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1
CCAC Public Meeting

Moderated by Dr. Peter van Alfen, CCAC Chairperson
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
11:01 a.m.

Remote Proceeding
United States Mint
801 9th Street Northwest
Washington, DC 20220
(202) 354-7502

Reported by:

Charles Olson

Job No. CS7093059

2
A P P E A R A N C E S
I. Attendance:
a. CCAC Members in Attendance:
Dr. Peter van Alfen (Chair)
Annelisa J. Purdie
Arthur Bernstein
Dr. Christopher Capozzola
Dr. Harcourt Fuller
Jeanne Stevens-Sollman
Kellen Hoard
Michael Moran
Sam Gelberd

b. Mint Officers and Staff in Attendance:
Boneza Hanchock, Design Manager
James Kennedy, Legal Counsel
Jennifer Warren, Director of Legislative and
Intergovernmental Affairs, CCAC Liaison
Joseph Menna, Chief Engraver
Lia Johnson, Customer Experience Manager, Acting
Senior Government Affairs Specialist
Michael Costello, Manager, Design and Engraving

3
A P P E A R A N C E S (Cont'd)
b. Mint Officers and Staff in Attendance:
Roger Vasquez, Senior Design Specialist
Russ Evans, Design Manager
Sukrita Baijal, Design Manager

c. Members of the Media in Attendance:
Mike Unser, Founder/Editor, Coin News Media Group, LLC
Paul A. Gilkes, Senior Editor, Coin World

d. Liaisons in Attendance:
David Kelliher, Vice President of Public Policy &
Government Relations, Minnesota Historical
Society
Dee Dee Myers, Senior Advisor and Director of
Governor's Office of Business and Economic
Development, State of California
Derek Campbell, State Federal Director, Office of the
Governor, State of Wisconsin
Eric Baker, Director of Strategic Operations,
Director of the Office for State-Federal
Relations, Office of the Governor, State of Iowa

4
A P P E A R A N C E S (Cont'd)
d. Liaisons in Attendance:
Nicauris Heredia-Rosario, Minnesota Council on Latino
Affairs, Policy Advisor of Office of the
Governor, State of Minnesota
Paul Rosien, Customer Evangelism & Community Programs
for HPC & AI, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Stacey Allen, Global Vice President of Brand Strategy,
Engagement and Activation, Hewlett Packard
Enterprise

5
C O N T E N T S
PAGE
Review and Approval of Minutes, Letters to
the Secretary of the Treasury from
November 19, 2024, Public Meeting

13

Review and Discussion of Candidate Designs for
2026 American Innovation $1 Coin for Iowa

15

Review and Discussion of Candidate Designs for
2026 American Innovation $1 Coin for Minnesota

38

Review and Discussion of Candidate Designs for
2026 American Innovation $1 Coin for Wisconsin

75

Review and Discussion of Candidate Designs for
2026 American Innovation $1 Coin for California

117

Review and Discussion of Candidate Designs for
2027-2028 Platinum Proof Coins

150

Review and Discussion of Candidate Designs for
2025 Sacagawea 25th Anniversary Coins

165

Review and Discussion of Candidate Designs for
Potential Concepts, Themes for Future Native
American $1 Coin Programs

181

6
P R O C E E D I N G S
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Good morning.

I call to order this meeting of the Citizens Coinage
Advisory Committee for Tuesday, February 18, 2025, and
the time is 11:01 a.m.
I would like to remind members that, as
we are participating via videoconference, to mute the
phone or microphone on the Microsoft Teams program
when not talking and to announce your name when you
speak for the transcript as well as for the public
listening.
Before we begin, I would like to
introduce the members of the committee.

So please,

respond "present" when I call your name.
Arthur Bernstein, representing the
general public.
MR. BERNSTEIN:

Present.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Dr. Harcourt

Fuller, recommended by the Speaker of the House.
DR. FULLER:

Present.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Dr. Christopher

Capozzola, the member specially qualified in American

7
history.
DR. CAPOZZOLA:

Present.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Jeanne

Stevens-Sollman, the member specially qualified in
sculpture or metallic arts.
MS. STEVENS-SOLLMAN:
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Present.
John Saunders,

recommended by the House Minority Leader.
Mr. Saunders does not seem to have
joined us yet.
Michael Moran, recommended by the
Senate Majority Leader.
MR. MORAN:

Present.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Donald

Scarinci, who was recommended by the Senate Minority
Leader, will not be joining us today.
And Sam Gelberd, the member of
specially qualified in numismatics.
MR. GELBERD:

Present.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
representing the general public.
MR. HOARD:

Present.

Kellen Hoard,

8
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you.

Annelisa Purdie, representing the
general public.
MS. PURDIE:

Present.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you,

Annelisa.
And I am Peter van Alfen, the member
specially qualified as a numismatic curator and the
Chairperson of the CCAC, and I believe we do have a
quorum.
The agenda for today's public meeting
includes the Approval of Minutes and Letters to the
Secretary of the Treasury from the November 19, 2024,
Public Meeting, the Review and Discussion of Candidate
Designs for the 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin for
Iowa, the Review and Discussion of Candidate Designs
for the 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin for
Minnesota, the Review and Discussion of Candidate
Designs for the 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin for
Wisconsin, the Review and Discussion of Candidate
Designs for the 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin for
California, the Review and Discussion of Candidate

9
Designs for the 2027-2028 Platinum Proof Coins, the
Review and Discussion of Candidate Designs for the
2025 Sacagawea 25th Anniversary Coins, and Review and
Discussion of Candidate Designs for Potential Concepts
and Themes for Future Native American $1 Coin Program.
We have a rather full agenda today, as
you can see.

So before we begin our proceedings, I

would like to ask the liaison to the CCAC,
Ms. Jennifer Warren, if we are aware of any members of
the press who are remotely watching this public
meeting.
MS. WARREN:
Jennifer Warren.

Good morning; this is

Paul Gilkes, Coin World Senior

Editor, is joining, and Mike Unser, Founder and Editor
of Coin News Media Group, LLC.
THE REPORTER:

I'm sorry.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
THE REPORTER:

Thank you.

Could you spell those

names for me quickly?
MS. WARREN:

I will send them to you,

Court Reporter, after.
THE REPORTER:

Okay, thank you.

10
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Mike and Paul,

welcome to you both.
For the record, I would also like to
confirm that the following Mint staff are in
attendance today.

So please, indicate "present" after

I have called your name.
Megan Sullivan, Senior Design
Specialist.
MR. VASQUEZ:

Megan Sullivan is not

here today, sir.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you very much.
Roger Vasquez, Senior Design
Specialist.
MR. VASQUEZ:

Present.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you,

Roger.
Russell Evans, Design Manager.
MR. EVANS:

Present.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
Hanchock, Design Manager.
MS. HANCHOCK:

Present.

Boneza

11
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Sukrita Baijal,

Design Manager.
MS. BAIJAL:

Present.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you.

Joseph Menna, Chief Engraver.
MR. MENNA:

Present.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Michael

Costello, Manager of Design and Engraving.
MR. COSTELLO:

Present.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Jennifer

Warren, Director of Legislative and Intergovernmental
Affairs and Liaison to the CCAC.
MS. WARREN:

Present.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

James Kennedy,

Counsel to the CCAC.
MR. KENNEDY:

Present.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

And, Lia

Johnson, Acting Senior Government Affairs Specialist.
MS. JOHNSON:

Present.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Lia.

And finally, I'd like to note for the
record that we will be joined later in the meeting by

12
stakeholders and subject matter experts for the
various coins we are reviewing today for the 2026
American Innovation $1 Coin honoring the State of
Iowa.
We will be joined by Eric Baker,
Director of Strategic Operations and Director of the
Iowa Office for State-Federal Relations for the Office
of the Governor of Iowa.
For the 2026 American Innovation
$1 Coin honoring the State of Minnesota, we'll be
joined by a representative from the Governor's Office,
as well as subject matter expert David Kelliher from
the Minnesota Historical Society.
The 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin
honoring the State of Wisconsin, we'll be joined by
Derek Campbell, State Federal Director for the
Wisconsin Office of the Governor, and subject matter
specialist Stacey Allen, Global Vice President of
Brand Strategy, Engagement and Activation for Hewlett
Packard Enterprises, and Paul Rosien, Customer
Evangelism & Community Programs for HPC & AI at
Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

13
And finally, for the 2026 American
Innovation $1 Coin honoring the State of California,
we'll be joined by Director Dee Dee Myers, Senior
Advisor and Director of the Governor's Office of
Business and Economic Development.
And thank you all for joining us today,
and we certainly look forward to hearing your
preferences and thoughts on the portfolios.

So I'd

like to begin by asking the Mint, are there any other
issues that need to be addressed before we start?
MR. VASQUEZ:
MS. WARREN:

No, sir.
This is Jennifer Warren.

No.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you very much.
So our first order of business for the
Committee today is the review and approval of the CCAC
Minutes and Letters to the Secretary of the Treasury
from our Public Meeting on November 19, 2024.
Are there any comments on the
documents?
All right.

Hearing none, is there a

14
motion to approve the minutes and letters?
MR. BERNSTEIN:
Bernstein.

This is Arthur

I move approval.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you, Art.

Is there a second?
MR. HOARD:

This is Kellen Hoard; I

second.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you,

Kellen.
All those in favor, please signify by
saying "aye."
MULTIPLE SPEAKERS:

Aye.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Are there any

objections to the motion?
All right.

Well, hearing none, the

minutes and letters are approved.

All right.

Since we do have a rather full agenda
today -- oh, no, sorry.

I would like to just move

quickly on to the first portfolio that we will be
reviewing.
And so, to begin, the first portfolio
for us to consider is the Reverse Candidate Design for

15
the 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin honoring the
State of Iowa.

Roger Vasquez will present us with the

portfolios.
Roger, all yours.
MR. VASQUEZ:

Thank you, Dr. van Alfen.

I'll first give you a little bit of
background on the American Innovation $1 Coin Program.
Public Law 115-197, the American Innovation $1 Coin
Act, enables "The Secretary of the Treasury to mint
coins in recognition of American innovation through
significant innovation and pioneering efforts of
individuals and groups."
Four coins will be issued each year,
beginning in 2019 through 2032, in the order each
state ratified the Constitution of the United States
or was admitted into the Union, with the District of
Columbia and the territories being featured at the end
of the series.
The common design on the reverse of
each coin features a dramatic representation of the
Statue of Liberty and the inscriptions "$1" and "In
God We Trust."

The year of minting, the mint mark,

16
and the inscription "E Pluribus Unum" are incused on
the edge of the coin.
The reverse also includes a privy mark
of a stylized gear, representing industry and
innovation.

To honor America's semiquincentennial in

2026, the privy mark incorporates a depiction of the
Liberty Bell and the number "250."
The concept for the reverse design of
the coins must feature a significant innovation,
innovator, or group of innovators and be selected by
the Secretary of the Treasury after consultation with
the Governor or other chief executive of the state,
district, or territory.
The 2026 designs will feature
innovations or innovators from Iowa, Minnesota,
Wisconsin, and California.

The $1 Coin for Iowa will

honor Innovator Dr. Norman Borlaug.
Nobel Peace Prize winner and World Food
Prize Founder Dr. Norman Borlaug, a Native Iowan, was
an early advocate and researcher of sustainable
agriculture.

His discoveries helped usher in the

"Green Revolution," a period in human agricultural

17
history marked by innovation that increased crop
yields and significantly reduced the number of people
who were undernourished.
His groundbreaking work continues to
resonate today, particularly through the World Food
Prize and Borlaug Dialogues programs, serving as
beacons of progress in the pursuit of global food
security.
Raised in Cresco, a small farming
community in Northeast Iowa, Norman Borlaug studied
forestry in college and plant pathology in graduate
school, eventually earning his Ph.D. in 1942.
His upbringing in a state deeply-rooted
in the agrarian heritage of the United States fueled
his commitment to advancing agricultural integration.
In 1944, Borlaug embarked on a remarkable 16-year
journey to resolve wheat production limitations in
Mexico.
Through his unwavering determination
and scientific ingenuity, Borlaug developed successive
generations of wheat varieties with broad and stable
resistance, adaptability to diverse growing

18
conditions, and an exceedingly-high yield potential.
These new wheat varieties improved crop
management practices, not only in Mexico but also in
Asia and Latin America, sparking what is known today
as the "Green Revolution."
In 1997, The Atlantic Monthly remarked
that "Borlaug has already saved more lives than anyone
who has ever lived."

His contributions to global food

security were so profound that, in 1970, he became the
only agricultural scientist to be awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize.
In 1986, Borlaug established the World
Food Prize to recognize exceptional achievements in
agriculture.

His enduring influence was further

solidified when, in 2009, TIME magazine named him "one
of the 100 most influential minds of the 20th
century."
On the phone with us today is Eric
Baker.

He was introduced earlier by Peter.

So I'll

not repeat his title.
But, Mr. Baker, would you like to share
a few words with us today?

19
MR. BAKER:

Thank you, Roger.

Yes, I

would be happy to share a few words.
Thank you, Dr. van Alfen, Sukrita,
Megan, Jennifer, everyone that's helped in this
process, working with myself, Director Debi Durham
from the Iowa Economic Development Authority, and also
Jeanie Borlaug Laube, the daughter of Dr. Norman
Borlaug, who has been a stakeholder in this process.
She was unable to join us this morning,
but she wanted me to share a few words.

The design

preference that we have identified would be design
IA-01A.

We believe this design accurately captures

the likeness of Dr. Borlaug.

It emphasizes his

agricultural roots and shows.
Right there in his hands, the sheaves
of wheat that he was able to pioneer to optimize the
nutritional value that saved, truly, millions of lives
and continues to provide a legacy of food access
through the World Food Prize.
He truly is the father of the Green
Revolution.

We're proud to call him an Iowan, and

we're very pleased that the U.S. Mint is working with

20
us to honor his legacy further.

So thank you for this

opportunity.
MR. VASQUEZ:

Thank you very much

Mr. Baker, and I appreciate you sharing the State's
preference.
I'll go ahead and present the candidate
designs now.

I'll note first that the required

inscriptions are "United States of America" and
"Iowa."
Because we know what that preference
is, and we want to save as much time as possible for
hearing the committee's comments, I'll only read the
design description for the preferred design by the
Governor's Office.

But certainly, if there's any that

needs further reading, just let me know.
So, Russ, go ahead and show us
Design 1A.
MR. EVANS:

Design IA-01A:

Depicts

Dr. Norman Borlaug holding a sheaf of wheat and wheat
stalks, highlighting his pioneering work developing
resilient crops capable of feeding a growing global
population.

The additional inscriptions are "Norman

21
Borlaug" and "Father of the Green Revolution."
And again, this is the primary
preference of the Governor's Office and design.
is Design 2A, 4.

Next

We have designs IA-05 and IA-05A,

Design 6A, and, finally, Design 7A.
Dr. van Alfen, that concludes the
portfolio.

I'm going to turn it back to you, sir.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you, Roger.
And thank you, Mr. Baker, for your
comments as well.
Before we begin, I do just want to say,
as the son of a plant pathologist, I'm really quite
thrilled to see a plant pathologist being honored
here.

