Q. David Bowers
"Interestingly, following the announcement of the open competition, Mint officials unveiled and put on display for the first time designs which have been submitted by Mint sculptor-engravers and selected artists in the private sector invited to participate in 'limited' compensated coin design competitions beginning with the 1988 U.S. Olympic commemoratives.
"It was evident that the stinging criticisms of design selections for this year's Mount Rushmore, United Service Organization, and Korean War Memorial commemoratives plus the constant questioning of how and who made the recommendations and selections have had a cumulative effect. No doubt the widespread criticisms and continuing questions played a key role in the decision to open the competition and setting up a seven-member judging panel to assist in the selection process. Certainly they played a role in Mint officials' decision to spend four days of Headquarters' staff time to prepare an exhibit just for the numismatic press. As luck would have it, only about 15 minutes were available for viewing and photographing the displays. So we can offer no Monday-morning critic's opinions. We'll leave that to history and the public.
"Hopefully, the Mint will consider mounting such a display for collectors attending the American Numismatic Association's Centennial Convention in Chicago this summer. We think people would like to see the designs, understand what the artist's thoughts were, and make up their own minds as to whether American taxpayers and collectors got a bargain with the designs submitted and selected.
"The Mint's gesture of putting the designs on display for the press, in and of itself, was telling. Mint officials are anxious to get the heat off of their backs. That's understandable. They are in the unenviable position of being 'damned if they do, damned if they don't.'
"The current method of deciding what will be commemorated and when is entirely in the hands of Congress, which is pushed and shoved by special interest groups anxious to tap the proven 'cash cow.' Literally from the time the president's pen signs the legislation into law, sponsors and the special interest groups hound Mint officials with a familiar refrain: 'Money! Money! Money! ... When? When? When?'
"The Mint Director noted that the' clock is always ticking' and 'there is never enough time to do it the way we think it should be done.' She was referring to design selections as well as marketing and advertising promotions.
"Hopefully, members of the House Banking Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs and Coinage listened carefully to Pope's comments and recommendations at the recent public hearing. The Mint director described the need for long-range planning, selection of appropriate and marketable topics and recommended a limitation on the number of commemorative programs to be undertaken annually. She also asked for the establishment of the Public Enterprise Fund and exemptions from federal procurement requirements. All of these measures are needed to bring order to the chaos in the commemorative coin sector that we have experienced over the past decade.
"A high level of frustration was evident in Pope's voice as she began a brief historical backgrounding of the design selection process. She noted she would attempt to 'lift the shroud of mystery' which 'some people' think exists. She was adamant: 'There is no shroud. There is no mystery.' Beauty, she declared, is in the eye of the beholder.
"Lack of time, she emphasized, has been a major factor in each design selection process. She noted that at first only Mint sculptor-engravers submitted designs. She said that she and other Treasury officials had wanted much greater variety in choices, so they took the advice of leaders in the art and numismatic communities and tried limited, invitational, compensated design competitions in which nationally acclaimed artists participated. Suggesting the limited competitions have not yielded designs to Treasury's expectations, she said the Mint had decided to try a new game plan for the 1992 Olympic coins because 'we have more time for this one than we usually have.'
"The unspoken truth is the U.S. Mint is desperate to come up with winning designs. Mint officials are keenly aware that exciting designs can be a major factor in boosting sales. They are also painfully aware that even better than average designs for the 1988 U.S. Olympic coins weren't enough to make them winners from a sales and marketing standpoint.
"Congress and the U.S. Olympic Committee have never gotten the message that collectors view non-host country Olympic coins as "also rans," less than necessary for an Olympic coin collection. They keep insisting on Olympic coins to raise funds to support American athletes.
"Collectors and those acquainted with the Olympic coin marketplace know that the United States will have formidable competitors this time around. France, host for the Winter Games, and Spain, host for the Summer Games are not rookies. They have and can produce beautiful and exciting commemorative coins. In 1992 their coins will be the official ones, therefore the most desirable from a collecting perspective.
"Alas, the challenge of 1992 is turning into opportunity. Get your creative adrenalin flowing. Send the U.S. Mint your best designs. This can be a win-win for collectors as well as for art and athletes."
Columbus Commemoratives Proposed
In addition to the aforementioned Olympic issues, coins honoring Christopher Columbus were proposed for issuance in 1992. Coin World, January 30, 1991, carried an article, "Annunzio Bill Seeks Three Coins Saluting Columbus," the text of which follows:
"Legislation calling for three 1992 coins to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus was reintroduced in the House January 11 by Rep. Frank Annunzio, D-Ill., after it failed to gain approval in the last Congress. Considered a shoo-in when it was introduced in the 101st Congress, the bill saw little action as three other commemorative coin programs were signed into law for 1991-92.
"Surcharges from the coins, mandated by Congress at $35 per half eagle, $7 per silver dollar and $1 per copper-nickel clad alloy half dollar, would establish the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation. The fellowship's mission: to encourage and support research, study, and labor which will produce discoveries in all fields to benefit mankind. As part of the executive branch of government, it would be supervised by 13 people appointed by congressional leaders and the president.
"No more than 500,000 half eagles, 4 million silver dollars and 6 million half dollars would be issued in Uncirculated and Proof qualities from January 1, 1992, through June 30, 1993, the bill states. The Uncirculated and Proof dollars and half dollars would be struck at not more than one Mint for each quality of striking. Both the Proof and Uncirculated half eagles will be struck at West Point.
"The likeness of Christopher Columbus would appear on the half eagle, the bill states, while the dollar and half dollar coins must have designs emblematic of the quincentenary of the discovery of America. Each design will bear inscriptions of the coin's value, the year '1992,' the words 'Liberty,' 'In God We Trust,' 'United States of America' and 'E Pluribus Unum.' The secretary of the Treasury would select the designs after consultation with the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation and the Commission of Fine Arts."
Other Proposals and Challenges
In the meantime several other proposals for commemorative coins for 1992 and 1993 were in the idea, planning, or proposal stages. In a replay of the scenario of the 1930s, various groups sought to advance their sure-to-be-popular coins for which, it was envisioned, collectors would fall over themselves in their eagerness to buy. As Coin World stated, collectors were viewed as "cash cows." In reality, it was the collecting community that rebelled against certain recent designs and events and kept their checkbooks in their pockets.
As Mint Director Donna Pope prepared to leave the Mint, following the expiration of her term in August 1991, she left a rich legacy of commemorative coins from 1982 to date. Her proposal of April 24, 1991, that collectors and the public be allowed to submit designs, heralded what many hoped would be a new series of attractive and well-received designs.