The United States Mint in San Francisco will soon produce a coin commemorating America’s national pastime.
The new coin will be curved, which is appropriate considering the subject matter at hand.
This undated photo released by the U.S. Mint shows one side of the gold $5 National Baseball Hall of Fame coin. The bowl-shaped coin is the product of a 2012 law - the National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act - and commemorates the Hall of Fame, which celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2014. (AP)
The coin is the result of the 2012 National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act, which mandates that the U.S. Treasury mint a special coin in honor the Hall of Fame’s 75th anniversary, the Associated Press reported.
The act specifically states that the new coin’s unusual bowl shape is supposed resemble the 2009 International Year of Astronomy coin issued by France’s mint, the Monnaie de Paris.
The coin will be issued in $1, $5 and half-dollar denominations, featuring a baseball on one side and a baseball glove on the other.
The convex side of the coin will feature the baseball, to give the feel of the game’s most important component. The glove will be featured on the coin’s concave side to resemble a glove’s cupped shape.
Artist and photographer Cassie McFarland, 28, designed the coin as part of a contest.
Sculptor-engravers and designers at the mint and members of the Hall of Fame chose the young Californian’s artwork over 178 other submissions, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
McFarland said she entered the competition because “she was fascinated by the notion that America's coins could reflect the personality and history of its people,” the AP report adds.
She also said that the contest was exciting for her because it reminded her of going to Los Angeles Dodgers games with her father when she was a child.
This undated photo released by the U.S. Mint shows one side of the gold $5 National Baseball Hall of Fame coin. The bowl-shaped coin is the product of a 2012 law - the National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act - and commemorates the Hall of Fame, which celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2014. (AP)
There are currently six U.S. Mint facilities in the United State: Its headquarters in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, West Point, N.Y., and Fort Knox, Ky.
The U.S. Mint facility in San Francisco is responsible for production of commemorative coins authorized by Congress.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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