And I'm sure that my father, once I break the

news to him, will be thrilled as well.
I'm sure that he knew, at some point,
Norman Borlaug in the course of his career as well.
So before we begin, though, I do want
to ask if there are any technical or legal questions
from the Committee about this program or these designs
for the 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin honoring the

22
State of Iowa before we begin our general discussion.
All right.

Well, hearing none, then,

let's begin our consideration, and since we do, again,
have a rather full agenda today, I will ask the
members to try to keep your comments to three minutes
or less.

And please do identify yourself prior to

speaking.
So let me begin with Jeanne
Stevens-Sollman, if you would, please.
MS. STEVENS-SOLLMAN:
Stevens-Sollman.

This is Jeanne

Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.

First of all, I would like to
compliment the artist's version of this coin.

We have

to think about imagination and how an idea is so very
valuable.

So with that in mind, I appreciate our

stakeholders' desire for 1A.
However, I believe that 4 is -- this is
my preference, No. 4, because of the composition.

It

has several shafts of wheat that indicate different
types of wheat.

It has "Iowa" at the bottom, which

is, I think, a better representation of the State of
Iowa, as opposed to "Iowa" being in a square.

23
And I think that Dr. Borlaug is -- I
didn't know him, but I think this is a lovely portrait
of him.

Plus, we have the globe behind him.

So in my

opinion, this gives us a complete story of
Dr. Borlaug.
That's all I have to say,
Mr. Chairperson.

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Jeanne, thank

you very much.
Sam Gelberd, if you would, please.
MR. GELBERD:

Thank you, Peter.

This is Sam Gelberd, and a thank you to
everyone, especially Mint staff, and the liaison, Eric
Baker, for being here with us today.
The AI, the American Innovation Dollar
Program, is very important to me.

I really like the

coins in this program, and the overriding factor I
think we do need to go with is just how well each
design fits in with the rest of the program.
So that'll be an overriding theme I'll
be hinting at repeatedly today.

Initially, my pick

was for Design No. 4, and for mostly the reasons that

24
Jeanne just stated.

I really love the overall look of

the coin.
The globe in the background really
helps emphasize the worldwide impact Dr. Borlaug's
innovation had.

But with that being said, of all the

designs, I will give the majority of my votes to
No. 1A because the liaison does and the committee did
really like this design the most.
I think this one does fit in the best
overall with the other coins already in the program.
I won't get into all the reasons why I think the other
ones may miss the mark, but all that aside, 4 is my
second choice.

But 01A, I think, I'll be giving my

top votes to.
And that's all I wanted to add, Peter.
Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

Sam, thank you very much.
Mike Moran, if you would, please.
MR. MORAN:

Thank you, Peter.

This is Mike Moran.
second Jeanne on 4.

I'm going to

I think it gets it done.

It's a

25
nice design, and I'm going to judge it simply for the
artistry and the symbolism that's in it.
it's going to get my votes, period.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

And I think

Thank you.
All right,

Mike, thank you very much.
Art Bernstein, if you would, please.
MR. BERNSTEIN:
Arthur Bernstein.

Good morning.

This is

My preference coincides with that

of the Governor's Office.
everything nicely.

I thought 1A captures

I did notice the depiction of the

state name, "Iowa," in that square that Jeanne
mentioned.
And my first reaction was it seemed a
little extraordinary, a little exceptional, but then,
when I look back at the way in which we designate the
state names on all the other dollars, they're all
unique.

They're all unusual, and I think it's

appropriate.
I would also call attention to the
5 Series, 5 and 5A.
as well.

I thought those were attractive

The ears of wheat reminded me of the wheat

cent, and I thought there was some attractiveness

26
there.

Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Very much, Art,

I like that observation, drawing the analogy between
that and the 1 cent coins.
Dr. Harcourt Fuller, if you would,
please.
DR. FULLER:

Thank you,

Mr. Chairperson.
This is Dr. Harcourt Fuller.
Mr. Baker.

Welcome,

Thank you for your comments and your

insights.
I do agree with the liaison's
preference for A1, and at the same time, I also agree
with Jeanne's comments.

I really like 04.

You know,

I like the globe in the background because I think it
speaks to Dr. Borlaug's global imprint, his, you know,
I like the wheat in the front.

I also like how he's

looking, you know, at agriculture.
It's almost like he's looking into the
future with optimism, with pride, and I really like
that.

I think it's a very strong design.

So I'll be

giving that some votes as well, but again, thank you.

27
And once again, welcome, Mr. Baker.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Dr. Fuller,

thank you very much.
Christopher Capozzola, if you would,
please.
DR. CAPOZZOLA:
Chris Capozzola.

Good morning.

This is

I think this is, overall, a very

strong portfolio, and appreciate the artistry into
that.

I approach this as a task of historical

accuracy and depicting Iowa's contribution to what is
fundamentally a global phenomenon.
Right, with global reach and impact,
namely the Green Revolution, which is what drew me to
Design 4, not only for some of the aesthetic reasons
others have addressed, but I do feel 4 is the most
historically accurate depiction of Iowa's innovation
contribution to the world.
I certainly appreciate 1A, and if that
is the selection, you know, I think, visually, it
works.

The likeness is strong, as the liaison noted.

I have, you know, personally an objection to "Father"
of" the Green Revolution.

28
I think "the Green Revolution" could be
sufficient without the parthenogenesis at work, but,
you know, that is just a comment.

And then, a

question, and I don't know if this is for Eric Baker
or just a comment for the record.

I noticed, in most

of the designs, it appears as "Norman Borlaug," and in
one, as "Dr. Norman Borlaug."
I don't know if there's any preference
there, but certainly, you know, I don't think we've
actually included any other -- and, you know, we have
"MD" for Maine.

I'm just trying to sort of make sure

that we are consistent across the innovation portfolio
and because many other doctors or M.D.s or Ph.D.s will
be coming through over the years.
MR. VASQUEZ:
Roger Vasquez.

Christopher, this is

I'd like to note that, for all

designs, Dr. Borlaug's daughter, Ms. Laube, was
comfortable with Dr. Borlaug's name presented as
either "Norman Borlaug" or "Dr. Norman Borlaug,"
noting her father's humble and down-to-earth nature.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you.

Mr. Baker, I see that your hand was

29
raised.

Would you like to make a comment?
MR. BAKER:

Roger captured Ms. Jeanie

Borlaug's remarks perfectly.

Yeah.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you.
And thank you, Chris, for your comments
as well.
Annelisa Purdie, if you would, please.
MS. PURDIE:

Mr. Chairperson, this is

Annelisa.
Good morning to everyone.
And thank you, Mr. Baker, for being
here as well.
I'm inclined to agree with the
recommendation from the liaison for Design 1.
it works well.
face.

I think

I like the expression on Dr. Borlaug's

I think it emphasizes his work, going back to

the land and the roots of what started all of this.
However, I am also drawn to Design 5A.
I like the idea of this active profile in the sense
that he's not staring off into the distance but is
rather tenderly looking at this budding sheaf of

30
wheat, which starts everything.
And I think this ties in well to the
overall theme of American Innovation in that so many
things that have had an impact on our world start very
small and start very minute but can eventually grow.
I also think that the details on this
one with the wheat sheaves encircling him works very
well in terms of proportions overall.

And in general,

I just like the way that it's arranged.
It's a very interesting expression on
his face as well, which had an impact on me.
the intenseness of his study.

It shows

I think that it also

emphasizes the humility that was mentioned earlier.
For Design No. 6 -- or 7, excuse me.
Rather, No. 7A, which is the last in the portfolio, I
was drawn to this at first but was not sure about how
this would render on a coin with all of the details.
I like the emphasis of how, again, something small can
grow into something very large and impact everyone.
But I think the focus is taken off of
Dr. Borlaug, which doesn't fit in with the overall
theme.

But this one does get the Merit Points for me,

31
and those are -- thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

Annelisa, thank you very much.
John Saunders, has he joined us yet -believe he has.
All right.

Kellen Hoard, if you would,

MR. HOARD:

Thank you.

please.

Hoard.

This is Kellen

I was drawn to 1A as well, in line with the

liaison.

I think it really highlights the man well.

It's a flattering, well-framed depiction that would
work well in a dollar coin.

I'm happy to support the

stakeholders on this front.
I also really did like 7A, but I
thought not quite as much as 1A.
captured the innovation well.

But I felt that 7A

It's a kind of a

creative pleasure to see him immersed by his creation,
his unique take on the innovation dollar design
approach.

It's not too crowded, textually.
So I'm going to give that one some

points as well.

For this particular portfolio, I

would lean against Design 4 because, to me, Borlaug

32
and his innovation, the connection between them, isn't
quite clear enough.

There's no indication here of his

significance as the Father of the Green Revolution.
I did some research into photos of
Borlaug earlier as well, and I really didn't find many
photos of him holding his hoe and staring wistfully in
the distance.

Every photo had him very proudly and

excitedly hoisting his wheat into the air, like that
was his thing.
He was thrilled by his innovation.

And

so I see him, really, as just this energized guy who,
you know, traveled to Mexico to pursue this, who grew
up in Iowa, went to Minnesota, I mean, and was
constantly just excited about his passion to be
amongst his innovation.
And so, to me, you know, I think 1A
captures that quite well.
putting my points.

So that's the way I'll be

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

Kellen, thank you very much, and I believe that we
were looking at some of the same photos when I was
doing a Google search for Norman Borlaug as well.

33
It does seem that a good number of
these designs are, in fact, based on photos and so do
represent that somewhat accurately.
So for my own comments, I pretty much
agree with all of the other committee members here.

I

find that 1A is perfectly adequate, and I'd be willing
to support that.

But I do believe that 4 is, in many

ways, more artistic, and I do think it captures the
global aspect of Dr. Borlaug's contribution as well.
So I will be supporting both of those
designs.

With that, if John Saunders has not yet

joined us, then I will ask if there are any questions
or motions from the members at this point.
All right.

And, Eric Baker, do you

have any other further comments at this juncture?
MR. BAKER:

Thank you so much for all

the feedback from the members of the committee.

We

really appreciate it, and I think I would echo that we
found it to be a very strong portfolio as well.
We're really grateful to the artists
and, of course, the committee members for your
consideration of each of these designs.

And I think

34
our preference for IA-01A was echoed by so many
members of the Committee.
While we certainly see some strengths
in the other designs, we think that 01A most
accurately captures the likeness of Dr. Borlaug and
emphasizes his impact on food security.

So thank you

for your consideration, and we look forward to moving
to the next step of this process.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

Mr. Baker, thank you very much.
Joe Menna, Mike Costello, or others
from Mint, do you have anything to share with the
committee on the designs at this point?
MR. MENNA:

This is Joseph Menna.

No,

thank you, I don't.
MR. COSTELLO:

This is Mike Costello,

no comment, thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you.
Is there any further discussion then
from the committee before we score it?
All right.

Well, hearing none, the

35
Committee will now score the Reverse Designs of the
American Innovation $1 Coin honoring the State of
Iowa.

All of the members should've received their

score sheets electronically.
And when you are done, please email
them to CCAC Counsel James Kennedy, not Greg Weinman
this time, please.

And we will take a five-minute

break to allow members to score, and we will return at
11:37 a.m.
And so I'll ask the members to please
remember to complete the Merit Scoring as well as the
Value Scoring since the Mint does consider the Merit
Scoring when determining which AIP artists continue in
the program.

So we will return in five minutes.
(Off the record.)
MS. WARREN:

It's 11:44, back on out of

our short little recess.
And, Peter?
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you very much, Jen.
We are back, and I recognize James
Kennedy, Counsel to the CCAC, to present the results

36
from the scoring sheets.
Jim, if you would, please.
MR. KENNEDY:

Thank you.

This is James Kennedy, Counsel to the
CCAC.

The results for the Iowa American Innovation

Coin Reverse are as follows: our top vote-getter is
Item 01A with 18 votes; 02A gets five votes.
Our next highest vote-getter is 04,
with 17 votes; 05 gets seven votes, 05A, 11 votes,
06A, five votes, and 07A, nine votes.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

-- James, thank

you very much.
MS. WARREN:
on.

This is Jennifer -- hold

This is Jennifer Warren.
Jim, can you tell us what is that a

score out of?
MR. KENNEDY:

Let me see.

It should

be, with nine present, it should be 27 on -- yeah, 27.
MS. WARREN:

Okay.

Thank you very

much.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
right, thank you again, James.

Thank you.

All

37
At this point, are there any motions
from the Committee?
Kellen, I see your hand is raised.
MR. HOARD:
Hoard.

Sure.

This is Kellen

I'll move that we move to -- or that we

recommend Design 1A, the stakeholder's recommendation,
and our top vote-getter.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

Is

there a second to that motion?
MR. BERNSTEIN:

Arthur Bernstein

seconds.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

And thank you

very much.
Any discussion on this motion?
All right.

Hearing none, all those in

favor, please signify by saying "aye."
MULTIPLE SPEAKERS:

Aye.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Are there any

opposed?
DR. CAPOZZOLA:

I'm opposed, Chris

Capozzola.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Okay.

Any

38
abstain?
All right.

Hearing none, then the

motion passes, and if all other discussion then has
concluded, I would like to take a moment to express
our appreciation to our liaison, Mr. Eric Baker, for
attending today.
Thank you very much, sir.

I just look

forward to seeing this in metal, eventually.
MR. BAKER:

Us, too.

Thank you,

Dr. van Alfen.
Thank you, committee members.

I

appreciate your service, and we look forward to seeing
this forged in metal soon.

Thank you, all.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you very much.
All right.

Moving on to our next

agenda item, which is the portfolio where we'll
consider the reverse design candidate for the 2026
American Innovation $1 Coin honoring the State of
Minnesota, Roger Vasquez will now present the
portfolio.
So, Roger, if you would, please.

39
MR. VASQUEZ:

This is Roger Vasquez.

Thank you, Dr. van Alfen.
The $1 Coin for Minnesota will
recognize the innovation of mobile refrigeration.

The

refrigerated truck, the first successful system of
mobile refrigeration, was a groundbreaking invention
born in Minnesota.
The innovation has had a profound
global impact, most recently evidenced by its pivotal
role in delivering COVID-19 vaccines during the
pandemic.

Before the 1940s, transported goods relied

on ice and salt for cooling, which led to unreliable
temperatures.
The first refrigerated truck was
patented in 1939 by Frederick McKinley Jones.
McKinley Jones co-founded Minneapolis-based U.S.
Thermo Control, later renamed "Thermo King."

Jones'

improved Model C, released in 1941, was mounted on the
front side of a vehicle.
The unit's relatively lightweight and
rigid metal construction withstood the demand of long
trips and saved engine power.

The Model C proved

40
critical during and after World War II, enabling the
transport of temperature-sensitive drugs, blood
plasma, and food-related goods worldwide.
After World War II, the
commercially-available Model C transformed the
agricultural industry.

This technology enabled

worldwide shipping of seasonal crops and international
trade of perishable goods.
This breakthrough paved the way for
frozen foods, modern supermarkets, and container
shipping essential to our modern food supply chains
and ways of living.

This technology's significance

has only grown over time.
A 2015 MinnPost article reported that
more than three-quarters of food transported in the
United States relies on refrigeration units.
Throughout his lifetime, Frederick McKinley Jones
continued to patent numerous additional inventions.
His contributions were posthumously
recognized in 1991 when former President George H.W.
Bush awarded him the National Medal of Technology,
making Jones the first black American to receive this

41
prestigious honor.
Jones' inventive spirit and the
advancement of mobile refrigeration stand as
testaments to Minnesota's contributions to industry
and technology, fundamentally changing how we
transport and distribute goods around the world.
On the phone with us today is, and I
apologize if I mispronounce your name, Nicauris
Heredia-Rosario, a representative from the Minnesota
Governor's Office, and we also have a subject matter
expert available, David Kelliher, Vice President of
Public Policy & Government Relations from the
Minnesota Historical Society.
Would either one of you like to say a
few words before we proceed?
MS. HEREDIA-ROSARIO:

Yes.

