National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coins

The U.S. Mint launched the National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Program in 2014. It celebrated the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s 75th anniversary. The program includes a $5 gold coin, $1 silver coin, and a half dollar clad coin with the same obverse and reverse designs.

From April 11 to May 11, 2013, a nationwide competition was held to determine the obverse design for the coin.

Curved, Not Flat

The National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coins have a shape such that the obverse is concave, and the reverse is convex. These were the first curved coins ever minted by the U.S. Mint. However, the Mint did produce a curved Congressional Gold Medal in honor of Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer Roberto Walker Clemente in 1973.

The National Baseball Commemorative Coin Act specifically refers to modeling the coins after the convex/concave 2009 International Year of Astronomy Coins minted and issued by the Monnaie de Paris (French Mint). The baseball commemorative coins were also closely modeled after the Royal Australian Mint’s Southern Cross curved coins.

Research and development on the curved National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coins was unprecedented in recent U.S. Mint history. It covered height of relief limitations; milling, turning and grinding operations; coinability issues; laser frosting and proof polishing; and proof, uncirculated, and clad test strikes.

During the planning phase for the minting and production of its first-ever curved coins, the Mint received valuable technical insight from the Royal Australian and Perth Mints.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act called for a three-coin program of $5 gold, $1 silver, and half-dollar clad coins and required a competition to select a common obverse (heads side) design emblematic of the game of baseball. The competition was held from April 11-May 11, 2013 and received 178 submissions. All embodied the spirit of our nation’s pastime, but only one winner could be chosen.

The United States Mint thanked all those who participated in the 2014 Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin competition as well as the kids that participated in the kids’ challenge. National Baseball Hall of Fame coins went on sale in early 2014.

Choosing a Winner

Three Mint sculptor-engravers and a Bureau of Engraving and Printing banknote designer reviewed all 178 designs and scored them based on artistic merit and how well they would translate into a coin format. Based on these scores, the semi-finalists were selected.

The semi-finalist designs were then shown to five members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. These esteemed members of the baseball community completed their evaluations of the semi-finalist designs and submitted their scores to determine the finalists. These designs became available for public viewing on July 18 2013 and were presented to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC), and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum for review and comment.

The Acting Director of the United States Mint made a final recommendation to the Secretary of the Treasury after considering all relevant factors, including the comments and recommendations of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the CFA, and the CCAC. The Secretary of the Treasury made the final design selection in early September 2013.

The winning design in the 2014 Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin competition was created by Cassie McFarland of San Luis Obispo, California. Her design was selected from sixteen finalists by the Department of the Treasury on September 9, 2013. Learn more about her design in the video below.

About the Designer

At a young age, Cassie McFarland understood the importance of communicating through art. Thanks to the support and encouragement of her family, she pursued her passion for art, earning a degree in Fine Arts, Studio Art and Design from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. While still in her twenties, Cassie created a legacy with her winning design of the common obverse (heads side) of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin.

Cassie entered the national design competition because she was intrigued with the idea that America’s coins tap into the history and personality of the nation. Creating a design that celebrates America’s pastime also appealed to her because she played softball as a child and attended Major League Baseball games with her father, cheering for the Los Angeles Dodgers. (She is now a San Francisco Giants fan.)

Upon deciding to pursue the design competition, Cassie quickly determined that depicting a baseball glove would complement the design legislated for the common reverse (tails side) and the concave shape of the coin also lent itself perfectly to the depiction of a glove. The baseball glove used to guide Cassie’s design was inspired by a well-loved and well-used glove that always seemed to be within arm’s reach in her childhood home. Friends and family would use it for impromptu games or to play catch. Like the glove that was always nearby, Cassie feels that baseball and coins are a natural part of our lives. She wanted to depict a common object remembered with great fondness that could strike an emotional chord in fellow Americans, no matter their age.

Cassie resides in San Luis Obispo, where she practices figurative painting and photography. She recently established a collective of professionals working to promote visual and performing arts within her community. Winning this contest is her first recognition on the national level and one that Cassie hopes will sustain her trajectory as an artist who contributes to public service through her passion and skill.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an independent not-for-profit educational institution dedicated to fostering an appreciation of the historical development of baseball and its impact on our culture. The Museum supports this mission by collecting, preserving, exhibiting and interpreting its collections for a global audience, as well as honoring those who have made outstanding contributions to the National Pastime.

The Baseball Hall of Fame’s centerpiece is its historic gallery, where the plaques of all 300 members line the oak walls. Only 1 percent–one in 100–who have played baseball in the major leagues have a plaque in the Hall of Fame.

The museum’s collections contain more than 40,000 three-dimensional artifacts representing all facets of the game, from its inception in the mid-19th century to the present. These include bats, baseballs, uniforms, player equipment, ballpark artifacts, awards, artwork, textiles, tickets, collectibles and assorted memorabilia. In addition, the institution’s archives contain in excess of 130,000 baseball cards and 3 million library items, including photographs, books, magazines, newspaper clippings, films, video and audiotapes.

Since its opening in 1939, more than 15 million baseball fans have visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum to learn about the history of the sport and the game’s unique connection to the American experience.

Surcharges of $35 for each gold coin, $10 for each silver coin, and $5 for each half-dollar, were authorized to be paid to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, an independent not-for-profit educational institution, to help fund its operations.