US Mint Launches Design Competition For World War I American Veterans Centennial Commemorative

US Mint - Winning artist to depict America's involvement on silver dollar and receive $10,000 award.

WASHINGTON - The United States Mint is pleased to announce a call for American artists to design both the obverse and reverse of a silver dollar that will commemorate the centennial of America's involvement in World War I. Authorized by law, the World War I American Veterans Centennial Commemorative Coin Design Competition invites American artists to design images emblematic of America's involvement in World War I, with the winning artist to be awarded $10,000 and have his or her initials included on the minted coins. Full details, including access to entry, rules, and deadlines, are available at http://www.usmint.gov/competition.

"The World War I American Veterans Centennial Commemorative Coin Design Competition provides a unique opportunity for American artists to capture the sentiment and patriotism of the country nearly one hundred years ago while providing a tangible touch-point for future generations to understand and appreciate the impact of what was called 'the war to end all wars,'" said Rhett Jeppson, Principal Deputy Director of the United States Mint.

The public competition is being conducted in two phases. Phase One, which is open today through April 28, 2016, or until 10,000 entries are received, calls for American artists age 18 and older to submit portfolios of their prior work. From these entries, an expert jury will select no more than 20 applicants to participate in Phase Two. During Phase Two, artists will be paid a stipend of $1,000 to submit designs for the obverse and reverse of the coin, as well as plaster models of their designs. The winning artist will receive an additional $10,000 and will have his or her initials included on the coin as an artist mark. The final winner will be announced in January 2017. The competition can be accessed online at http://www.usmint.gov/competition, which also provides rules, details, and timelines.

An expert jury composed of members of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee will review and score design submissions. Both of these groups provide experienced and impartial expertise in advancing the state of public art and the interests of American citizens and coin collectors.

With the winning design selected, the Mint will begin issuing commemorative silver dollar coins in 2018. Surcharges for this program are authorized be paid to the United States Foundation for the Commemoration of the World Wars (Foundation) to assist in the funding of the National World War I Memorial in Washington. The Foundation also held a competition to design the Memorial with the winning design concept, entitled "The Weight of Sacrifice."

"This competition affords American artists a rare occasion to design a coin that will preserve an important time in American history and pay tribute to the bravery, actions, and sacrifices that were so critical to the final outcome," said Jeppson.

There have only been a handful of open design competitions in modern history in which the Mint has called upon the public to submit designs for a coin. Most recently, the Mint held a competition in 2013 for the design of the reverse image for the Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Program.