Q. David Bowers
"Essner questioned the removal of elements of the designs for fear it would offend the very people the elements are intended to honor. The designs will be made much clearer once the Mint's technical personnel refine them, Essner said.
'They're concerned about showing detail and are hesitant if they can't get the relief to show, ' he said. Changes to the designs as they will finally appear can be done in several weeks, Essner said."
A printed statement by J. Carter Brown, sent to Mint Director Donna Pope on January 22, 1991, (Quoted in Numismatic News, February 12, 1991, p. 4.) addressed the deficiencies perceived by the Commission of Fine. Arts: "The design for the reverse of the coin was thought to be too confusing, the result of too many elements. The rendering of the map of Korea should be restudied so that the outline becomes more clear; the elimination of the words '38th Parallel' would help and also give the design a less cluttered appearance. If it is necessary to have an eagle, even though the words 'United States' already appear on the coin, the use of a more traditional form, perhaps like that on the reverse of the quarter, could echo the round shape of the U.N. and Korean logos. The lettering styles on the obverse and reverse should either be the same or compatible with each other."
Mint Director Pope's Commentary
In an interview with the author. (February 11, 1991.) Mint Director Donna Pope told of the Korean coin program and answered critics: "On the Korean coin General Stilwell agreed not to have a design competition, since it was only one coin and they wanted to move quickly to raise the money before a certain date. They had to have the money for the Korean War Memorial by July or August of this year. We are going to launch this in April. They wanted it earlier, but the Mount Rushmore coin legislation passed first, and we had that schedule to follow.
"On the Korean War anniversary coin, we asked what they wanted, and they gave us several ideas which we passed along to the engravers. I know the designs are get-ting panned in Coin World and Numismatic News and by the Commission of Fine Arts, but often you must take the best of what you get, especially when you have to rush a design in order to meet deadlines. "
Problems Faced By the Mint
In the same far-ranging interview with the author, Mint Director Donna Pope discussed other topics related to commemoratives: "We are to consult with the Commission of Fine Arts, but this also depends on what the secretary of the Treasury wants to do. Years ago Secretary Regan wanted to choose the coin designs and wasn't happy about having to consult others about it. Sometimes we were in the position of having him choose designs and then hoping that the Commission of Fine Arts liked them. In most cases in the past they didn't have much criticism, although I recognize that Carter Brown [representing the Commission] was quite critical of the new 1991 Korean and USO designs.
"You must recognize that we always have short time frames, and J. Carter Brown has been great in recognizing our constraints. Congress passes the legislation, and we must get started right away. We do not have the opportunity to work on the coins in advance, for we do not know what Congress wants until the bills are final. The typical program lasts only one year, and we have to create designs, review them, make models, strike coins (two months in advance before brochures are mailed, so the coins can be photographed for the brochures), and do a lot of other planning.
"In the meantime everyone is in a hurry and is waiting for the coins. Just as we finish one design, we get another one to do. Recently there has been a lot of legislation coming nearly all at once. There isn't much time to keep refining the designs. We have come very close to losing the major window of opportunity for marketing because of a delayed design selection. If we were to make all of the changes that everyone wants or could think of, we would never get the coin to the marketplace.
"Numismatists in general seem to like traditional designs, especially with silver and gold coins. We try to pick things that numismatists like and for marketability. However, sometimes those sponsoring the legislation tell us what they want, and we have to do it for them. When we are given the opportunity to create a product which we feel the public will like, we do that. For example, in 1985 when we were working on the American Eagle gold coin bullion program, we were not given any guidelines for the obverse except to create a symbol of Liberty. The Mint staff did not come up with any designs which we at Headquarters liked, so we went to the traditional Saint-Gaudens twenty-dollar obverse first used in 1907, making a few minor changes, such as slimming down Miss Liberty slightly-we enrolled her in a Nautilus program, so to speak-at the request of Treasury Secretary Baker. Everybody liked that design, and the program has been a great success."
Mrs. Pope also told about the mintage quantities: "The new Korean and USO coins are authorized at just one million each,which was reduced at our request from some of the high numbers Congress has given us in the past. We want to be realistic and have a good program. Recently Congress has been listening to our advice. This benefits everyone, and the customers are happier. The 1990 Eisenhower silver dollar coin was 4,000,000 authorized, and we thought it would sell well. It sold just a little over 1,000,000 and was a bit of a struggle to do that .... "