This from Coin World: https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/bucking-horse-suggested-as-liberty-for-2021-coin-medal
Those people on the CCAC have lost their minds. Had to edit. Throw in these Innovation Dollar themes and these folks need some serious therapy. Seriously, that design is absolutely pathetic.
I agree, the mint wonders why their numbers are down for buyers - just take one look at that link and you can understand why!
A sad display in my opinion. Got to agree with USS656 - aren't they even caring that sales are down? I quit buying years ago.
The CCAC considered 20 proposed obverse designs and 14 proposed reverse designs for the gold coin and silver medal. Jeepers, how bad were the losing designs, if this was the winner??? (Yeah, I said "jeepers")
I like the bucking horse more than most of the US mint designs from past years. It’s not a real coin, it’s only bullion anyway.
For some reason, the right side of the obverse reminds me of the folks that make these decisions. Maybe a rendition of Liberty riding that bucking horse would be a more precise metaphor in this day and age.
Makes me what to puke. That belongs on a state Quarter, maybe. Liberty needs to be Liberty, a woman who stands for justice and freedom. Who wants peace but will fight to have that peace. No wonder I don't buy from the Mint like I used to.
Answering my own question, all 34 designs can be viewed here. All pretty "meh" ... I might have picked the dove ... maybe not.
I like 3, 10, and 17 for the obverse better than the one selected. If I had to pick one, it would have been 17. I like 06 best if they had a different reverse (non-eagle) to go with it.
This is unspeakably..... Well, just weird is all that comes to mind. Does the mint do anything to check the pulse of the collector/buyers that they hope will buy this stuff? This is an embarrassment.
Interesting part is they do have in person feedback sessions on packaging. I took part in one not knowing what the focus would be. I was very disappointed that they did not focus at all on design. A number of collectors in the room wanted to talk design but that was not what they wanted to hear about. Almost felt like they had no control or the decision was already made so what's the point. The packaging discussed at the time was for the anniversary of walking on the moon.
Well, that is exactly what the CCAC is supposed do (go figure). From the CCAC website: Mission and Purpose of the CCAC The CCAC was established in 2003 by Congress under Public Law 108-15 to advise the Secretary of the Treasury on the themes and designs of all US coins and medals. The CCAC serves as an informed, experienced and impartial resource to the Secretary of the Treasury and represents the interests of American citizens and collectors.
Well, if any of them are reading this I hope they are getting a good feel for how some of us collectors feel. I have not seen a positive comment yet.
A lot of the time better designs are rejected than picked. Highly unlikely they would be searching the interest for a handful of comments somewhere. That said go read a bunch of the comments from them over the last few years. Some appear more interested in pushing agendas, others just seem out of touch. Regardless of the reason their choices have been less than impressive for a long time now. The best thing you can do if you hope to enjoy something new from the mint is not look at the other proposed designs.