs have featured depictions of athletes.

The obverse of the 1988 Olympic $5 Gold Coin, designed by Elizabeth Jones, took a different approach. The design features Nike, the goddess of victory, wearing a crown of olive leaves. The classical depiction is relatively uncluttered by the copious inscriptions that are required to be included on most commemorative coins. The word LIBERTY crosses Nike’s neck and inscription IN GOD WE TRUST is placed on a ribbon intertwined with the crown. These placements allow the portrait to have a wider canvas and carry a greater impression.

1994 Prisoner of War Silver Dollar Obverse

Some US Mint coin designs or design candidates have been criticized for taking a literal approach to the subject, rather than utilizing symbolism, which can be much more powerful.

The 1994 Prisoner of War Silver Dollar obverse was designed by Tom Neilson, who was a decorated former prisoner of war employed by the Bureau of Veterans Affairs. The design depicts a bald eagle with a broken chain on one leg, flying through a ring of barbed wire to represent freedom.

1999 George Washington $5 Gold Coin

The design for this coin is by Laura Gardin Fraser (1889-1966), the wife of James Earle Fraser (designer of the Buffalo Nickel). During her life, Laura Gardin Fraser designed several early commemorative coins including the 1922 Grant Memorial Half Dollar, 1921 Alabama Half Dollar, and the Oregon Trail Half Dollar (together with her husband).

She had created this design of George Washington and a bald eagle for use on the 1932 Washington Quarter. From more than 100 different models submitted by 98 sculptors, this design was selected by a bicentennial committee, the Commission of Fine Arts, and the Treasury Department. However, the design was rejected by the Secretary of the Treasury, some have suggested because he did not want to have a woman design the new quarter.

More than 60 years later, the US Mint used this design for the 1999 George Washington $5 Gold Coin. Throughout history, there must be countless designs created for US coins that were not used. From time to time, it might be appropriate to resurrect one of these unused designs for contemporary use.

2000 Leif Ericson Silver Dollar Obverse

This coin was issued to mark the 1,000th anniversary of Leif Ericson’s discovery of the New World. The obverse design is by John Mercanti and features a portrait of Leif Ericson in traditional Icelandic style.

I like the idea of using a style that conveys something about the subject matter being depicted. I have seen this approach utilized for some world coins, but for the most part not on any U.S. commemorative coins.

2005 Marine Corps Silver Dollar

This coin featured the famous scene of Marines raising an American flag over Iwo Jima that was photographed by Joe Rosenthal. The scene was modeled for the coin by Norman E. Nemeth.

Using an iconic scene that will be recognized by most Americans was clearly a winning approach. The coins managed to sell out of the maximum authorized mintage of 600,000. I suspect a good portion of the coins were purchased by non-coin collectors on the basis of the design. Future commemorative coin programs could take a lesson from this.

2011 Medal of Honor $5 Gold Obverse

This is the reverse design for the recently issued 2011 Medal of Honor $5 Gold Coin designed by Joel Iskowitz. It presents a stunning depiction of Minerva, who appeared on the central image of the original Medal of Honor. She carries a union shield and flag with munitions and a cannon in the background. Despite the many elements included, the design remains well balanced and effective. It would have been great to see this design on a larger sized coin.

Readers: Please feel free to share your own favorite modern commemorative coins in the comments.

The opening sales figures are now available for the United States Mint’s 2012 Infantry Soldier Silver Dollar. Sales of the commemorative coins began on February 16, 2012, with individual proof coins, individual uncirculated coins, and the Defenders of Freedom Set available.

As of February 20, 2012, the US Mint has received orders for 12,191 uncirculated coins, 26,262 proof coins, and 16,222 of the Defenders of Freedom Sets, which contain the proof version of the coin. The total across all three options is 54,675, which represents 15.6% of the maximum authorized mintage of 350,000. The Defenders of Freedom Set is subject to a product limit of 50,000 units. So far, sales have reached 32.4% of the limit.

This week’s full sales report is available on CoinUpdate.

The opening figures for the 2012 Infantry Silver Dollars fall between the opening figures recorded for last year’s 2011 Army Silver Dollar and 2011 Medal of Honor Silver Dollar.

However, looking at some details behind the figures suggests that this year’s program may be more or less on the same track as last year’s programs. The Army coins had gone on sale January 31 with the debut sales calculated through February 6, basically an entire week. The Medal of Honor coins had gone on sale February 25 with the debut sales calculated through February 27, a much shorter period. By the following report, cumulative Medal of Honor Silver Dollar sales had reached 68,252 across both options, more or less in line with the debut figures for the Army Silver Dollars. By the end of the year, sales for both silver dollars ended up relatively close.