Good

afternoon, everyone, Nicauris Heredia-Rosario, and I
just want to say thank you so much for all the work
that has been put in coming up with designs for
Minnesota and mobile refrigeration.
We really appreciate the collaboration
that we have had with the Historical Society, with

42
U.S. Mint, and our office in now having some options
to discuss today.

And I will pass it on to David if

he would like to say a few words.
MR. KELLIHER:

Thank you, Mr. Chair,

again, David Kelliher, Minnesota Historical Society.
And I would just echo what Nicauris
said, that we really appreciate the hard work of the
staff of the Mint and members of this Committee and
look forward to the conversation today to run through
the various options and answer any questions that you
may have about mobile refrigeration, which we, in
Minnesota, today, are proud of.
But today, we don't think we need it
because we woke up to temperatures of 15-below air
temperature, so.

Everyone else needs it except us

today.
MR. VASQUEZ:

All right, thank you both

very much.
I'm going to go ahead and note the
preferences.

The primary preferences are from the

Series 7 and Series 8 and the design portfolio,
specifically 7A and 8A, and there is a secondary

43
preference, which is the 03 Series.
Because time is limited today, we want
to focus on the Committee's comments.

I will read

design descriptions for those preferred designs.
Certainly, if any other designs need some more
information, please let me know.
So I'll go ahead and read, first, the
design description for Minnesota 3 and MN-03A.

This

is the 3 Series that is the secondary preference of
the Governor's Office.
I also note that it's the preference
because it provides a historically accurate depiction
of the period truck and mobile refrigeration unit.
So these designs: Feature a 1940s-era
truck with an early front-mounted refrigeration unit.
The icons adorning the side of the truck identify the
diverse temperature-sensitive goods whose widespread
transportation was made possible by this innovation,
and the additional inscription is "Mobile
Refrigeration."
I should note the subtle difference
between the two.

Obviously, they're both facing

44
different directions.

You'll notice that the lane

markings are different between them so that it would
be in an appropriate location on the roadway in
whatever orientation it is in fact in.
All right.

So I'll move on to Design 4

and then MN-05 and 5A, 6A, 7, and 7A, and I'll go back
and read the design description for 7 once you see 8
as well.

So let's see, Design MN-08, MN-08A, MN-08B,

MN-08C and MN-08D, and let's see, Design MN-09.
And then, please go back to MN-07.
Preferences Design 7 -- or the 7 Series and the
8 Series are obviously very similar to each other.
These are the primary preferences of
the Governor's Office because they provide a strong
and accurate visual representation of a period truck
with an early version of the mobile refrigeration
unit.

So the Series 7 and Series 8 both share that.
More specifically, it's:

A 1940s-era

delivery truck with a front-mounted mobile
refrigeration unit.

They honor Minnesota's

agricultural heritage and the transportation of
essential farm products made possible by mobile

45
refrigeration through an agrarian landscape.

There's

an additional inscription is "Mobile Refrigeration."
So I'll highlight some of the
differences between 7 and 8.

In Series 7, the

Governor's Office appreciates the visual
representation of the farm and field in the background
as a connection to agriculture.
But they look forward to the CCAC's
input on whether it makes the coin appear too busy.
One thing to note about 7 is the series lacks
reference to the medical benefits of mobile
refrigeration.

And again, the preference in the

7 Series is 7A over 7.
The reasoning for the preference of 8
alongside 7 remains the same.

Is that an accurate and

strong visual representation of a period truck with an
early version of the mobile refrigeration unit?
The Governor's Office noted that the
connection to agriculture via the sprout is subtle and
effective with the exception of MN-08, they appreciate
that all the designs depict medical uses of mobile
refrigeration through symbols.

46
So 8A represents medicine through a
simple cross within a circle, which is widely
recognized and effective and preferred.

So that's 8A

is a preference.
8B uses a heartbeat symbol, but the
Governor's Office felt that it does not reflect the
period in which the invention was developed.

8C and

8D use a simple cross and the words.
However, they are concerned that the
simple cross not enclosed by a circle may be too small
to be visible, and that concludes the candidate
designs for the Minnesota American Innovation $1 Coin.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

Roger, thank you very much.
I do want to -- I'll ask if there are
any technical legal questions from the Committee in
just a moment, but I do have one myself.

And that is

for MN-03 and 3A, which is the secondary preference of
the liaisons.
One thing I'll note here is that this
does seem to be a tractor-trailer configuration, but
there is not enough space between the back of the cab

47
and the front of the trailer in this sort of
fifth-wheel configuration for that vehicle to actually
go around a corner.
So there's, I think, essentially, a
flaw in the representation of the truck and the
tractor-trailer here.
Joe, your hand is raised?
MR. MENNA:
Menna.

Yes, this is Joseph, Joseph

Dr. van Alfen, it's artistic license taken

deliberately by the artist.

With all due respect, it

is not supposed to be like exactly a functional truck,
but the configuration of the wheels was the best
possible arrangement for this design for the sake of
coinability and stuff like that.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Yeah.

Thank

you very much, Joe, for that comment.
Are there any other technical or legal
questions from the committee about this program or the
design for the 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin
honoring the State of Minnesota?
Chris Capozzola, I see your hand is
raised.

48
DR. CAPOZZOLA:
Capozzola.

Hi, this is Chris

A very quick question, what is the size of

the coin, the diameter?
MR. VASQUEZ:

This is Roger Vasquez; I

believe the diameter of this coin is 1.043-inches.
DR. CAPOZZOLA:

Okay, thank you.

That

helps with the visibility and coinability questions
that have been raised.

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Are there any

other questions from the committee?
All right.

Well, hearing none, then,

let's begin our consideration, and I would like to
again, remind the members to please try to keep your
comments to three minutes or less since we are rather
busy today and to identify yourself prior to speaking.
And since, Chris, you were just with
us, why don't we begin with you?
DR. CAPOZZOLA:

All right.

This is Chris Capozzola.
brief, you know.

I will be

This is again a really -- it's a

creative portfolio in responding to a sort of tough
task of what to convey.

And I am excited to see this

49
when it is done.

Of the choices from the liaison, I

will say that I particularly liked 7A.
Although it is more simple and does
less, I do worry about how much we can ask this coin
to communicate through symbols.

And I'm actually not

worried about what, you know, even the very detailed
ones would look like because of the metal that's being
used and because of the size of the coin.
But I do worry that it just could get
cluttered trying to depict food, medicine -- you know,
all these sorts of things at once.
So 7A is a little bit simpler, and
that's why I preferred it over the 8 Series or 3.

But

if the consensus of the committee is otherwise, I'm
happy to support that.

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you very much.
Jeanne Stevens-Sollman, if you would,
please.
MS. STEVENS-SOLLMAN:

Yes, thank you,

Mr. Chairperson.
This is Jeanne Stevens-Sollman.

This

50
portfolio, I love seeing the portfolio up altogether.
It helps me to decide what is, really, I think, the
most informative and the most exciting.
And I'm sorry, dear colleagues, but I
keep going back to -- let's see.

The number is --

Minnesota 5, it screams "refrigeration."

The only

problem with this one is we don't know what we're
refrigerating, and I do like the fact that 3A does say
that.
Even though it's very stoic, I think it
is less complicated than the 8 Series.

Where we have

the agricultural farm and the little barn in the back,
I think we're going to lose it.

I'm sorry, 7.

We have the fields.

I think we're

going to lose that barn, and I think the rows are a
little busy.

So I do agree with Chris with that.

those are my comments.

So

Thank you very much.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

Jeanne, thank you.
Annelisa Purdie, if you would, please.
MS. PURDIE:
Chairperson.

Thank you, Mr.

51
This is Annelisa Purdie.

Thank you to

our liaisons for being here.
This is one of the portfolios where I
find myself liking a little bit of something in each
of the designs.
focus.
before.

I think that this is a very different

It's unlike anything we've had on a coin
And I like the focus on the supply chain and

refrigerated truck, something that we may not always
think about but are integral to how we live.
For the 3 Series of designs, 3 and 3A,
I think they're beautifully rendered in terms of
direction.

My only concern is the fact that each of

the items that are ported by the refrigerated trucks
are depicted on it together.
And as I understand it, there are
certain concerns about shipping medicine and food
within the same truck.

I understand that it's

supposed to represent a variety of the items that can
travel on refrigerated trucks.
But this particular design looks as if
everything is going to a particular outlet store named
Minnesota.

I'm just not sure that it highlights --

52
you know, it's beautifully done; the details are
beautifully done.
But the mix of materials, I'm not sure
how well, that would render, which is why my
preference actually is for Design 8A.

I think that

there are hints of the things that can be ported on
the mobile refrigerated trucks.

I like the design; I

like the historically accurate design.
I did look up pictures of the original
refrigerated trucks, and this is very, very true to
life.

And it gives a hint, once again, of the things

that are ported without being overkill but so much.
I do like the barn in 7A, but because
of the size of the coin, the diameter of the coin, I'm
not sure how well that would render.

It could be

fixed, possibly with some different shading.

But

overall, 8A, I think, ties the theme in very well.
And for the last design, which is
No. -- or, No. 4, rather, excuse me, not the last one.
This one does get Merit Points for me simply because
of the way that the steering wheel is represented.
It is very busy, but I think it does

53
give an idea of all of the elements and how they could
potentially be tied together, that each of these
things are on a refrigerated truck, and each of these
things can travel on a refrigerated truck.
For Design No. 9, this is beautifully
detailed; I love it.

But again, the very large size

of each of these items, corn and insulin and turnips,
oh, my, it's beautiful.

But the way that it's rising

out of the truck with beautiful shading is a little
bit stark.
And once again, I'm not sure how well
everything would fare with the blood pack right next
to the corn.

It's reminding me of something else, but

this is getting Merit Points from me from the amount
of detail.

And that's all for me.

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you, Annelisa, all to the outlet store -Minnesota.
Sam Gelberd, if you would, please.
MR. GELBERD:

Thank you, Peter.

This is Sam Gelberd.

Ultimately, I,

and as Annelisa just said, I did like certain elements

54
of almost every design here except a 6A.

I think it's

just a bit too simplistic, kind of comes off as a
blueprint, and every invention starts off as an idea.
So I just don't really think that that
design really fits in with the program all that well.
But overall, I like Designs 3 and 3A.

That particular

truck, I just think it just goes very, very well with
the entire program, no real preference for either
direction that the truck is facing.
I just think it's really, really good
design, nice, little, modest nod of nostalgia to, you
know, the era of the 1940s truck despite, you know,
maybe, the spacing that Peter mentioned earlier.
But I understand why Joseph said with
artistic license with regard to that.

The fine

details on the side of the truck I don't think they'll
really be lost.

Certain other coins in this program

do have really small details, and they have come off
fairly well.
But with that being said, I don't
really think the farm -- the farmland, in 7 and 7A, we
may lose the barn in the back there.

55
If we did go with either of those
designs, I'd probably make a motion, or I would
recommend that the lettering of the word "Minnesota"
be rendered incuse, if for nothing more, just to help
differentiate some of the other lettering and some of
the other designs, some of the other design elements
with that suite.
Of the 8 Series, I'd probably go with
8A, as the liaisons have mentioned.

I think the

encircled cross is necessary if we're going to include
that to show medical transported goods, and with all
that being said, I loved 5 and 5A.
I love the dynamic, stylized truck.

I

really think it's a super cool, pardon the pun,
rendering.

I just think the 3s, 3 and 3A, do a little

bit better of a job at conveying mobile refrigeration
as a wonderful American innovation.
Designs 9 and 4, the steering wheel
theme, just a little bit too busy, I understand the
idea of the artist trying to convey all of the things
that could be carried.

But I just think it's just a

little bit too muddy for the size of a coin, I

56
believe, 26 1/2 millimeters, just over an inch, as
Roger indicated.
Yeah.

So for all the reasons I just

mentioned, I'm going to give my top votes to the 3s, 3
and 3A.

Thank you, Peter.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Great, Sam,

thank you.
Dr. Harcourt Fuller, if you would,
please.
DR. FULLER:

Thank you, Mr.

Chairperson.
And welcome, Ms. Heredia-Rosario and
Mr. Kelliher.
I think this was a very difficult
portfolio for me.

I think, you know, partly because

of some of the reasons that Annelisa and others have
pointed out, that all of these coins, they have
merits.

They have great design features and great

messaging.
So let me just start with 9, if I may.
So I do have some questions about coinability, whether
or not we can get all this detail on a coin.

That

57
question might have already been answered.
But what I really like about this is
that, although it doesn't show sort of the truck as it
would've been at the time that it was created, in
other words, it's not necessarily as a historical a
depiction as some of the other ones, like in the
3 Series, I believe, I just think that this modernizes
and brings forward the impact of this innovation, of
this invention.
Because we're looking at products,
whether we're talking about medicinal products or
agricultural products, et cetera, that are, you
know -- it brings them alive.

Right?

It's a very

vibrant depiction.
And, I mean, even though they're sort
of placed on top of the truck, I just think this is a
very modernized version of the design that speaks to
the impact of that innovation in the present time.
So that's why I like that that much.
also do like the 5 Series, as, I believe, Sam
commented on, you know.

I just like that stylized

version of the truck sort of going, leaping forward,

I

58
you know, from coast to coast.
I like how the word "Refrigeration" and
"Mobile" are written.
design.

So it's a very sort of vibrant

The 3 Series, I also like those.

I think I

would have a preference for 3 and not 3A because, in
my mind, 3 is moving forward, whereas 3A, am, I think,
is going backwards.

Right?

But I do like the representation of the
products, whether, again, medicinal products or
agricultural products, sort of, you know, the sunrays,
as I read them, in the background, and also the
historical depiction of what the truck would've looked
like.
And then, with respect to the 7 Series,
7 and 8, if I may be quite honest and upfront, these
are not exciting to me, right, like the other designs
that I spoke about.
I think these designs, to me, appear a
bit sort of flat, even though they are historically
accurate in the representation of the truck and the
refrigeration unit and the symbolism of the, you know,
encircled cross and, you know, and the plant.

59
But they're not as exciting to me as
some of the other ones.

And I think that we're trying

to appeal to a mass audience, and I think that the
coins need to be a bit exciting where possible.

Thank

you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

Dr. Fuller, thank you very much.
Mike Moran, if you would, please.
MR. MORAN:

Thank you, Peter.

This is Mike Moran.

Peter, you

single-handedly ruined No. 3 for me; so we'll move on
from that.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
no, no.

I like No. 3 a lot despite that, but.
MR. MORAN:

move on.

Oh, no, no, no,

Well, I don't; so we'll

No. 4, I like the design concept of No. 4.

However, I'm probably the oldest member on the
Committee.

I have to admit I don't remember what

steering wheels looked like in the 1940s.
I do in the 1950s.

And they don't look

like this, being it looks like they're
leather-wrapped.

So to me, that's a bit of a problem.

