Post Your Coins With Stars

2002 Austria.
5 € cent.

In 2002, the US Mint issued a commemorative silver dollar in honor of the bicentennial of the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, NY. The USMA is a four-year Federal academy with the mission of educating and developing post-high school students into men and women who are committed to the values of Duty, Honor and Country and positioning them to serve as commissioned officers in the US Army.

Stars are found on both sides of the silver dollar.

The coin's obverse presents a cadet color guard in parade with the Military Academy's Washington Hall and Cadet Chapel in the background. The stars are seen within the US Flag carried by the guard that is second from the left in the formation (viewer's perspective). The design is the work of US Mint Sculptor-Engraver T. James Ferrell.

The stars on the coin's reverse are used as separators between the inscriptions "1802 WEST POINT 2002" and "BICENTENNIAL" - the inscriptions encircle the central design near the rim of the coin; the two stars are five-pointed.

The central design, within a ring, is the Athena Helmet "an emblem that consist[s] of a sword, a universal symbol of war, and the helmet of Pallas Athena. Athena, a fully armed mythological goddess, is associated with the arts of war, and her helmet signifies wisdom and learning." (USMA Fact Sheet) John Mercanti modeled the reverse design based on USMA Bicentennial designs already developed and supplied to him by the Academy.


2002 United States Military Academy Silver Dollar



For more on the coin's designs, check out:

- 2002 United States Military Academy - Coin Designs by John Mercanti Thread
- 2002 United States Military Academy - Coins Depicting Places Thread

1966 Romania.
15 Bani.

1973 Turkey
50 Kurus

1327 (1910-1915) Turkey -Ottoman Empire
5 Para - Mehmed V "Reshat" right of Toughra

The Official Medal of the 1905 Lewis & Clark Centennial and American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair (it's friends call it the Lewis and Clark Exposition) includes five stars on its obverse.

The obverse design presents Lady Columbia, symbolic of Progress, leading Lewis and Clark toward the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean. It is based on the official emblem of the Exposition which was titled "Into the Setting Sun." An arc of five stars is seen above the heads of the trio. On the Official Flag of the Exposition, the five stars are symbolic of the five states carved (in whole or in part) from the original Oregon Territory: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming; the same is likely true for the medal.

The stars could have a dual meaning, however, as five countries - the US, Great Britain, Russia, France and Spain - each explored the Pacific Northwest area at some point in its history. States? Countries? Both? In any case, the stars have a meaning and purpose on the medal vs. being used simply as a separator between two segments of an inscription or to simply fill space in a design (the case on many classic US commemorative half dollars).

The reverse of the medal features a map of the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington and Idaho) plus parts of Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and California (northern). The map includes the depiction of various trade routes from Portland to points west (marked by dotted lines). One objective of the Exposition was to encourage / promote increased trade between the Pacific Northwest and Japan and China.


Lewis and Clark Exposition "Official" Medal - Gold-Plated Bronze


Lewis and Clark Exposition "Official" Medal - Close-up of Map on Reverse

1960 Turkey.
10 Lira 27 May 1960 Revolution.

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