The Infantry Silver Dollar debut sales figures cover from February 16 to February 20, which is between the short debut period for the MOH coins and the longer debut period for the Army coins. Due to the inconsistencies in the time periods for opening sales, next week’s figures may provide a better idea of how sales of this year’s commemorative are progressing.

The individual options for the Infantry Silver Dollars will be available under introductory prices until March 19, 2012 at 5:00 PM ET. The Star Spangled Banner Silver Dollars and $5 Gold Coins are expected to go on sale March 5, 2012. Some collectors may be waiting until this date to purchase coins from both programs together.

The United States Mint will begin sales of the 2012 Infantry Soldier Silver Dollar commemorative coins on February 16, 2012 at 12:00 Noon ET. The available products will include individual proof and uncirculated coins, as well as the Defenders of Freedom Set.

The program was authorized under Public Law 110-357 to commemorate the legacy of the U.S. Army Infantry and the establishment of the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center. Designs for the coin are intended to be emblematic of the courage, pride, sacrifice, sense of duty and history of the Infantry. From 12 different obverse and 7 different reverse design candidates, the Secretary of the Treasury selected those shown below, following consultation with the National Infantry Foundation, Commission of Fine Arts, and review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

The obverse design depicts a modern Infantry soldier on rocky ground charging forward and beckoning troops to follow, symbolizing the “Follow Me” motto of the Infantry. Inscriptions include “Liberty”, “In God We Trust”, and “2012″. The reverse design features the crossed rifles insignia, the branch insignia of the Infantry. Inscriptions read “United States of America”, “One Dollar”, and “E Pluribus Unum”. The obverse was designed by Joel Iskowitz and sculpted by Michael Gaudioso, while the reverse was designed by Ronald D. Sanders and sculpted by Norman E. Nemeth.

The Infantry Soldier Silver Dollars are struck at the West Point Mint and carry the “W” mint mark. The coins have a maximum authorized mintage of 350,000 across all product options.

As part of the program, the US Mint is offering the Infantry Soldier Silver Dollar Defenders of Freedom Set. This set carries a production limit of 50,000 and includes one silver dollar and a replica dog tag on a miniature chain. The illustrated packaging includes a quote from President John F. Kennedy. Although the product description page indicates that the set will include the proof version of the silver dollar, the image and pricing for the set suggest that it may actually include the uncirculated version of the coin. The US Mint has made errors in product page descriptions on rare occasions in the past, which were eventually corrected. If the set actually does include the proof version of the coin, it will be priced lower than the individual proof coin after the introductory period has concluded. (See pricing, later in this post.)

Update: Apparently it is a proof coin.

The Defenders of Freedom Set represents the return of the special product offerings often created by the US Mint to feature commemorative coins. In 2008 for the Bald Eagle commemorative coins, the US Mint had offered a three coin proof set, young collector’s set, coin and medal set, and the American Legacy Collection. In 2009, the US Mint had offered the Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set, which sold out of its 50,000 maximum mintage in about 30 hours despite a one per household ordering limit. In 2009, the Braille Education Set had also been offered, which eventually sold 10,698 units out of the 25,000 maximum. There were no multi-coin sets or special products offered for the 2010 or 2011 commemorative coins.

From the start of sales on February 16, 2012 at 12:00 Noon ET until March 19, 2012 at 5:00 PM ET, the Infantry Soldier Silver Dollars will be available at introductory pricing. After this date, regular pricing will go into effect, which reflects an increase of $5 per individual coin. The Defenders of Freedom Set does not carry an introductory price. All prices reflect a surcharge of $10 per coin, which will be distributed to the National Infantry Foundation for the purpose of establishing an endowment to support the maintenance of the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center after its completion.

There are no household ordering limits in place for the individual proof and uncirculated Infantry Soldier Silver Dollars. The Defenders of Freedom Set carries a limit of 100 units per household.

Last year, the 2011 Army Silver Dollars sold 163,346 coins across proof and uncirculated versions, while the Medal of Honor Silver Dollars sold 157,619 across both versions. The Infantry Soldier Silver Dollar could potentially fare better due to the lower pricing, the offering of the special set, and the likely smaller number of competing numismatic offerings released by the US Mint.

