The Likely designs for the reverse side of the 2019 Apollo 11 50th Anniversary commemorative coins, to be minted by the USA Mint, have been announced.

The US Mint submitted three sets of designs for the planned gold $5, Silver $1, Silver 5oz $1 and clad half dollar coins. The coins and the design specifications are laid out in Public Law 114-282, which calls for a set of commemorative coins to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first manned moon landing - to be released in 2019.

The set of four planned coins will be curved or domed, similar to the National Baseball Hall of Fame coin that the US Mint issued in 2014. The legislation is very specific about the design of the reverse of the coin, hence the reason why all three sets of designs are so similar. The reverse design of the coins will be a representation of the famous Buzz Aldrin on the moon photograph.

The designs were reviewed by the Commission of Fine Arts(CFA) as well as the Citizens Coinange Advisory Committee(CCAC) and the “A-R-03” set of designs was recommended to the secretary of the Treasury as the preferred designs for the Apollo 11 50th Anniversary commemorative coins.

While this means that the reverse design of the coins have all but been decided, the obverse in turn is still the subject of an ongoing public design competition. Final submissions for the obverse design must be received by September 5, 2017.

These designs will then be reviewed and a winner is to be announced only in 2018. According to the official rules of the design competition the obverse of the coin must be “emblematic of the United States space program leading up to the first manned Moon landing”.

This leaves a much broader field of interpretation open to artists to design the obverse of the coin than the legislation allows for the reverse side, and it will be interesting to see what the designs will look like.

WNN will be sure to keep you updated of any further developments for these coins as they occur.