2019 Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Design Unveiling Ceremony Oct. 11

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Buzz Aldrin on moon
Buzz Aldrin walking on the surface of the moon. His helmet visor shows a reflection of the U.S. flag and the lunar lander, features that will be depicted in 2019 on U.S. Mint commemorative coins.

On Thursday, Oct. 11, the United States Mint will unveil designs for the 2019 Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coins at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

The ceremony is open to the public and will also be live-streamed from the museum and recorded for a later showing on NASA TV.

In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the first manned landing on the Moon, the U.S. Mint in 2019 will produce and sell $5 gold coins, silver dollars, clad half-dollars, and 5-ounce $1 silver coins with designs emblematic of the historic event.

Curved Apollo 11 Coin Designs

The commemorative coins will share obverse (heads) and reverse (tails) designs that are curved in shape like the 2014 National Baseball Hall of Fame Baseball Coins.

Created by U.S. Mint artists, proposed reverse designs were reviewed in June 2017. Each depicts a representation of the 1969 "Buzz Aldrin on the Moon" photograph as directed by the coin program’s authorizing law.

Apollo 11 R-03 Series Designs
Members of the CFA, CCAC and stakeholders from NASA preferred these sets of reverse designs for the 2019 Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coins. The four coins of the program will be curved, similar to the 2014 National Baseball Hall of Fame Baseball Coins, so that their reverses are convex to more closely resemble the visor of Buzz Aldrin’s helmet as seen in a photo taken on the moon in 1969.

A public design competition set the stage for a final obverse selection.

Obverse Apollo 11 Commemorative Coin Design Candidates
Obverse Apollo 11 Commemorative Coin Design Candidates

Proposed obverses are emblematic of the U.S. space program leading up to the first manned Moon landing and were reviewed in October 2017.

Ceremony Information

Expected dignitaries and speakers at the event will include:

David Ryder, Director United States Mint
Dr. Ellen Stofan, Director National Air & Space Museum
Gabe Sherman, Deputy Chief of Staff NASA
Walt Cunningham, Apollo 7 Astronaut

The unveiling ceremony’s time and location details follow.

Date: Thursday, October 11, 2018
Time: 10:30 a.m. (ET)
Location:
Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum
Moving Beyond Earth Gallery
Independence Ave at 6th St, SW
Washington, DC 20560

The event will be live-streamed at: https://airandspace.si.edu/connect/air-and-space-live.

Provided the commemorative coins turn a profit, a portion of their sales will support the National Air and Space Museum’s upcoming Destination Moon exhibition.

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Mike Budzynski

The reverse design looks great – only a couple of the obverse designs look good however. Please no more images of Kennedy on the coins – prefer the Saturn V with orbits or the command module as a nod to Michael Collins who remained in orbit.

sam tweedy

Nothing like a cockroach on a coin, take Kennedy any day!!! Ugly coin!!