60
There are others in the design that I do like.
the flaw there is in the dirt furrows.

Seven,

It's not going

to work.
And go to 8A; that's good.
think it -- it's just good.

That's all.

one that I want to talk about a bit.

But I don't
Nine is the

You've heard me,

all, say that there's too much -- there's not enough
negative space on some of these designs.
This is one of them that there's very
little negative space.

There's certainly no

separation between the truck and the food -- and the
medical supplies.

Where I think this design actually

works, though, is the fact that the truck is at an
angle, whereas the cargo, if you would call it that,
the food and the medical supplies are in the vertical.
The mushroom cap is probably one veggie
too many.

It could've stopped there with the turnip

and let it go at that.

But I do like No. 9, and I'm

going to give it some votes.

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

Mike, thank you very much.
Kellen Hoard, if you would, please.

61
MR. HOARD:

Thank you.

This is Kellen Hoard.

My roommate is

from Minnesota, so he's quite excited we're working on
this portfolio.

But it also means we have to get this

right or I think I might not have a bed to stay in
tonight.
For me, one of the valuable things
about this innovation series is that it shows the
continuing impact of these innovations today, not just
at the time they existed but their legacy today.
And so, to me, what I want to see is
that breadth of capacity that these trucks have done,
so not just agriculture, but also the medical side,
also, just recently, these, you know, COVID vaccines
that are so relatable in people's minds.
So to me, I was really drawn to
Design 3.

Three does a lot of things well at once.

think it's put up on the screen here.
of things well at once.
momentum.

It does a lot

It captures that forward

It nicely depicts the range of products,

you know, impacted.
It's textually clean.

It's a kind of

I

62
design that's unusual in the Dollar Series, but in a
good way, creatively-structured.

I like the rays

emanating out from the refrigerator unit to draw the
focus onto it.
For me, I would lean against 5.
5 Series has come up a couple times.

The

To me, I

couldn't help but think it looked a little
"Magic-School-Bus-y," to my eyes, from PBS.

Also, 7

and 7A, I agreed with Harcourt.
To me, they were just a little bit
flat, not my first choice, in large part, because it
doesn't capture the total breadth of that impact.
This goes so far beyond agriculture, you know.
The extent of different products which
have been enabled by this and the impact on the world
is a critical component to me, especially that medical
component.

And it's the same thing with 8A; it

doesn't strike me.
I find it to be a little flat, and we
can use more than icons to communicate what we're
talking about.

It's just a little too subtle for me

when we have these opportunities to have these kind of

63
dynamic designs.

With regard to 9, I like it quite a

bit, actually.
If we went for it, I'd be fine with
that.

It's just not my first choice because it's a

little bit crowded to me.
creative design.

But it's a unique and

So I would, I'm going to give it at

least Artistic Merit Points, and that's it for me.
Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

Kellen, thank you very much.
Art Bernstein, if you would, please.
MR. BERNSTEIN:

This is Art Bernstein.

Mike Moran referenced his age with regard to Design 9.
He'll understand my reference to a Carmen Miranda
headdress.

I just thought there was too much there,

and I thought they were better designs.
I share the enthusiasm of my colleagues
for these choices.
terrific.

I thought many of them were

The 5 and 5A Series, to me, the design

jumps off the coin.

And this is a good example of the

table test that we sometimes refer to, the kind of
coin that you would pick up off a table.

64
This one certainly caught my eye, but
my preference is for the second choice of the
liaisons, the 3 and 3A designs.

I thought it was a

very clever placement of the state name, and I
appreciated the way the rays in the design, R-A-Y-S,
the rays highlight the innovation.
They point to the refrigeration unit.
So my preference would be for 3 and 3A.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you.

All right, Art,

thank you very much.
I don't have a whole lot to add myself
to what has already been said.

Despite my comments

earlier about 3 and 3A, I do, in fact, like these
designs for many of the reasons my colleagues have
already underscored.

I also do quite like No. 9.

I think that that is really quite
innovative and dynamic in a lot of ways that the
7 Series and the 8 Series are not.

I do think that

the 7 and 8 Series are perfectly adequate.

I think

that that would do well to communicate what needs to
be communicated here.

But again, I don't think these

are as exciting as some of the other designs.

65
So with that said, I will now ask
Mr. Kelliher and Ms. Rosario if you have any further
comments at this stage.
MR. KELLIHER:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thanks for the conversation.

You've

hit on a few things that we wondered, particularly
with the farm fields of 7 and 7A, whether you all who
have spent a bunch more time on coin visibility would
think that that was too busy and crowded, so
appreciate that part of the conversation.
And also the need to reflect both the
food side and the medicine side, that is an important
consideration that was captured in today's
conversation.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

Thank you, Mr. Kelliher.
Ms. Heredia-Rosario, do you have any
additional comments?
MS. HEREDIA-ROSARIO:

I would like to

echo what David mentioned and reiterate that these are
really amazing choices and designs.
And, you know, we took a very thorough

66
look at, you know, trying to represent the time and
also what mobile refrigeration represents and, you
know, to have a -- I think we kind of went back and
forth about some of the things that you guys have
highlighted about, you know, are some of these options
a bit crowded, what represents, truly, the time and
the truck and mobile refrigeration, and also making
sure that medicine is depicted.
So I really appreciated the robust
conversation because it's one that we also had
internally as we went through the designs as well.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you very

much.
Joe Menna or Mike Costello, or any of
the other Mint staff, do you have anything else to
share with the committee at this time?
MR. MENNA:

This is Joseph Menna, no,

sir, Mr. Chairperson.
MR. COSTELLO:
no comment.

This is Mike Costello,

Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you very much.

All right.

67
Any further discussion then from the
Committee?
DR. FULLER:

This is Dr. Harcourt

Fuller.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Oh, yeah.

Harcourt, go ahead, please.
DR. FULLER:

May I ask the liaisons, if

I may, what they think about 9?
MR. KELLIHER:

Mr. Chair, Dr. Fuller,

to be perfectly blunt, we didn't love it.

The

depictions of the products just seemed to either fall
out of the sky or be pushed out of the truck, and it
didn't kind of line up with the truck itself.
So that was not one of our top choices.
In addition, I think that the wording on the bottom of
that design, "Mobile Refrigeration," gets a little bit
lost in the coloration of the cab of the truck.
So that is less visible, and when
you're taking a very quick look at this design, your
eye goes to the products, not necessarily to the
refrigeration unit itself, which, as was pointed out,
the sunrays draw the eye to the mobile refrigeration

68
unit in 3, which gets a little bit lost in No. 9.
DR. FULLER:
helpful.

Thank you.

That's very

Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you very

much.
Any additional comments from the
Committee or our liaisons at this point?
All right.

Well, hearing none, the

Committee will now score the reverse design candidates
for the 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin honoring the
State of Minnesota.
Everyone should, of course, have their
score sheets and when you are finished, please do send
them to CCAC Counsel James Kennedy; he will tally the
scores and will present the results.
And as you're filling these out, please
remember to complete the Merit Scoring as well since,
again, the Mint does use the Merit Scoring to
determine which AIP artists will continue in the
program.

So we'll take a break for roughly five to

ten minutes, and we will return with the scores at
that time.

69
MS. WARREN:

We are now in recess.

(Off the record.)
MS. WARREN:

We're coming back from

recess; it's 12:31.
And I'll hand it off to you, Peter.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

Thank you very much.
We are back, and I recognize James
Kennedy, Counsel to the CCAC, to present the results
from the scoring sheet.
So, James, if you would, please.
MR. KENNEDY:

Thank you.

Kennedy, Counsel to the CCAC.

This is James

For the Minnesota

American Innovation $1 Coin Reverse, the scores are as
follows: No. 03 has the high score of 23 out of 27
possible votes.
03A has a vote of 15, 04, a vote of
four, 05, six votes, 05A, six votes, 06A, three votes,
07, six votes, 07A, nine votes, 08, six votes, 08A, 14
votes, 08B, 08C, and 08D each getting four votes, and
09 getting 11 votes.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

70
Thank you very much, James.
I will ask the Committee at this time
if there are any motions.
Kellen, I see your hand is raised.
MR. HOARD:

Sure, this is Kellen Hoard.

I'll move that we recommend Design 3, the high
score-getter.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you,

Kellen.
Is there a second to that motion?
MR. GELBERD:
Gelberd.

Peter, this is Sam

I'll second that motion.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you very

much, Sam.
Is there any discussion on this motion
to recommend 03 as our recommendation?
All right.

Well, hearing none, I will

then ask all those in favor of this motion, please
signify by saying "aye."
MULTIPLE SPEAKERS:

Aye.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
opposed?

Any abstained?

Are there any

71
All right.

The motion carries.

We

will then recommend 03 to the Secretary of the
Treasury.
If our discussion then has concluded, I
would now like to take a moment to thank again our
liaisons, David Kelliher and Ms. Heredia-Rosario, for
joining us this afternoon -- or, yeah, we are in the
afternoon.
And I do hope that warmer weather will
come your way, so you will, once again, need
refrigerated trucks.

I have to say that, here, in New

York City, where I am at the moment, it is quite cold
as well, so very much looking forward to the
springtime that is on the horizon eventually.

So

again, thank you for joining us.
And at this point, we will take a break
for a while.
Jen, quick question, should we -MS. WARREN:
hand raised.

One second, David has his

He wanted to -CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Mr. Kelliher; go ahead, please.

Oh, I'm sorry,

72
MR. KELLIHER:
Mr. Chair.

Yeah.

Thank you,

We wanted to express our appreciation to

the Committee and also, I think we didn't mention
earlier, the artists who worked so hard to come up
with these designs and put up with our questions and
tweaks as we worked through the process.
So we really appreciate everyone
involved in this process.

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Pleasure to

have you.
And, Ms. Heredia-Rosario, do you have
any final comments?
MS. HEREDIA-ROSARIO:
echo also what David said.

I just want to

Thank you so much for the

opportunity to provide feedback and the robust
conversation, and again, really amazing designs, and
thank you to the artists that put all this work in,
providing us with some options.

So I appreciate

everyone's time and thank you for the collaboration.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Again, thank

you for joining us today.
I do have a question for Mint Liaison

73
Jennifer Warren.

We are now scheduled to take a break

and to resume at one o'clock, and I assume that, at
one o'clock, we'll be joined by liaisons at that time.
Is that correct, or should we take a shorter break?
MS. WARREN:
a shorter one.

Sure.

We may want to take

I don't know if they're available.
Sukrita or Roger, do you want to start

at one, or can we just take a 15-minute -- so
starting, basically, at 12:50?
MR. VASQUEZ:

Roger Vasquez, Sukrita,

would you mind weighing in on that?

Do you have any

insight?
MS. BAIJAL:

Sure thing, I can reach

out -- I believe our liaison for Wisconsin is already
on the line.

So I think I just have to reach out to

our liaisons at HPE.

So let me do that right now, but

I think it's fair to do a 15-minute break and loop
back before one.
MS. WARREN:
at 12:50, everybody.

Okay.

So we'll come back

We'll do a quick roll call.

By

that time, I mean, it's only a ten-minute difference,
we should get our liaisons on starting at, so, 12:50,

74
everybody.

We're in recess.
(Off the record.)
MS. WARREN:

We are at 12:50, so we

will come out of recess.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you very much, Jen.
So we are back and before we begin the
consideration of our next portfolio, I would like to
do a quick roll call of the CCAC Committee Members.
Arthur Bernstein?
MR. BERNSTEIN:

Present in California.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Very good,

thank you.
Dr. Harcourt Fuller?
DR. FULLER:

Present.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

Dr. Christopher Capozzola?
DR. CAPOZZOLA:

Present in the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
Stevens-Sollman?

Jeanne

Jeanne, are you with us?

All right.

She has not returned yet.

75
John Saunders, I don't believe has joined us either.
All right.

Michael Moran?

MR. MORAN:

I'm here, present.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

Sam Gelberd?
MR. GELBERD:

Present in snowy

Colorado, thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
MR. HOARD:

Kellen Hoard?

Present, I'm the only one

who showed up in DC today.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Annelisa

Purdie?
MS. PURDIE:

Present in the

unreasonably-cold City of New York.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

And I am also

in the unreasonably-cold City of New York.
And we do have a quorum.
continue.

So let's

So we will now be considering the reverse

candidate designs for the 2026 American Innovation
$1 Coin honoring the State of Wisconsin.
So, Roger Vasquez, if you would, now
present the portfolio.

76
MR. VASQUEZ:

This is Roger Vasquez.

Thank you, Dr. van Alfen.
The $1 Coin for Wisconsin will
recognize the innovation of the Cray-1 Supercomputer.
At its introduction, the Cray-1 Supercomputer was the
pinnacle of supercomputing achievement, operating ten
times faster than competing machines of its era.
By optimizing its components,
programming, and physical arrangement of its parts,
the Cray-1 reigned as the world's fastest computer
from 1976 to 1982.
Seymour Cray, born in Chippewa Falls,
Wisconsin, powered this scientific revolution, which
enabled scientists, governments, and industries to
solve complex problems across all facets of modern
life.
He founded Cray Research, Inc., with
its lab adjacent to his home in Chippewa Falls, and
launched the Cray-1 in 1975.

With a central column

surrounded by a padded, circular seat, the Cray-1
resembled hotel lobby furniture.
However, it was the first machine to

77
use integrated circuits and the first supercomputer to
successfully implement the vector processor design,
which arranged computer memory and registers to
quickly perform a single operation on a large set of
data.
To achieve maximum speed, the entire
chassis was bent into a large C-shape, with
speed-dependent portions placed on the "inside edge"
of the chassis, where the wire lengths were shorter.
The Cray-1 contained over 60 miles of wires, none
longer than 3 feet.
The Cray-1 was ideal for large numbers
of complex mathematical computations.

The original

and subsequent Cray models helped governments predict
the weather, map seismic hazards, control space
flight, and break codes.
The machine's innovation, speed, and
reliability set a new benchmark for supercomputer
capabilities, securing the Cray-1's legendary role in
computing history.
Supercomputers have helped scientists
understand climate change and helped industries find

78
new oil and gas reserves, model biological processes
for improved medical treatments, and develop more
fuel-efficient engines and vehicles.
They are poised to enable an artificial
intelligence revolution.

The Cray-1 pushed the

boundaries of computing performance and paved the way
for advancements in supercomputing technology.
On the phone with us today are Derek
Campbell, State Federal Director for Wisconsin Office
of the Governor, Stacey Allen, Global Vice President
of Brand Strategy, Engagement, and Activation for
Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Paul Rosien, Customer
Evangelism & Community Programs for HPC & AI at
Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
Mr. Campbell, Ms. Allen, or Mr. Rosien,
would any of you like to say a few words before we
proceed?
MR. CAMPBELL:

Yeah.

I would love to,

so thank you, Roger.
My name's Derek Campbell, Governor
Evers' Director of Federal Relations, and it's a
privilege to speak on behalf of Governor Evers and the

79
State of Wisconsin to celebrate the Cray-1
Supercomputer for Wisconsin's American Innovation
Coin.
I want to begin by thanking everyone
who contributed throughout this process, ensuring that
we'll be able to properly honor our state's legacy of
innovation.

It's been a privilege to -- it will be a

privilege to recognize a fellow Wisconsinite whose
work transformed computing and left an enduring mark
on the world, Seymour Cray.
His breakthrough of the Cray-1
Supercomputer marked an era of incredible and rapid
advancement in computing, shaping countless aspects of
the modern world.

