
The United States Mint is pleased to announce a
call for artists to design the obverse (heads side) of commemorative coins
celebrating the game of basketball. Public Law 115-343 authorizes the Secretary
of the Treasury to mint and issue domed $5 gold coins, domed $1 silver coins,
and domed half-dollar clad coins, in recognition of the 60th anniversary of the
founding of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The Naismith
Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is dedicated to the creator of the game, Dr.
James Naismith. It is located in Springfield, Massachusetts, where the game was
first played. The organization is recognized on a global scale as the
institution that records and shares the history of basketball, including its
greatest players, coaches, and contributors.
In accordance with the public law, the gold, clad, and
silver coins will all share the same obverse (front) and reverse (back)
designs. The design for the common obverse of these commemorative coins will be
selected by the Secretary of the Treasury based on the winning design from a
public design competition. The obverse design is required to be emblematic of
the game of basketball. The winning artist will receive $5,000 and have his or
her initials included on the coins. Competition details and entry can be
accessed on the United States Mint’s website.
Program legislation requires that the common reverse design
depict a basketball. The reverse design will be developed by the United States
Mint and is not part of this competition.
“From pick-up games to professional athletes, basketball
touches so many of us,” said United States Mint Director David Ryder. “The
United States Mint will be proud to produce coins honoring a game that brings
people together.”
The public competition has two phases. Phase One, which is
open today through April 15, 2019, calls for artists age 18 and older to submit
a digital portfolio, consisting of three to five examples of their existing
work. Following a review of Phase One applications by an expert panel, up to 25
entries will be selected to participate in Phase Two. During Phase Two, artists
will be paid a stipend of $1,000 to submit a two-dimensional digital design for
the common obverse of the coin. The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC)
and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) will review the designs at their
public committee meetings. After considering input from the subject matter
experts at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and recommendations
from the CCAC and the CFA, the Secretary of the Treasury will select one
artist’s design to serve as the basis for the obverse of the coins. The same
design will be used on the gold, silver, and clad coins. The final winner will
be announced later this year.
Upon selection of the winning design, the United States
Mint will begin production of curved gold, silver, and clad commemorative coins
for issue in 2020. Surcharges for this program are authorized to be paid to the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to fund an endowment that will enable
increased operations and educational programming.