Bob Dole Congressional Gold Medal Designs Reviewed by CCAC

Designs for the congressional gold medal honoring World War II veteran and former U.S. Senate majority leader Bob Dole were unveiled and then reviewed Oct. 25 by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC).

The CCAC advises the Secretary of the Treasury on themes and designs pertaining to all United States coins and medals. CCAC members approved of the two presented designs that Dole had already selected as his favorites.

Dole was born on July 22, 1923, in Russell, Kansas. In 1941, he enrolled at the University of Kansas as a pre-medical student but his collegiate studies were interrupted by WWII.

During a military offensive in Italy, Dole was seriously wounded while trying to save a fellow soldier. He was awarded two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star with an Oak Cluster for his service, and also received an American Campaign Medal, a European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and a World War II Victory Medal.

Dole served two terms as a Kansas congressman from 1961-1969; then went on to serve for his state in the Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was also the Republican’s vice presidential nominee in the 1976 presidential election and the presidential nominee in the 1996 presidential election.

Authorized under Public Law No: 115-60 to recognize Dole’s service to the nation as a soldier, legislator, and statesman, the U.S. Mint this year will strike the official gold medal. Bronze duplicates will also be produced and made available to the public.

The proposed obverse (heads side) features a portrait of Bob Dole with the Capitol in the background. Inscriptions are SON OF KANSAS, SOLDIER, STATESMAN, and BOB DOLE.

The propose reverse (tails side) depicts a Kansas wheat field below a quote from Senator Dole:

FOR GREATNESS LIES NOT IN WHAT OFFICE YOU HOLD, BUT IN HOW HONEST YOU ARE, IN HOW YOU FACE ADVERSITY, AND IN YOUR WILLINGNESS TO STAND FAST IN HARD PLACES.

An additional inscription ACT OF CONGRESS 2017 is arced across the bottom.