As we got some of the history

already, I will do not mention all of it.
However, I do want to mention that
Cray's legacy is not just a story of the past.
Rather, it's a living testament to Wisconsin's
commitment to innovation and progress.
His revolutionary supercomputing
designs paved the way for generations of Wisconsinites
to continue to push technological boundaries.

80
His groundbreaking work on the Cray-1
Supercomputer laid the foundation for high performance
computing, a field that remains central to
cutting-edge research, like the University of
Wisconsin-Madison.
And across the universities of
Wisconsin, researchers continue to leverage
supercomputing power to advance breakthroughs in
medicine, climate modeling, and engineering, while
initiatives like the UW Data Science Institute and the
Wisconsin Quantum Institute continue to push the
boundaries of technology in quantum computing,
artificial intelligence, and high-throughput
computing.
Wisconsin's brightest minds are driving
the next generation of discovery, as they did the
last, always ensuring that the legacy of the Cray-1
Supercomputer will continue to inspire future
Wisconsinites to embody the state's motto of
"Forward."
Wisconsin's Innovation $1 Coin honoring
Wisconsin presents an opportunity to celebrate the

81
Cray-1 Supercomputer in a way that reflects the
world-changing innovation that it represented, and
each design that has been made so far honors that
legacy well.
Among the designs presented that we'll
see very soon, Wisconsin 05 stands out for its clean
and tasteful representation of the Cray-1's
distinctive design, an element that was central both
to the function and its legacy.
This design speaks to the elegance and
innovation that defined Cray's work, and we appreciate
how it conveyed the supercomputer's impact with
clarity and sophistication.
Governor Evers believes that what's
most important is that the final coin does justice to
the story of Wisconsin's pioneering spirit and its
contributions to the advancement of technology.
We are grateful for the thoughtful
consideration of each design and for the opportunity
to ensure that Seymour Cray and the legacy of the
Cray-1 Supercomputer is honored in a way befitting
such a powerful innovation.

82
Wisconsin's long been a state of
innovators.

From agriculture to manufacturing to

cutting-edge technology, Seymour Cray stands among our
greatest pioneers and his Cray-1 Supercomputer created
right here in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, continues to
influence technology worldwide.
It's only fitting that Wisconsin
Innovation Coin honors his groundbreaking achievement.
And on behalf of Governor Evers and the
State of Wisconsin, I just want to thank the Committee
for your time and thank each person who's devoted time
to celebrate and enshrining this piece of Wisconsin
and American history, especially the artists that
contributed.
We look forward to seeing a final
design that captures the transformative power of the
Cray-1 Supercomputer and Wisconsin's ongoing spirit of
innovation.

Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Ms. Allen or

Mr. Rosien, anything before we proceed?
All right.
MR. ROSIEN:

No.

I don't have any --

83
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
MS. ALLEN:
was really well-shared.

Ms. Allen?

I think we're good.

That

You know, it's an iconic

system, and we're excited to see it recognized for all
its contribution value to society.
MR. VASQUEZ:

Thank you -- all three of

you, rather, sorry about that.

Okay.

now present the candidate designs.

The Mint will

Each is required

to bear the inscriptions "United States of America"
and "Wisconsin."
I want to note before we start showing
the designs that our subject matter experts from
Hewlett Packard Enterprise and the Computer History
Museum reviewed the portfolio and provided recommended
changes for historical and technical accuracy that
will be enacted after Committee review if a design is
selected; we will note each necessary change alongside
the design description.
So in the interest of time, once again,
I'll only read the design description for the
preferred design, which is Design 5.

But certainly,

if any other design needs more information, please let

84
me know.
I will note that on WI-01B, if this
design moves forward, HPE recommends that the
intersection where the arrow meets the machine appear
curved.

In 2A, if this design moves forward, the

number of segments in the machine must increase from
seven to twelve with two end caps for historical and
technical accuracy.
HPE also recommends removing the
circuitry and electrical currents in the background to
avoid confusion about the system and focus on the
machine.

Design 3A, if this design moves forward, the

recommendation is that "Supercomputer" appear as a
single word.
Next, we have 5 and WI-05B.

Both of

these designs exhibit a stylized aerial view of the
Cray-1, and again, 5 is the preferred design.

The

text across both designs is inspired by the typography
associated with early computers.
WI-05 emphasizes the Cray not only
through its shape but also by suggesting the shape of
a C for "Cray-1" and "Computer."

The additional

85
inscription is "Cray-1 Supercomputer."
WI-05 is the primary and sole
preference of the Governor's Office because they find
it the best representation of the Cray-1.

They

appreciate that a unique font was only utilized for
the "Cray-1" text, making it stand out.
They also appreciate the text
"Wisconsin" at the rim of the coin, which they find
more traditional in its placement.

Overall, they find

this coin looks clean and not too busy.

Let's go

ahead and -- oh, and, sorry, one more note.
If either design moves forward, the
number of segments in the machine must increase from
nine to twelve, and two end caps added for accuracy.
Next, we'll show WI-06B, and no changes
are required for this design.

And that concludes the

Candidate Design Portfolio for Wisconsin.

Thank you.

Back to you, Peter.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you, Roger.
At this point, are there any technical
or legal questions from the Committee about the

86
program or the design for the 2026 American Innovation
$1 Coin honoring the State of Wisconsin before we
begin our general discussion?
Art Bernstein, I see your hand was
raised.
MR. BERNSTEIN:

I did have a technical

question.
And, Roger, your -- I should say, this
is Art Bernstein.

Roger, the technical notations you

made actually confused me a little further.

When I

look at the overhead views of the Cray computer,
including the one -- the representation in the
preferred design, there's a large gap in the "C."
And when I look at Design 2, the gap in
the circle is very small.

It's only one-eighth

compared to three or four-eighths in the overhead
view.

Which is correct?

Because it seems like the C

shape is very different in the two different designs.
MR. VASQUEZ:

That's a great question.

I think I'd like to throw that question to -- I see
that Joe has his hand up.

So he may have some further

information, and then following Joe, perhaps Sukrita

87
or one of our liaisons or subject matter experts could
let us know which one is most accurate.
So go ahead, Joe.
MR. MENNA:
again.

Yeah, this is Joe Menna

In terms of accuracy, anything that we do in

this program or others, artists often take license in
order to make a compelling design rather than a
technical design or diagram of a specific object.
And I am not the subject matter expert.
I would totally defer to that.

I'm just saying,

artistically, I think it's what works best on a coin,
as opposed to what widget -- not demeaning the
importance of a great computer, you know -- what, you
know, that's -- there's technical accuracy.

And then

there's artistic correctness, I guess.
MR. VASQUEZ:

All right.

I would say I

had a similar question for Sukrita before I pitched to
her.
Russ, can you show us Design 5?

Go

ahead and back up one to Design 5, if you don't mind.
It's my understanding that you'll see,
I think, that's seven -- no, actually, it looks like

88
eight sections.

An "end cap" is roughly half the

width of a full section, and the sections would be
reduced -- I'm sorry.

They would be reduced in size

so they depict the accurate number of sections.
So here, I think it's eight, but
overall, there's actually twelve with two end caps.
Sukrita, any thoughts on that?
MS. BAIJAL:

Yeah, thank you, Roger.

This is Sukrita Baijal.

I appreciate

the opportunity to answer this question.

You'll see

there's a level of variability across the renditions
of the Cray-1.

After our subject matter experts at

HPE and the Computer History Museum reviewed the
designs, they recommended changes to the number of
sections that you see in the rings.
And so the difference in the inner
circle size that you're seeing across all these
designs is because each artist has a bit of a
different number of sections.

And so one of the

things that we're going to be doing after a design is
recommended is make sure that it's 12 with two
half-size end caps, as Roger was saying.

89
And so the variability you're seeing in
that inner, like, free space, kind of a clear area, is
just based on, as Joe mentioned, a kind of artistic
variability.

And the thing that we're really focused

on, and we want to make sure we get right, is that
there are 12 sections and two end caps.
That's really essential for us to get
right.

So that's the change you'll see after a design

is recommended.

Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you, Sukrita.
Any other questions from the Committee?
All right.
myself.

I do have a question

In No. 5, to my eye, it seems that the "C" of

the computer itself, the top-end view, seems rotated
clockwise a little much, so it's not as balanced.
For example, if this were rotated
slightly counterclockwise, it might balance the upper
portion and the lower portion of the design a little
more.

Am I correct in seeing that it does seem a

little rotated in clockwise direction?
MS. BAIJAL:

The system itself?

90
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

No.

Just the

design, as the artist has conveyed here, it just seems
that, you know, the way that the segments are
arranged, the view seems to be rotated a little more
clockwise than necessary to make it -- balanced -more of a complete "C" or a more-balanced "C."
Joe, I see your hand is raised.
MR. MENNA:

Hi, this is Joseph Menna.

I believe this is the best possible, most-balanced
version in that, if you look at the text line
"Cray-1," it connects to the horizontal on the left
side of the coin in the middle of the elements.
And also the accommodation, so the tilt
gives it a little more of a dynamic touch, and then,
also, the way that this is angled is the only way you
can accommodate for "Cray-1" and the word
"Supercomputer" underneath of it.
If you were to rotate it up, it'd
change everything, with respect, sir.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you.

Ms. Allen, I see that your hand is
raised.

91
MS. ALLEN:

I suspect all this is going

to change when they add the additional segments in,
but they had to do it for balance for the type to be
at the crossline.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you very much, answers my questions.
Any other questions or comments from
the Committee?
All right.

Then let's begin our

consideration, and I would, again, ask the members to
please try to keep your comments to three minutes or
less and to identify yourself before speaking.
So let's begin with Kellen Hoard.
MR. HOARD:
Hoard.

Thank you.

This is Kellen

For me, none of these designs super struck me,

but in general, I lean towards 2A.

To me, the top

priority is a clear communication of what the
innovation actually is to the public, and 2A, I think,
does it the best.
It's actually the only one I could
immediately tell is a computer without having the
background information with me, you know.

And so it's

92
just visually very clear, and I think what the public
would associate, it's also neat and out of the box.
I actually don't mind the circuits
around it.

I'd be okay if we remove them, but I think

what it does show, again, is clear that this is a
computer, and the, you know, lasting impact beyond
this computer, actually kind of, you know,
symbolically shows that impact spreading out beyond
the Cray-1 into other realms of supercomputers and of
technology.
So I was drawn to 2A above all the rest
just because I could tell what it is as a member of
the public, and that's all I have to say about that.
Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

Kellen, thank you very much.
Dr. Harcourt Fuller, if you would,
please.
MS. WARREN:

Dr. Fuller, you're muted.

DR. FULLER:

Thank you, Jennifer.

This is Dr. Harcourt Fuller.
you, Mr. Chairperson.

Thank

93
I'd like to say a special welcome to
the liaisons as well.
with Kellen.

I have to agree 100 percent

When I look at all these designs as a

member of the public and thinking about how the public
views coins, I think the coin has to communicate what
it actually is or what it is representing.
And I think, of all these designs, 2A
is the one that actually says it best.

I also agree

with Kellen that I actually don't mind the circuitry.
I think that the Cray-1 design in the center, I mean,
it shows what the focus should be on.
But I feel like, if you remove the
circuitry, it may not be as familiar because when
people see the circuitry, they associate it with
electronics, with computers, et cetera.
I would have to probably see it again
with the circuitry removed to see whether or not I
still think it's the best design, but based on what
has been presented to us, I would say 2A is the
strongest design because it communicates to the public
what the innovation is.

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

94
Dr. Fuller, thank you very much.
Christopher Capozzola, if you would,
please.
DR. CAPOZZOLA:
Capozzola here.

Hello, this is Chris

Thanks for this portfolio.

I think,

of the ones framed by the liaisons, I have a
preference for 5 as such.

And 5B also has some

strengths, but 5 is very strong.
But I wanted to just say, on both of
these, I do have some concern about the font in which
"Cray-1" is written, which, while it is historically
accurate, I wanted to -- this, I probably should've
raised this as a legal or technical question, wonder
if that is sort of something that would need to be
licensed from HPE, or if the design of that is
something that is sort of available for the Mint and
the American public to use.
Because as you know, I hesitate when we
shade into the area of free advertising for
corporations.

So that's a question.

But I'll also

just say briefly that I appreciate 1B in its
simplicity, and I could see a version of 2A that would

95
work.
But I would caution the Committee
against what we might call "tech nostalgia" as sort of
like an "over-sort-of-enthusiasm" for outdated sort of
technologies and fonts and representations that I
think may be guiding us a little bit here.
So I think 2 has some problems.

So you

know, I think I appreciate 5, but I have a question
either for the Mint or for our liaisons.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Wonderful,

thank you, Chris.
Mike Moran, if you would, please.
DR. CAPOZZOLA:

Oh, wait.

Actually, is

Stacey going to answer?
MS. ALLEN:
answer.

Yeah, I was going to

We don't own that font.
DR. CAPOZZOLA:
MS. ALLEN:

Okay.

Great question.

DR. CAPOZZOLA:

It's designed to be a

historically accurate font.
MS. ALLEN:

Yeah.

That's the first I'd

heard that in this call, but it's not ours.

96
DR. CAPOZZOLA:

Okay, thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Great, thank

you.
Mike Moran, if you would, please.
MR. MORAN:

I'll be quick and simple.

I'm going to go with the liaison's choice of No. 5.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
quick and simple, love it.

All right,

Thank you very much.

Art Bernstein, if you would, please.
MR. BERNSTEIN:

This is Art Bernstein,

and I generally like to give great weight to the
recommendation of the liaison.

But in this case, I'm

preferring Design 2, which as Kellen pointed out, is
quite clear in what it is that's being honored.
My concern with the choice of the
liaisons and several of the other designs, and this
was what was behind my question concerning how many
segments of the "C" there should be.
looks like a nautilus shell.

Design 5, to me,

It struck me as a

fossil, not a computer, and so that's why I'm putting
my votes towards Design 2A.

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

97
thank you very much, Art.
Jeanne Stevens-Sollman, if you would,
please.
MS. STEVENS-SOLLMAN:

Thank you,

Mr. Chair.
This is Jeanne Stevens-Sollman, and I
must say, I was very happy to know that our
stakeholders liked No. 5.
it's bold.

No. 5 is my choice because

It speaks to what the computer is and in

its segmentations.

I just think it's a very strong

design.
And I believe once we have the twelve
segments as opposed to the nine, it will still read
correctly.

I agree with Kelliher about No. 2A and the

computer representation.

If this were chosen, I

believe we would have to still have 12 segments, and
that would be very complicated.
We would have to remove all the
electronical elements in the background, which I think
is a fun part.

And also the waviness of the

"Wisconsin" lettering, you know, depicts probably
electronics.

But I'm not sure that's a good,

98
convincing representation of the state name.

So I

will go and vote for No. 5.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you very much, Jeanne.
Sam Gelberd, if you would, please.
MR. GELBERD:

Thank you,

Mr. Chairperson.
This is Sam Gelberd.

Ultimately, I

understand the liaisons' pick or choice for No. 5.

I

think the texture of it would look very nice as an
American Innovation $1 once rendered in metal.
However, I have to go with a 2A as my
overall pick.

As a Gen-Xer, I think it speaks to me

more than anything else.

Even though these coins are

noncirculating legal tender, I do think it passes the
table test, as Art mentioned earlier.
I think it's the most exciting of the
designs.

