US Mint Releases Boys Town Centennial Gold and Silver Dollar Coins


The US Mint have released the 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coins, and are now officially accepting orders for these coins.

The coins recognise the work of Father Edward Flannigan, a Catholic priest, who a century ago founded “The City of Little Men” orphanage. His boys home, which became “Boys Town,” was founded on December 12, 1917. Boys Town has grown over the years and now provides care to children and families from across the country. Boys Town's national headquarters is located at the Village of Boys Town in Nebraska. There are 12 regional headquarters across the United States. Boys Town programs impact the lives of more than 2 million children and families across America each year.

USA 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Half Dollar Coin Reverse

USA 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Half Dollar Coin Reverse

There are three coins released as a part of the Boys Town Centennial commemorative coin program.The first of which is the 2017 Boys Town Centennial Half Dollar coin. The obverse of this coin features an older boy holding the hand of his younger brother in 1917. They walk toward Father Flanagan’s Boys Home and the 1940's Pylon representing what would become Boys Town. Inscriptions include “BOYS TOWN”, “1917”, “2017”, “IN GOD WE TRUST”, “LIBERTY” and “Saving Children”.

USA 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Half Dollar Coin Obverse

USA 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Half Dollar Coin Obverse

The reverse of the clad half dollar coin depicts a present–day Boys Town neighbourhood with homes where children are schooled and nurtured by caring families. Out of these homes come young adults who graduate from high school and the Boys Town program. Inscriptions include “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”, “E PLURIBUS UNUM”, “Healing Families” and “HALF DOLLAR”.

USA 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Half Dollar Coin

USA 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Half Dollar Coin

The coin is shipped, from the San Francisco Mint, encapsulated in a heavy card stock box and is available in bot proof and uncirculated finishes. The maximum mintage for this coin has been set at 300 000 coins for both finishes combined.

USA 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Silver Dollar Coin Reverse

USA 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Silver Dollar Coin Reverse

The next coin is the Boys Town Centennial 2017 Silver Dollar coin, which is again available in both proof and uncirculated variants. Both the silver dollar coin and the clad half dollar coins are struck at the Philadelphia Mint. This coin is struck from .900 Fineness silver and measures 1.5 inches(38mm) in diameter, and weighs 26.73 gram(0.943oz). The coin has a maximum mintage of 350 000 coins across both finishes. As with all of these coins the final mintage figure as well as the ratio of proof to uncirculated coins will be determined by market demand.

USA 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Silver Dollar Coin Reverse

USA 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Silver Dollar Coin Reverse

The obverse of the silver dollar coin features a young girl sitting alone and gazing upward into the branches of an oak tree looking for help. The empty space around the girl is deliberate and meant to show the child’s sense of loneliness, isolation, and helplessness. The legend reads “BOYS TOWN”, “When you help a child today...”, “IN GOD WE TRUST”, “LIBERTY” and “1917–2017”.

USA 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Silver Dollar Coin in Box

USA 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Silver Dollar Coin in Box

The reverse of the coin features an oak tree offering shelter and a sense of belonging to the family holding hands below it, which includes the little girl from the obverse. The words : “…you write the history of tomorrow”, “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”, “ONE DOLLAR” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM” are inscribed to the bottom half of the design.

Following these two coins there is the Boys Town Centennial 2017 $5 Gold Coin, from the West Point Mint. This is essentially a ¼ oz(8.359 gram) gold coin measuring 0.85 inch(21.59mm) in diameter. Struck from .900 Fineness gold the coin has an authorised maximum mintage of 50 000 coins combined for both the proof and uncirculated finishes.

USA 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Gold 5 Dollar Coin Obverse

USA 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Gold 5 Dollar Coin Obverse

The obverse of the coin depicts a three-quarter portrait of the founder of Bays Town, Father Flanagan. The obverse legend reads : “BOYS TOWN CENTENNIAL”, “IN GOD WE TRUST”, “FR. EDWARD FLANAGAN”, “LIBERTY” and “2017”.

USA 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Gold 5 Dollar Coin Reverse

USA 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Gold 5 Dollar Coin Reverse

The reverse of the coin features an image of an outstretched hand holding a young oak tree sprouting from an acorn. A sure reference to the idiom “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow,” this design represents the potential of each child helped by Boys Town to grow into a productive, complete adult. Inscriptions on this side of the coin include “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”, “THE WORK WILL CONTINUE”, “FIVE DOLLARS” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM”.

Then finally there is a special three coin set that contains each of the 2017 Boys Town Centennial commemorative proof coins. The 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coin Program Three–Coin Proof Set is shipped with a $5 gold coin produced at the West Point Mint, a silver dollar produced at the Philadelphia Mint and a half dollar produced at the San Francisco Mint. All contained in a US Mint branded velvet lined display case. The set has a product limit of 15 000 sets and a household order limit of two sets per order has been imposed by the US Mint.

USA 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative 3 Coin Set

USA 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative 3 Coin Set

The coins will have a special introductory price upon launch, where the coins can be ordered at a slight discount to the regular prices. These special prices close on April 10, 2017, at 3pm ET, after which the regular prices will come into effect. Below you can view a table of the pricing for the 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative coins.

The prices of the three coin set and the gold coin may be subject to change, in line with the US Mint's pricing policy of precious metal coins.

 PRODUCT OPTION

 INTRODUCTORY PRICE

 REGULAR
PRICE

 Proof $5 Gold

$400.45

----

 Uncirculated $5 Gold

$395.45

----

 Proof Silver Dollar

$47.95

$52.95

 Uncirculated Silver Dollar

$46.95

$51.95

 Proof Half Dollar

$21.95

$26.95

 Uncirculated Half Dollar

$20.95

$25.95

 Three-Coin Proof Set

N/A

$461.45

The price of each of these coins includes a surcharge that the mint will donate to Boys Town in support of its mission of caring for and assisting children and families in underserved communities across America. The gold $5 coin has a surcharge of $35 per coin, the silver Dollar $10 and the clad half dollar coin adds $5 to the price for this initiative.

It should be noted though, like the Girls Scouts of America and Lions Clubs coins, that there is a contingency built in to the law(Public Law 114-30) that states that the Mint first has to recover all of it's costs involved in the coin program before the additional surcharge will be paid over. In the case of the Girls Scouts coins the sales were so poor that the organisation didn't see a single cent of this surcharge at the end of the day. The Lions Clubs coin was only issued earlier in 2017 and sales are still ongoing so it is too early to say what will happen in these two programs(Lions Clubs and Boys Town).

All coins are now available to order directly from the US Mint's website

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