In an unexpected move, the United States Mint has announced reduced pricing for the upcoming 2012 commemorative coins.

Price levels were previously announced through a publication in the Federal Register published on January 26, 2012 and dated January 19. The new prices were announced in a separate notice published today and dated February 3, 2012.

The uncirculated silver dollars will now carry an introductory price of $44.95 each and a regular price of $49.95. The proof silver dollars will have an introductory price of $49.95 and a regular price of $54.95. The new price levels represent a reduction of $5 per coin from the prices previously published.

The latest notice also includes the “Infantry Solider Silver Dollar Special Set” priced at $51.95. The previous notice had included the “Defenders of Freedom Set” priced at $61.95. It is not clear whether the newly published price refers to a different product or the same product. Also included in the latest notice is the “Star-Spangled Banner Bicentennial Silver Dollar Set” priced at $53.95.

No changes have been indicated for the $5 gold coins or the Star Spangled Banner Two Coin Set, which were included in the last notice. Prices for these products are based on a grid and will be adjusted weekly based on the average market price of gold.

The price reductions come as a surprise, since the market price of silver has risen by $3 per ounce between the date of the original notice and the latest notice. The US Mint’s pricing for silver numismatic products has been somewhat perplexing lately.

When the US Mint announced pricing reductions earlier this year, the press release stated, “The bureau was able to set these lower prices and maintain others by refining the product costing process, taking advantage of current lower prices for precious metals and negotiating better pricing from its suppliers.”

In addition to the impact of precious metals prices, I think some of the recent price changes may have had a lot to do with “refining the product costing process.”

Within the US Mint’s 2011 annual report, they had described a change in the method of allocation for sales, general, and administrative expenses. In previous years, these costs were allocated based on gross margin. From fiscal 2011 onwards, the costs are allocated based on the costs to manufacture, market, and distribute each product. The impact of the change was very apparent for circulating coin production costs, with a large increase in the amount of SG&A expenses allocated to the cent and a large decrease in SG&A allocated to the $1 coin.

This is just speculation, but perhaps for numismatic products, the US Mint had been greatly underallocating expenses to high ticket gold and platinum products and overallocating expenses to lower priced silver and clad products. After the allocations were refined, the US Mint’s “cost” to make certain products was lower, allowing prices to be reduced.

Whatever underlying reasons, lower prices for silver numismatic products will certainly be a welcome change for many collectors.

The 2012 Infantry Soldier Silver Dollars are expected to go on sale February 16, 2012. The 2012 Star Spangled Banner Silver Dollars and $5 Gold Coins are expected to go on sale March 5, 2012. There will be dedicated posts for each of the programs closer to the release date.

The United States Mint has just published pricing information for the 2012 Commemorative Coins. Prices for silver dollars remain unchanged from the prior year, gold coins will be priced according to a grid, and some different product types will be offered.

The two programs for this year feature the U.S. Army Infantry Solider and the Bicentennial of the writing of the Star Spangled Banner. The first program includes a silver dollar in proof or uncirculated versions, and the second program includes a $5 gold coin and silver dollar in proof or uncircualted versions.

As with previous commemorative coin programs, coins are available for introductory prices during a certain period before regular pricing comes into effect.

The proof silver dollars for both programs are priced at $54.95 introductory and $59.95 regular. The uncirculated silver dollars are priced at $49.95 introductory and $54.95 regular. Each silver dollar contains 0.7736 troy ounces of silver.

The $5 gold coins are priced according to a grid (see the grid here) and will be adjusted weekly based on the average weekly market price of gold. Based on the current price of gold within the $1,700 to $1,749.99 range, the proof $5 gold coins would be priced at $517.15 introductory and $522.15 regular. The uncirculated $5 gold coins would be priced at $507.15 introductory and $512.15 regular.

The publication reveals additional products for each program. The US Mint has not offered different presentation options or multi-coin sets for commemorative coins since 2009. In 2010 and 2011, commemorative coins were only offered individually in standard packaging.

A 2012 Infantry Solider Silver Dollar Defenders of Freedom Set is listed priced at $61.95. This set would likely contain one version of the silver dollar, along with historical or other information on the U.S. Army Infantry.

A 2012 Star Spangled Banner 2 Coin Set is listed with an introductory price of $567.15 and regular price of $572.15 (based on gold within the $1,700 to $1749.99 range). This set would contain the proof versions of the $5 gold coin and silver dollar. The multi-coin set price reflects reflects a discount compared to individual prices.