And I just want to point out to everyone on

the call today, again, that the hobby of numismatics
is supposed to be fun, and this is a very fun design.
I think the angle at which the

99
computer, Cray-1, is rendered, it really comes off as
very "computer-y" or digital, and I think people will
latch onto that.
is incredible.

Seeing the dot matrix font, I think,

Though, I do think the weight, as

Jeanne just mentioned, of the wording "Wisconsin,"
could be made a bit smaller.
And, yeah, the surrounding electronic
symbols would need to be a bit smaller if we are going
to be accurate with the 12 segments plus the two end
caps on the computer.
But ultimately, for reasons especially
that Kellen and Harcourt and Art mentioned, I will be
giving 2A my full votes.

Thank you very much.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right, Sam,

thank you very much.
Annelisa Purdie, if you would, please.
MS. PURDIE:

Thank you, Mr.

Chairperson.
And this is Annelisa Purdie, and thank
you to the liaisons for being here as well.

For the

liaison recommendations of the two choices, I do see
some merit in 5 and 5B.

100
However, in terms of, again, immediate
recognition, I have to agree with my colleagues in
terms of what screams "computer," "supercomputer."
I'm not sure how well this would translate.

One thing

that I did prefer for 5B here is the aerial view.
I think that that's rendered very well
in terms of looking above at the Cray Supercomputer.
But in terms of strikingness and immediately conjuring
that feeling of supercomputer, and with detail, I am
going to have to vouch for No. 2 or Design No. 2.
I'm okay with the circuitry on the
backboard being removed.

I think that the detail of

the Cray Supercomputer itself is emphasized.

There's

still this perspective of an aerial viewpoint that's
working well.

I do think that there is some nostalgia

involved.
But it's also in terms of a teaching
moment for those who do not remember the era of
supercomputers and are looking to get into coin
collecting.

I think that this design would also do

well as a means of hearkening back to it and giving
them a perspective of what it was like.

101
I think that everything is balanced
very well here as well.

Incidentally, and, of course,

I'm going to make a Schoolhouse Rock! reference, the
development of the Cray-1 Supercomputer coincided with
the Scooter Computer and Mr. Chips segment of
Schoolhouse Rock!, which was an introduction to
hardware, software, and how binary code contributes to
computing.
So this would be an interesting
connection to make here.
very striking overall.

This design is just very,
And as I mentioned before, I'm

fine with -- I was concerned about the circuitry for
this one, whether it would be too busy in the back.
But either way I would be comfortable
with how it works.

This was another portfolio in

which there was something to like about each of the
designs.

Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

Annelisa, thank you very much, and again, love your
shout outs to Schoolhouse Rock!, right there with you.
For my own comments, I have to say I
really am drawn to the simplicity and elegance of

102
Design 5, and that will be getting my full support.
I have a good number of concerns about
No. 2, one of which is that it does seem to me to be a
little bit cartoonish.

And I do worry a little bit as

well about how fuzzy and weird the font, this dot
matrix font of "Wisconsin" and "Supercomputer" will
appear once the coin is actually struck.
It, I think, might look just a little
tad unusual and, you know, again, sort of fuzzy at the
edges, you know.

In terms of Chris' comment about

tech nostalgia, it immediately brought to mind, in
fact, one of the concerns I also have about this, that
it seems to me to be something sort of reminiscent of
the inside of a Death Star from the Star Wars movies,
that there are some scenes where you do see something
quite like this.
And I'm sure that the creators of Star
Wars, perhaps, based some of the models of the inside
of a Death Star on that Cray Supercomputer.

But

again, there just seems to be too much going on here
that is just a little odd and unusual, busy.
And I just can't quite get on

103
board with it, although I do, you know, recognize the
concern about this portraying what the device actually
is.

But again, I think that No. 5 does, to some

degree, portray that but does so in a much cleaner,
simpler, and much more elegant fashion.
So at that point, I would now, like to
ask if there are any further comments from our
liaisons, Mr. Campbell or Ms. Allen or Mr. Rosien?
MR. CAMPBELL:

I --

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Go ahead.

Mr. Campbell, you can go first.
MR. CAMPBELL:

Okay, perfect.

One, I just really appreciate the, you
know, deep thought that, you know, each of the members
of the Committee had on this.

Again, just anyone

thinking about this this deeply, again, is really
paying that respect that we think and hope it gets.
I guess my only comment would be on
that nostalgia piece that kind of, you know, was
mentioned, things like that.

I guess personally

thinking, you know, throwing it back and almost making
it seem so outdated when you know -- especially why I

104
talked about in my comments, it was the foundation to,
you know, so much cutting-edge research that continues
and again, kind of that forward-looking thought of
innovation.
And looking forward, again, I just
think that, yeah, 5 is very clean, very bold, yet also
depicting and honoring the original design of the
computer.

But again, just thank you for everyone's

thoughtful consideration.

Thanks.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you.

Ms. Allen, do you have any further
comments?
MS. ALLEN:

I think it's a balance

between having the coin -- obviously, I think 5, with
the way coins are developed, you know, would be
beautiful.

But I think people also have to recognize

what is on the coin.
And we know, from our subject matter
experts that actually worked on the actual, original
design, their concern is that people won't instantly
recognize 5, whereas 2, they would understand from the
gate it's a computer sans the electrical.

The design

105
itself is a little too much, a little too busy.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you, Ms. Allen.
Mr. Rosien, any comments?
MR. ROSIEN:

This is Paul Rosien.

I'd

just like to say thank you for allowing us to be a
part of this and thank you for recognizing this
history.

I agree with the comments.
I think general public recognition,

No. 2 kind of gets there the best.

To Stacey's point,

the accuracy that our subject matter experts have
shared with us and the 12 segments is important.
But I think any of the comments that
we've had and any of the designs that we've looked at,
I think, can meet the bill.

Thank you again.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you.
Joe Menna or Mike Costello, do you have
anything to share with the Committee at this point?
MR. COSTELLO:

This is Mike Costello,

no further comment.
MR. MENNA:

This is Joe Menna.

I just

106
have a comment for the stakeholders.

It's amazing,

you know, that this stuff now fits -- like, the tech
could fit in our cell phones.

Right?

But this is

going to be -- this whole coin is going to be
digitally sculpted, digitally manufactured.
It's all going to be made with
technology that ultimately these types of
supercomputers, these kind of mainframes established
in the first place.
that's cool.

So I just thought you might think

This is all going to be done with

computers.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
good point.

That's a very

That's where we are now with design.

Isn't it?
All right.

There are no further

comments or -DR. FULLER:

Mr. Chairperson?

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Oh, yes,

Harcourt, is that you?
DR. FULLER:
Fuller.

Yes, this is Dr. Harcourt

Mr. Chairperson, please forgive me.

I know

we have a lot of ground to cover; however, I do have a

107
few comments, if you would permit me.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
DR. FULLER:

Sure, go ahead.

Thank you.

When I look at 5, and again, with all
due respect to the liaisons, again, when I look at
coins, both as an expert but also as a layperson and
thinking about the American public and how they might
view a design, what comes to mind are two things.
One, I think about the solar panels on
the Mars Rover, or I think about a satellite dish.
That's what it makes me think of immediately.
However, when I think about 2A, again, when I look at
it, I think "computer."
And I also know there was a comment
about 2A being very busy.

If you look inside a

computer tower or circuitry, it is busy.

Right?

And

I know this is art and not, you know, necessarily
always a real-life depiction.
But nonetheless, computer circuitries
are busy.
nostalgia.

I also had a comment about the idea of tech
I don't really look at it necessarily as

tech nostalgia.

108
But I look at it as historical accuracy
because if we're looking at a -- in the same way that
we looked at the refrigerated truck that was invented
in a particular time period, it's going to look a
certain way.
So I see it as -- I see 2A as an
accurate depiction of a piece of technology that was
invented in a particular time and not necessarily as
sort of -- necessarily just a love for nostalgia.

But

it's an appreciation for historical accuracy, and if I
may, and this is my final point.
And, Mike, forgive me for calling on
you.
5.

I'd like to hear your opinion on why you chose

If you could add anything else, I think that would

help me a lot.

Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Mike Moran, do

you want to respond to Dr. Fuller's question?
MR. MORAN:

Unfortunately, I was just

putting -- this is Mike Moran, putting out a fire in
one of my companies, and I have not listened to
anything for the last ten minutes.
because it's clean, and it's simple.

Why I chose this,

109
And, to me, a computer is very
difficult to represent in terms of the power that it
has.
it.

And quite frankly, I like the nautilus look of
I went for just the lines of the design as well

as the font.

It appealed to me.
Other than that, no, I didn't get fancy

with this, and I didn't spend a lot of time
researching it one way or the other, slicing and
dicing it.

I looked at it and said, "Wow.

well, I didn't say, "Wow."
better than the others.

This" --

This one does it for me

Yeah, all right.

DR. FULLER:

Thank you, Mike.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you very much.
Are there any other comments or
questions at this time from the Committee?
All right.

Well, hearing none, the

Committee will now score the reverse design candidates
for the 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin honoring the
State of Wisconsin.

And please, do send your score

sheets to CCAC Counsel "Jim" James Kennedy, who will
tally the scores and will present the results in about

110
five to ten minutes.
And again, please do remember to
complete the Merit Scoring as well when you are
scoring the candidate designs.

So we'll be back in

roughly five to ten minutes.
MS. WARREN:

We are now in recess until

about 1:36 or a little bit later.
(Off the record.)
MS. WARREN:

We're about to come out of

recess, and it is 1:37.
So I'll hand it off to you, Peter.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you, Jen.

We are back, and I recognize James
Kennedy, Counsel to the CCAC, to present the scores.
James, if you would, please.
MR. KENNEDY:

Sure.

Kennedy, Counsel to the CCAC.

This is James

The score tallies for

the Wisconsin American Innovation reverse are as
follows: 01B has five, 02A comes in second place at
16, 03A has four, 05 is our top vote-getter -- or
excuse me, our top scorer at 18, 05 Bravo, nine, and
06 Bravo, three.

111
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
thank you very much.

And, James,

Are there --

MS. WARREN:

This is Jennifer Warren.

I just want to confirm it's still 27.
MR. KENNEDY:

Correct?

Out of 27, correct.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

Are

there any motions from the Committee at this time?
Anyone?

Silence -MR. BERNSTEIN:

Art Bernstein.

This is Art -- this is

I'll move that we go with the top

vote-getter and top point-scorer and recommend
Design 05.
MR. MORAN:

This is Mike Moran.

I'll

second it.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Okay.

Is there

any discussion on this motion to recommend 05?
Kellen, I see your hand is raised.
MR. HOARD:

Yeah, this is Kellen Hoard.

I'd be fine voting on this motion now if that's what
the Committee wants to do.
I'm wondering, since the vote numbers
were kind of low as I've perceived it, and there was

112
discussion about changing almost every single design,
whether this is a design that the Committee feels
would be helpful or whether the Mint feels there's a
timeline for to view again at our next meeting, given
the number of changes that have been proposed by
liaisons, and how much they would shape the designs.
So I'd be fine either way; I just
didn't know if that was on the table.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

I'm not sure

if -- I, obviously, can't respond to that.
But if somebody from the Mint itself
would like to respond to Kellen's question about the
timeline for this?
MR. VASQUEZ:

Mike Costello, is that

something that you'd be able to speak to today?
MR. COSTELLO:
Costello.

I mean, this is Mike

As far as the timeline, I know we obviously

will go into sculpt within the next month, so getting
with the other stakeholders and make sure we can make
them adjustments shouldn't be a problem.
MR. HOARD:

Okay, thank you.

MR. COSTELLO:

No worries.

113
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

Any

further discussion on the motion to recommend 05 as
our choice?
All right.
motion.

Then, let us vote on the

All those in favor of this motion to

recommend 05, please signify by saying "aye."
MS. WARREN:

Peter, this is Jennifer.

I don't know if you want to modify that to say "with
the edits by the Mint due to the stakeholders."
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

"With the

edits"?
MS. WARREN:

Or something like that,

because you're just saying that you support 5, but I'm
assuming you all support 5 with the necessarily
changes.
record.

I don't know if you need that for the
So I -- just throw that out there.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

No.

I

appreciate that, and I will ask Art if he is fine with
that addition to the motion.
MR. BERNSTEIN:
Bernstein.

Well, this is Art

I don't mean to be difficult, but we don't

know what those changes are.

So I'm a little -- I'll

114
do whatever helps.
MR. COSTELLO:
the liaison has described.

Or I could describe what
So this is for No. 5, and

this is to increase the number of segments in the
machine from nine to twelve.

It does actually show

two end caps on it already; 5 does.
So imagine those nine just subdivided
just a little bit more to add in three more segments.
MR. BERNSTEIN:

Well, that sounds

lovely, and I'd be happy to recommend my motion to
indicate that it will be Design 5 with the
modifications as -CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
Thank you very much.

So if you will --

MR. GELBERD:

Peter?

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
sorry.

All right, Art.

Oh, yeah.

I'm

Who's speaking?
MR. GELBERD:

I'm sorry.

This is Sam

Gelberd.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
MR. GELBERD:

All right.

I just also wanted to

point out if we are going to modify 5, I just wanted

115
to put on the table, perhaps, that the wording or the
lettering of "Cray-1" and "Supercomputer," if any
consideration could be to render them in incuse
lettering, just for some differentiation of design.
I'm not sure if that's a Joe or Mike question.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Yeah.

Let's

ask Joe if that would be possible to render "Cray" -MR. MENNA:

-- this is Joe Menna.

I

don't mean to step on my boss' toes, but, as was asked
in the previous one with the truck, we can't incuse on
fields.

We cannot incuse in a field.
So that kind of -- on anything other

than -- although, yeah, even though these aren't
circulated, it's just inadvisable to incuse in a
field, regardless of the polish state.

It creates

manufacturing issues, and Mike can correct me if I'm
wrong.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

And, Mike, I

think you're muted.
MR. COSTELLO:
Costello.

Apologies, this is Mike

Yes, we would have issues proof-polishing

the dies because the artwork would be proud of the

116
surface, and it'd be problems in manufacturing, so.
MR. GELBERD:
explanation, gentlemen.

Okay.

I appreciate that

Thank you very much.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you.
Any further comments then on this
motion to recommend 05 with the edits to increase the
segments from nine to twelve before we vote?
All right.

Hearing none, all of those

in favor of this motion, please signify by saying
"aye."
MULTIPLE SPEAKERS:

Aye.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Are there any

opposed?
MR. HOARD:

Nay, it's Kellen Hoard,

sorry.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
one opposed.

All right, so

Any others opposed?
All right.

Then, the motion carries.

We will recommend 05 with the suggested edits,
increasing the segments from nine to twelve.
All right.

I believe then our

117
discussion on this has concluded, and I would again
like to express our appreciation and thanks to Derek
Campbell, Stacey Allen, and Paul Rosien for joining us
today.

And I hope that you all have enjoyed this

process.
MR. CAMPBELL:

Yeah.

Just thank you,

everyone, for that thoughtful consideration, just
appreciate all your work on this.
MR. ROSIEN:

Thank you.

Thank you very much,

appreciate it.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Take good care.

(Discussion held off the record.)
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

will now move on to our next item on the agenda.

We
I

hear an echo in my own voice.
Okay.

It's gone now.

All right.

