If you were the PowerHouse of the US Mint minus Congress, what design for new coin?

Ok friends let's just say for the fun of it that you are the Director of the US Mint and you wanted to have a half dollar size coin minted. The rules of this format are that there isn't a Congress to deal with, no Congressional flak whatsoever. This is a one time shot you get as the make believe Director of the US Mint. Anyways the powers that be, want you to choose the design. You can choose the Lincoln cent as the design or the Mercury dime as the design just keep this in mind.

The coin is gonna be a half dollar size coin and it's even gonna be 90% silver but for all intents and purposes it will have the new inflation added face value of $10. You could even say it's a new 10 dollar coin instead of a half dollar if you want. Anyways, any comments?

Oh, I'll start. I would choose the St. Gaudens $20 gold piece design, both obverse and reverse. I would have it minted in a $10, 90% silver coin the size of a half dollar. Just for fun y'all.

 

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I would have an original design. The obverse would be a centered head or bust of liberty modeled after 19th century coinage, while the reverse would be an original eagle, but formatted so the lettering on the coin becomes a "circle" around the coin (like a morgan dollar).

 

Director of the mint no longer has that power. The Sec of the Treasury DOES, after a design has been in use for 25 years. He can then change the design to anything he wants without having to get the approval of Congress. (Act of 1890) (Inscriptions required by law would still have to appear, date denomination, country name, LIBERTY, and IGWT.)

I would return to an allegorical representation of Liberty on the obv and the eagle on the rev. I'd like to try and return to an older serifted font style as well rather than the san serif or nearly san serif lettering used today. Maybe bring back a denticaled raised rim border too.

 

A half dollar that costs $10? Since it is a US coin, you may as well put Bin Laden on it because no one will use it anyway.

Chris

 

Like Condor, I'd favor an allegorical design that was original. And none of the modern flat, ugly computer designed garbage either. It would be nice to have actual art grace a coin again.
Guy

 

Maybe put George III on it and see if anyone notices. :devil: