The United States Mint Just Released Its First $5 Coin

The U.S. Mint recently unveiled the designs for the 2019 Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program.

The reverse and obverse designs will be featured on the 4 coins in the program: a $5 gold coin, a standard size $1 silver coin, a five ounce $1 silver proof coin, and a half dollar clad coin.

For the first time in the Mint’s manufacturing history, the five ounce silver proof coin will be curved, as will the rest of the coins in the program.

The obverse gestation was chosen from entries in a juried competition as obligated by the authorizing legislation, Public Law 114-282. The triumphal design is by Gary Cooper of Belfast, Maine.

The conception represents the endeavors of the United States space program leading up to the first staffed Moon landing. It boasts the inscriptions “GEMINI,” “MERCURY,” and “APOLLO”— divided by phases of the Moon — and a footprint on the natural satellite’s surface. Additional inscriptions are “2019,” “LIBERTY” and “IN GOD WE TRUST.”

Mint Sculptor-Engraver Phebe Hemphill, provided the reverse design. It incorporates a representation of a close-up of the emblematic ‘Buzz Aldrin on the Moon’ photo taken July 20, 1969, displaying just part of the helmet and the visor of astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

The reflection in Aldrin’s helmet comprises the United States flag, astronaut Neil Armstrong, and the lunar module. Inscriptions are “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” the respective denomination and “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” The Mint will announce the pricing and release date for the coin program prior to the sales inaugural in January 2019.

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