So

we will now consider the Reverse Design Candidates for
the 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin honoring the
State of California, and Roger Vasquez will now
present the portfolios.
So, Roger, if you would, please.
MR. VASQUEZ:

Thank you, Dr. van Alfen.

118
This is Roger Vasquez.

The $1 Coin for

California will honor Innovator Steve Jobs.

Steve

Jobs transformed society's relationship with
technology by integrating it into our daily lives
through user-friendly, accessible, and
aesthetically-pleasing design.
By designing attractive machines paired
with intuitive operating systems, he prioritized the
mainstream user.

While not solely responsible for

inventing the personal computer, he envisioned
products and technologies that the everyday consumer
could buy and use for daily tasks, changing how the
world relates to and relies on technology.
From Apple to Pixar, Macintosh to
iPhone, his work provided all of us with new ways to
create and connect.

Raised in Los Altos, California,

in the heart of Silicon Valley, Jobs was surrounded by
a unique environment that shaped and encouraged his
connection to technology.
Local organizations in Silicon Valley,
like the Homebrew Computer Club, encouraged tech
innovation and provided entrepreneurial-minded young

119
people a space to invent and learn from one another.
Jobs also met his future partner, Steve Wozniak, while
Jobs was in high school, a fortuitous meeting that
sparked a legendary collaboration.
Jobs' exposure to this burgeoning
technological capital led him to found Apple 1 in his
Los Altos garage in 1975 and influenced his work on
the personal computer and more for the rest of his
life.

Jobs' impact on personal computing exemplifies

his transformative vision.
In the mid-1970s, computers were
anything but "personal."

Spanning multiple rooms,

these expensive machines were managed by institutions,
businesses, and laboratories and operated by experts,
academics, or hobbyists.
To help democratize and popularize the
domestic computer, Jobs recognized that he would need
to lower barriers to entry and design a product with
broad appeal.

This mission began with Apple 1, which

came with a fully assembled board ready to operate,
priming the mainstream consumer market for
"hassle-free" computing.

120
The Apple 2 further advanced this
vision, integrating color graphics and popularizing
the use of in-home personal computers, selling over
two million units by 1984.
The later Macintosh interface would
become the model upon which nearly all future consumer
operating systems would be based.

Jobs' relentless

pursuit of his vision not only revolutionized personal
computing but also laid the foundation for the digital
age, cementing his legacy as one of the most
influential innovators of the modern era.
On the phone with us today is Dee Dee
Myers, Director of the Governor's Office of Business
and Economic Development.
Director Myers, would you like to say a
few words before we proceed?
MS. MYERS:

Well, thank you very much

for having us here today to talk about Steve Jobs.

As

Steve once said, "California has a sense of
experimentation about it and a sense of openness about
it, openness, and new possibility."
He was right.

In California, people

121
are encouraged to try new things, to push the
boundaries of what's possible.

California's a place

made not just of dreams but of imagination, a
willingness to see something that does not yet exist,
that others may not know could exist, and bring it to
life; innovation is woven into every fiber of
California.
But our state's specific brand of
innovation is the perfect embodiment of Steve Jobs.
Steve's legacy can't be summed up with just one
product or one company.

It goes well beyond that.

He

was an expansive man with an expansive mind who wasn't
confined to just science and technology.
His greatest contributions came from
his ability to integrate art and humanity and design
into that technology.

For example, Steve considered

the art of calligraphy in the development of the
Macintosh computer, which resulted in the
customization of typeface and fonts.
With that inspiration, he completely
transformed the user experience.

To Steve, innovation

wasn't just focused on business.

It was a means of

122
expanding the playing field.
Macintosh.

Once again, look at the

At the time of its development, personal

computers were rare.
Yes, Apple 2 had already made a splash
as the first mass-produced microcomputer, but even
then, only those who knew how to code or who had some
understanding of computer science could really use
one.

Steve Jobs changed that with the explicit goal

of making computers simple, accessible, and elegant.
In 1984, the Macintosh became the first
market personal computer to actually show users what
they were doing on a screen.

He refined existing

technology to make it more precise, more intuitive,
more functional, and, yes, more fun.
It was intuitive at its very best, and
that's a direct reflection of who Steve Jobs was a man
who believed that progress was the product of many
minds and many ideas.

He sought out and welcomed

people who challenged him and had different
perspectives and different skills but shared a common
goal.
He soaked up knowledge and inspiration

123
from his natural environment, the beauty of
California, like a sponge.

He used his past and his

present to make something completely new.
He instilled in his companies, some of
the most successful in the history of the United
States and the world, the belief that anyone is
capable of making the next great breakthrough.
All of this is California, a state
defined by its diversity seen in everything from its
natural beauty to its communities to its industry to
its industry dominance.

We're the home of not one but

two creative behemoths, Hollywood and Silicon Valley.
And it's no coincidence that Steve was
a giant in both.

He was a man known for his bold

ideas, which stretched the boundaries of what was
possible until the impossible dreams became so
widespread and so second-nature that we can't imagine
life without them now.
That's California, a place where dreams
become ideas, become inventions that change the world,
and that's why Steve Jobs is a perfect selection for
our state.

Designs for a coin to honor Steve and his

124
legacy of innovation were reviewed in collaboration
with the Steve Jobs Archive and his family.
On behalf of both the State of
California and the Archive, our preferred design is
07C, which shows Steve against a backdrop of the
natural environment.

He felt a deep sense of

connection to California's natural beauty; it inspired
him.
As someone close to him once put it,
"He loved the slanting evening light on the hills, the
palette, the fundamental beauty.

In his very soul,

Steve was a Californian."
That's why we believe that showing him
as part of this place, rather than just showing him or
showing him with computers or with semiconductors and
circuitry, as important as those are, acknowledges the
breadth of his interest and his intellect and his
passion and confirms that he is indeed the embodiment
of the state that he loved so much.
MR. VASQUEZ:

Thank you.

Thank you, Director

Myers.
We'll go ahead and now present the

125
Candidate Designs for the California American
Innovation $1 Coin, a note first that the required
inscriptions are "United States of America" and
"California."
As we did in the other portfolios, I
will read only the description for the Governor's
Office's preferred design, but, of course, if any
others need to be read, please let me know.
So let's start by presenting Design 1B,
CA-01B, moving on to CA-04A, then CA-05A, CA-07C.
Next is CA-07A and CA-07C.

7C is California's first

preferred design, 7A, backup one, please, is the
secondary preference.
These designs:

Present a young Steve

Jobs sitting in front of a quintessentially Northern
California landscape of oak-covered rolling hills.
Captured in a moment of reflection, his
posture and expression reflect how this environment
inspired his vision to transform complex technology
into something as intuitive and organic to us as
nature itself.
CA-07A shows Jobs with his hands on his

126
knees, while 7C renders his hands in front of his lab.
The additional inscriptions are "Steve Jobs" and "Make
Something Wonderful."
This, 7C, is the primary preference of
the Governor's Office and the Steve Jobs Archive
because they portray Steve Jobs against a backdrop of
the natural environment that he grew up in.
And I'll just underscore Director
Myers' noting that Jobs felt a deep sense of
connection to and gratitude for California's natural
beauty.

Finally, we have CA-10A, and that concludes

the Portfolio of Candidate Designs for California.
Back to you, Peter.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

Roger, thank you very much.
Are there any technical or legal
questions from the committee about this program or the
Designs for the 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin
honoring Steve Jobs -- or sorry, honoring the state of
California, portraying Steve Jobs at this particular
moment?
All right.

I'm not hearing any.

So

127
then let us begin our consideration, and I would like
to remind the members, again, since we have a rather
full schedule, to please try to keep your comments to
three minutes or less and to identify yourself prior
to speaking.
And I would like to begin with the one
Californian that we have online at the moment.
Art Bernstein, if you would, please.
MR. BERNSTEIN:

Thank you.

And when we

took roll earlier today, I mentioned I was sitting in
California.

I should've been more precise and told

you that I'm coming to you from Los Altos Hills,
California.
Our house prior to this one was on the
same street as the Jobs family.

We actually lived

across the street from the Jobs family and had no idea
what was going on in that garage.
And notwithstanding the preference of
my own Governor, my overall preference is for the
images of Mr. Jobs in his latter years, with his
glasses and his ubiquitous turtleneck shirt.
This is the Steve Jobs that we saw

128
introducing so many wonderful products to the public,
and thus, my preference is for designs 1B, 5A, and
10A.

And my first preference is for 10A.
To me, that depiction of Mr. Jobs is

elegant in its simplicity, and it duly honors the
gentleman.

5A, I thought, was clever in its use of

the keys to spell out "United States of America," and
1B is busy.

But I found it to be interesting.

Thank

you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right, Art,

thank you very much.
Jeanne Stevens-Sollman, if you would,
please.
MS. STEVENS-SOLLMAN:

Thank you,

Mr. Chair.
This is Jeanne Stevens-Sollman.

I

agree with Art and his comments on his choices.
However, I go back to 4A, where we have the keys and
the trees, I think, are intertwining, and it is what
he is doing to integrate nature and technology.
Well, the press see Candidate's choice
of 7C is beautiful, and I like his comment on "Make

129
Something Wonderful."

I think that's great.

It does

say "Steve Jobs," but 4A, I think, is a little more
artistic, a little more inspiring.
comments.

That's my

Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

Jeanne, thank you very much.
Sam Gelberd, if you would, please.
MR. GELBERD:

Thank you, Peter.

I

appreciate being able to speak third on this.
Although I'm not in California, I was
born there.
to me.

So this coin definitely means something

If I could just point out, first of all, on

4A, I do appreciate the interplay of the circuitry
with nature.

We did just have a bristlecone pine

depicted on an American Liberty High Relief Coin.
And not to be a stickler, but they look
like deciduous leaves falling from a coniferous tree.
So that's one issue I had with that.

If we had

needles or pine cones falling, maybe I'd think better
about that design.
But I do tend to agree with the
later-in-life depictions of Steve Jobs.

7A and 7C are

130
very elegant, very beautiful depictions of Steve Jobs
seated in nature.

10A recalls a lot of the iPhone

releases, and I am an, you know, iPhone customer,
proudly, since the 3 came out.
But ultimately, I landed on Design 5A.
Again, this is a fun program, the American Innovation
Series.

I think this does the best job of conveying

what Steve Jobs was, not just to California but to the
entire world of computing.
And his inventions have definitely had
global reach, no denying that.

I love the interplay

of seeing "United States of America" rendered on the
keys of the keyboard.

I just think it really meets

the mark.
I'd probably pick 1B or 10A as my
second choice because, again, seeing him later in
life, I think that's what more people will be able to
relate to, seeing that imagery of Steve Jobs as
opposed to the younger Steve Jobs just seated in
nature with 7A or 7C.
And that's all I'd like to add, Peter.
Thank you.

131
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right, Sam,

thank you very much.
Annelisa, if you would, please.
MS. PURDIE:

Thank you, Mr.

Chairperson.
This is Annelisa Purdie.
also to our liaison for being here.

Thank you

Regarding the

recommendation, I did like Design No. 7C of the two
preferred designs.

I think it does fit well with the

overall perspective of where innovation started.
And I do like seeing depictions of
different individuals, different figures at other
points in their life than what we're used to.

I think

the public also has seen many depictions of Steve Jobs
in his younger years.
They would be able to recognize him,
and the background is beautiful.

I love the idea of

him sitting peacefully on the rock and contemplating
it.

However, in terms of the rendering of the

wording, I do think that a border would be necessary
for this design in terms of translation of how it
would look once it was actually minted.

132
It's very easy for the lettering to
blend into that beautiful rolling hills into that
scenery, and that was something that I did have
concerns about.

My preferred design for this

portfolio is 1B, in the sense that I think it
emphasizes, again, the overall theme of innovation.
It is the perspective of or the view of
Steve Jobs that many of the public is used to.

And

there's an interesting interplay going on here where
he's directly facing the viewers, but it also seems as
if he's working on a clear presentation board.
He's receding into the background
somewhat.

The lower half of his body's starting to

fade away, and it gives the sense that he's
integrating with his product, that he's fully immersed
in this product that has affected all of us so much.
And I think this design is very
effective overall.

It's proportional.

conflicting interplay.

There's no

It's not too crowded in what's

going on, and it emphasizes the core of innovations
with this particular coin.
For Design No. 10A, I think that this

133
does represent the viewpoint that many of us, again,
are used to.

But in terms of emphasizing the theme of

these Quarters of Innovation and what it means, there
isn't really any element there that speaks to me in
that sense.
It's just a general portrait of Steve
Jobs, which we know, but tying into the innovation
theme, it didn't work as well.

But this will get some

Merit Points in terms of overall design, and those are
my thoughts.

Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Wonderful,

Annelisa, thank you.
Kellen Hoard, if you would, please.
MR. HOARD:

Thank you.

This is Kellen Hoard.
on 10A as my preference.

I landed firmly

I'm usually not a big fan of

just simple portraits, but this, to me, was an
exception.

I really think it captures him well.
I think it captures how people saw him

on the Apple stage, sharing these new innovations and
exciting ideas as this visionary in the black
turtleneck and jeans at that time of his life.

134
It's simple and clean, just like Apple,
and I think it just really captures who he was and how
people understand his innovations quite well.
I'll be going firmly in that direction.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

And so

Thank you.
All right,

thank you.
Mike Moran, if you would, please.
MR. MORAN:

Thank you, Peter.

This is Mike Moran.

I looked at this

overall portfolio, and I think that, in some ways,
these designs, several of them crossed the line or get
into the gray area.

Are they a design celebrating the

innovation and the technology, or are they a
commemorative coin?
And obviously, I'm going to lean over
to the side of design and innovation.
was struck by No. 4A.

We've struggled with how to

integrate technology with nature.
effort that I've seen.

I particularly

This is the best

I disagree with Sam.

I'm not put off by it.

I think it is

a -- to me, it represents a transformation from nature
into technology, and it's going to get my votes.

135
I thought that 5A was good as well in
terms of innovation of the design with the way they
handled the inscriptions.

And it will get some votes.

But my favorite, clearly, is No. 4A.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you.
All right,

Mike, thank you very much.
Dr. Harcourt Fuller, if you would,
please.
DR. FULLER:

Thank you, Mr.

Chairperson.
This is Dr. Harcourt Fuller.
to say a special welcome to Director Myers.

I'd like
And as

Director Myers said, Steve Jobs represents so many
things.

He's a tech giant, entrepreneur, art

enthusiast, naturalist, philanthropist, et cetera, et
cetera.
Therefore, he cannot necessarily be
contained into one thing, even though he's known for
his technological achievements more than anything
else.

And so this was a very difficult portfolio for

me because, quite frankly, I'm a little bit
underwhelmed, I think, with the designs, with the

136
technological designs.
We're talking about Steve Jobs here,
and I feel like there could have been other
technologically-focused designs that would highlight
his achievements more.
Mike.

I do like 4A, and I agree with

This merger between the bristlecone pine cone

and technology, you know, I like that a lot.
But it doesn't say "Steve Jobs" to me.
So that's why I'm not going with any of the designs
that show technology.

And that leads me to 10A.

I

just think -- and I agree with, you know, Kellen, Art,
and I think Jeanne.
This is the Steve Jobs that I think
most people are familiar with.

Yes, it's a very, you

know, popular sort of, you know, image.

But I just

think that, when I look at this coin, it passes the
tabletop test.

