Looking At The Best Artwork From The Modern Commem Series

My (biased) pick is there.

Another fun article!

1987 Obverse $1 Constitutional Dollar - I have both the proof and business strike in those
1987 Reverse $5 Constitutional Dollar - I DON'T have that one
1989 Obverse $1 Congress Bicentennial Dollar

Very nice article. If your objective was to have readers look and review modern commemoratives, it worked with me!

Great article. I very much enjoyed reading it.

I have to agree with IndianGoldEagle that either the obverse or reverse of the Smithsonian dollar would be on my list.

Some others I enjoy are Botanical Gardens obverse, Wright Bros. reverse, Bald Eagle dollar reverse, Bald Eagle Half Dollar baby birds side (cant remember obv or rev), columbus reverse, USO reverse. I wont argue with any of the coin designs in this list. I really love most of them.

I love that reverse! Maybe wimpyish, but classic looking.
My taste tends to stray from the modernistic designs (though I love the Bald Eagle obverse) and towards designs like this... wimpy chicken legged eagle or not, ha.

A little slow to respond to this one...

Before I had a look at your article (or the comments of others), I wanted to create my own "Top 20" list to see how our impressions of the modern commemoratives compares. My list is below; it's a mix of half-dollars, silver dollars and gold half-eagles. I've arranged my selections chronologically, as I haven't had the time to "debate" myself on how to rank them in any other order.

My Top 20 Modern Commemorative Coins

1. 1982 George Washington Half-Dollar: an exceptional design by Elizabeth Jones and a great way to start the modern series
2. 1986 Statue of Liberty Half-Dollar: a coin that attractively conveys a tremendous amount of US history
3. 1986 Statue of Liberty Half-Eagle: another Elizabeth Jones masterpiece
4. 1987 US Constitution Bicentennial Half-Eagle: great looking eagle on the obverse and iconic "We the People" imagery on the reverse
5. 1992 Columbus Quincentenary Half-Dollar: I like the historical renderings on this one
6. 1992 Columbus Quincentenary Dollar: very creative combination of a Sailing Ship and Space Shuttle
7. 1993 [94] Thomas Jefferson Jefferson Dollar: familiar design elements but done well and with a classic look
8. 1994 US Prisoner of War Memorial: important subject, powerful eagle on obverse
9. 1994 US Capitol Bicentennial Dollar: I've always been impressed with the "strength" that this coin's designs project
10. 1996 Smithsonian Institution Dollar: a "building" coin that works for me; I also like the allegorical design on the reverse
11. 1999 Dolley Madison Dollar: the design folks at Tiffany's did themselves proud
12. 1999 George Washington Half-Eagle: Laura Gardin Fraser's design still looks good on a coin 67 years after she first created it
13. 2000 Leif Ericsson Dollar: another coin that tells a great story through its nicely executed design elements
14. 2001 American Buffalo Dollar: James Fraser's five-cent coin design holds up well even at "jumbo" size
15. 2005 Marine Corps Dollar: neither obverse nor reverse design offers a new perspective, but sometimes nicely executed iconic imagery speaks for itself
16. 2006 Benjamin Franklin Founding Father Dollar: An interesting, nicely done portrait on the obverse and a great colonial currency reference on the reverse
17. 2007 Jamestown 400th Anniversary Dollar: another coin with lots of history conveyed through just a few well-executed design elements
18. 2008 Bald Eagle Dollar: I really enjoy good "eagle" coins, this is one
19. 2008 Bald Eagle Half-Eagle: I think the pair of eagles on the obverse is very well done
20. 2009 Abraham Lincoln Dollar: Outstanding obverse portrait overcomes the weakness of the text intensive reverse

Our lists "agree" fairly often, but leave plenty of room for debate!

Thanks for an interesting read, I enjoyed the article!

I see one of my faves aint on any list the Lewis and Clark. I really like the reverse but I also liked the peace nickel.The 94 jefferson reverse would have made an awsome reverse when they reworked the obserse in 2006 on the nickel

yotie- I love that l&c reverse.