I can see this on a tabletop, and it

pops, again, the turtleneck, the black turtleneck, and
just the way how his hands are positioned.
This says, "This person is a
visionary," you know.

He's larger than life.

He

touches on so many aspects of our society, and I just

137
think, finally, this, of all the designs, is the best
one presented to us.
I think it pops; I think it's iconic.
I like the juxtaposition between his name, "United
States of America," and "California" because I think
he embodies this sense of greatness.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you.
Wonderful,

thank you, Dr. Fuller.
Chris Capozzola, if you would, please.
DR. CAPOZZOLA:

All right.

This is

Chris Capozzola, and good afternoon to everybody.

I'm

about to get on my soapbox for one second and not just
to speak from a, perhaps, greater affinity for
Southern California than Northern.
But let me just emphasize and really
beg you all to remember that this is a coin that
recognizes the State of California and that recognizes
the broad theme of American Innovation, and that if
there is a state that has a reputation for innovation,
it is California.
That innovation includes technology,
but "technology" is not a synonym for "innovation."

138
"Innovation" includes political innovations,
environmental innovations, religious innovation,
cultural innovation, sexual and family structure
innovation for which California has been a force for
generations.
And therefore, I think that, while
Steve Jobs, as an individual, nicely captures this and
very wonderfully communicates it to the American
public, we are not issuing a Steve Jobs Commemorative
Coin.
And therefore, I think we need to sort
of step back and think about what in this portfolio
best captures the State of California, which, to me,
include the fact that it's sort of fundamentally
Western spirit, its fundamentally distinctive nature,
which has inspired artists, filmmakers, and creatives
of all kinds, and that it is historically, has been,
and continues to be a very young state.
And so I think those three bring me to
the selection of our liaison, to the 7 Series, and I
don't personally have a strong sense between 7A and
7C.

I like the balance of 7A.

139
I worry some might read that as
meditation, which I don't know whether Jobs himself
participated in.

So if 7C is the preference of the

liaison, then I would definitely recognize that
instead.

I'm just going to leave it at that and ask

us, please, to endorse the entire State of California
and the full range of innovations that it has brought
to us.

Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Wonderful,

Chris, thank you, as always, for your very insightful
comments.
For my own, as somebody who does spend
quite a bit of time in California because of family
that lives there, in Northern California -- and I do
really enjoy the landscape enormously.

I do

appreciate the 7 Series.
I have two concerns about the 7 Series,
however, one of which is how muddled the background
will appear with a figure in front of it.

I'm not

entirely sure how well the figure will stand in
contrast to that wonderful landscape behind it.
But the second concern that I have, and

140
this is picking up on Chris' comment about meditation,
is that this representation just reminds me a little
bit too much of one of the final scenes in the
television show Mad Men, when Jon Hamm's character,
Don Draper, is in a similar position with a similar
background meditating.
And I just, for some reason, cannot get
beyond that sort of parallel between the two of them.
My overall preference is for 10A.

I find this to be

incredibly, again, as some of the other committee
members have said, simple, powerful, iconic.
And it also, I think, works just as
well as the 2023 Jovita Idar Quarter Reverse in the
American Women Quarters Series, where there is a
similar simplicity of just a very simple
representation of the figure and a very clean
background.
With that said, we will now ask for
some comments or questions from the committee, but I'd
like to begin, since we have this image up, with a
technical question for either Joe or Mike.
Will the black turtleneck be

141
represented incuse, or how is this going to be
represented on the coin, or would this be represented
on the coin?
MR. COSTELLO:

Joe, I'll let you handle

that one.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

I'm not sure if

Joe is with us.
Mike, is that something that you could
speak to, or is that -MR. COSTELLO:

I know the sculptors.

They shouldn't have a problem incusing that, you know.
It is obviously outside of -- and the "California," we
can definitely incuse that.
As far as making that turtleneck pop,
I'm sure they have the techniques inside of their
software to make sure that the turtleneck will be seen
if you will.

And materials should flow in there

perfectly, especially around the edge of the
turtleneck.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Very good,

thank you, Mike.
MR. COSTELLO:

You're welcome.

142
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Are there any

other questions or comments from the committee at this
time?

Although, you know, actually, before we do --

or before I ask for the Committee, I would actually
like to recognize Director Myers and ask if she has
any comments at this point.
MS. MYERS:

Thank you, Dr. van Alfen.

I appreciate all the Committee's
comments, and obviously, people have given a great
deal of thought to this.

I was obviously compelled

by, sorry, I'm not sure who made the comments that
this is about California and the story of innovation
in California.
And I think, from our perspective,
showing Steve in that natural environment where he
drew so much inspiration at the beginning of that
journey is especially meaningful to us because, again,
it suggests so much of what he became and the ideas
that he developed and the ways he changed the world
were inspired by place.
We feel very strongly about that here
in California, so and very connected to it.

And so

143
showing him in that moment, in that place where,
again, it wasn't just about science and technology,
right, it's about innovation writ large.
And he drew his inspiration from so
many places, and as you all know, he was incredibly
well-read.

Eastern ideas were super important to him,

which are obviously quite prevalent here, and bringing
all of that to play in his own journey, so.
And I think, to your point about Don
Draper, I mean, I think that's interesting.

It had

not occurred to me, but I do think, again, the
interplay of that almost spiritual journey that he
embraced and the technological journey that ran
alongside of it, those two things can't be separated,
I think, in his story, any California story.
And I think the family was compelled by
that as well.

So I just remind people that this was

also the first choice of them.

So any other

questions, I'd be happy to try to answer.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

Thank you very much, Director Myers.
Kellen, I believe your hand was raised

144
first.
MR. HOARD:

Well, thank you.

I was

just going to add on the point of, you know,
celebrating California that was brought up, I think,
by Chris there, I went back and looked at the original
authorizing law for the Innovation Dollars Series just
to get a sense of, you know, what was the scope of
what they were trying to capture with this series,
especially based on past things that we have worked on
as the CCAC with this series.
And my reading of it is that it really
is more about the innovators and about the
innovations, and in that, yeah, we're trying to get a
geographic breadth and to show how innovations
happening around the country, absolutely, by having
the different states share innovations that are
important to them.
But the law and the past designs we've
chosen, the themes that have been chosen, have been
quite clear that it's the innovator or the innovation
that we are celebrating.
And to me, that's where I come at it in

145
really appreciating 10A again, is that, you know, this
was a man who was California through-and-through, that
he was an innovation that was the product of
California, but that we're not celebrating the state
again like we do with the State Quarters.
We are quite specifically focusing on
that innovation and on the innovator.
was just how I'd read the statute.

So anyway, that

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you, Kellen.
Art Bernstein, your hand was raised.
MR. BERNSTEIN:

Thank you, Peter.

This is Art Bernstein.

And apropos Joe

Menna's comment on our last item, the role of the
Cray-1 Computer and leading to the design of our
coins, I just found it interesting that I'm speaking
to you on my Apple MacBook computer and I'm looking at
the designs on my Apple iPad device issued by the U.S.
Mint.
(Discussion held off the record.)
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
much for that.

Thank you very

146
Are there any further comments or
questions at this -DR. FULLER:

Yes, Mr. Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Yeah.

Dr. Fuller, is that you?
DR. FULLER:

Yes.

This is Dr. Harcourt Fuller.

Yes.

Kellen said everything I wanted to say with respect to
the, you know -- with respect to the law and with
respect to what it's supposed to commemorate, you
know.
I mean, again, whenever we've looked
at, you know -- when we look at some of the previous
designs, we have, even today, voted on coins where you
had individuals representing their state.

Right?

So in other words, while we are trying
to, in this case, represent the State of California,
but we're looking for something or someone who is
iconic that represents that state.

And, you know, we

have, again, in the past, as Kellen said, looked at
individuals who, when you think about them, you know,
you think about a particular person, New York comes to

147
mind or Iowa or whatever it is.
So I think that, again, that's why I
like 10A, again, because I think, when people think of
Steve Jobs, I think California comes to mind also.
Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
Dr. Fuller.

All right,

Thank you.
Are there any further comments or

questions?
Yes, Roger, I see your hand is raised.
MR. VASQUEZ:

Thank you, Peter.

This is Roger Vasquez.

I'd just like

to note, on behalf of the state, that they did note
with 10A that his likeness would need further
refinement.

So there may be some, if that one's

selected, edits necessary on his likeness.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you for that comment.
Are there any further comments or
questions on the portfolio before we score?
All right.

Well, hearing none, the

Committee will now score the reverse design candidates

148
for the 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin honoring the
State of California.
When you are done, again, please email
your score sheets to CCAC Counsel James Kennedy, and
as you're filling it out, please, again, remember to
indicate merits since this is useful information for
the Mint.
We will take a five-to-ten-minute
break, and we will be back at approximately 2:25 to
2:30.

We are now in recess.
(Off the record.)
MS. WARREN:

It is 2:26 p.m., and I'm

going to hand it over to Peter.

We're coming out of

recess.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you very much, Jen.
And we are back, and I recognize James
Kennedy, Counsel to the CCAC, to present the results
from the scoring sheet.
So if you would, please, Jim.
MR. KENNEDY:

Thank you.

This is James

Kennedy, Counsel to the CCAC, with the scores for the

149
California American Innovation $1 Coin.
Out of a total of 27 points, the scores
are as follows: 01B, score of 9, 04A, score of 10,
05A, score of 9, 07A, a score of 8, 07C, our runner-up
with a score of 12, and 10A is our top score-getter,
with a score of 18.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

Thank you very much, James.
Are there any motions at this time?
MR. BERNSTEIN:
Bernstein.

This is Arthur

I move that we recommend Design 10A to the

Secretary of the Treasury for the California Dollar.
MR. HOARD:

Kellen Hoard seconds.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you,

Kellen.
Is there any discussion on this motion?
All right.
let us vote.

Well, hearing none, then,

All of those in favor of this motion to

recommend 10A to the Secretary of the Treasury, please
signify by saying "aye."
MULTIPLE SPEAKERS:

Aye.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Are there any

150
opposed?
All right.
MS. PURDIE:

The motion carries.
And, Mr. Chairperson, this

is Annelisa Purdie; I'm going to abstain.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
sorry.

Okay.

I'm

I forgot to ask if there were any opposed or

any abstains.

So thank you, Annelisa, just make a

quick note of that.

All right.

So the motion does

carry to recommends 10A to the Secretary of the
Treasury.
At this point, I would like to ask
Dee Dee Myers if she has any final comments before we
move on to our next agenda item.
MS. MYERS:

Just to say thank you to

everybody for the hard work that you do on this
project writ large, not just for California's Coin.

I

think 10A is a lovely choice despite our preference
for the other.
But it's a strong choice, and I think a
very well-recognized depiction of Steve, so appreciate
all the work and look forward to seeing the coin.
thank you all.

So

151
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

Director Myers, thank you very much for participating
in this process with us today, and wish you all the
best.
MS. MYERS:

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right, so

we will now move on to our next agenda item, which is
to consider the Candidate Designs for the 2027-2028
Platinum Proof Coins.
Roger Vasquez, if you would, now,
present the portfolio, please.
MR. VASQUEZ:

All right.

The American

Eagle Platinum Proof Coins were introduced in 1997.

A

hallmark of this program's rich history has been to
thematically tie individual coins together to form
multi-year series that share a common obverse or
reverse across all designs.
The current series, "First Amendment to
the United States Constitution," launched in 2021 and
continues through 2025.
Since 2018, a common reverse design has
united the coins.

It features an eagle in flight

152
carrying an olive branch, along with the inscriptions
"United States of America," "$100," "1 ounce," and
".9995 Platinum."
The obverse includes the inscriptions
"Liberty," "E Pluribus Unum," and the year of minting
or issuance, and "In God We Trust."
Launching in 2026 to coincide with the
nation's semiquincentennial, the United States Mint
will produce the "Charters of Freedom" Platinum Proof
Coin Series ... inspired by the National Archive
Museum's "Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom" where
these treasures are housed.
The series will consist of three
Platinum Proof Coins produced over three years, each
dedicated to one of the three essential documents to
the founding of the United States: the Declaration of
Independence, the United States Constitution, and the
Bill of Rights. ... The Citizens Coinage Advisory
Committee (CCAC) and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts
(CFA) unanimously recommended Set 1 out of three sets
presented for the Charters of Freedom Series during
their October 2024 meetings.

153
While presenting the revised designs
for 2027 and 2028, the Mint will show:

The full set,

including the 2026 Declaration of Independence
Design ... recommended by the CCAC and CFA ... The
CCAC favorably received the 2027 U.S. Constitution and
2028 Bill of Rights Designs, remarking that the
quill's transformation into a tree that sways and
bends but does not break serves as a thoughtful
metaphor for the nation.
Both committees agreed on specific
refinements to the recommended 2027 and 2028 Designs
to enhance the set's cohesiveness.
Those were standardizing the sun's rays
across all years to match the 2026 Design, modifying
the tree in the 2027 Design to appear younger and
still developing, and creating a depiction of the
child in the 2028 Design more distinct from previous
Mint coins featuring children.
The CFA additionally identified
misaligned date placements on the 2027 and '28
Designs ... A CCAC member identified the opportunity
to add a 14th star to the 2028 Bill of Rights Design

154
to accurately reflect the number of states at its
ratification, and the CFA concurred.
The artist revised their 2027 ... and
2028 ... Designs based on the CCAC and CFA's
recommended changes, and the Mint now presents the
Updated Candidate Designs for review."

So in front of

you, see Set 1.
Set 1 employs the symbolism of nature
to chronicle America's journey through its founding
documents.

Through a carefully-crafted progression of

environmental motifs, it traces the transformational
impact of each charter, together illustrating a living
embodiment of our American democracy.
And showing you again the CCAC and
CFA's recommended design for 2026:

PTP-01-D-01A

depicts sunrays beginning to emerge through storm
clouds, representing the dawn of a new nation arising
from the turmoil of revolution as well as the
enlightenment ideas that influenced the Declaration of
Independence.
A quill symbolizing the Declaration
sweeps over the landscape, marking the nation's

155
founding and the power of revolutionary ideas to
catalyze change.

This design features 13 stars

representing the original 13 colonies in the border.
For 2027:

PTP-01-C-01 shows the storm

clouds receding and the sunlight growing stronger,
marking the nation's transition to self-governance.
In place of the quill, a young tree has taken root,
representing the U.S. Constitution as a living
framework in the American landscape.
Its form echoes the shape of the quill,
a visual reminder that this new system of government
is informed by and built upon the values and ideals
set forth in the Declaration of Independence.
Thirteen stars representing the 13
colony colonies frame the scene.

The additional

inscription is "United States Constitution."
I should note that, per the artist, the
tree is not intended to represent any particular
species but to embody the characteristics of all trees
as being flexible, rooted, strong, growing, changing,
and with a history and a future.

Like the laws of our

country, it represents not any single person but all

156
people.
And finally, for 2028:

PTP-01-B-01

reveals a maturing tree, its canopy offering shelter
and protection, a powerful metaphor for the rights and
freedoms guaranteed to citizens in the Bill of Rights.
Beneath it, a child gazes forward,
representing the people whose rights are safeguarded
now and the protection provided to future generations.
The scene is now fully illuminated by sunlight,
suggesting the powerful influence of these founding
documents on our nation.
Fourteen stars reflecting the number of
states at ratification encircle of design.

The

additional inscription is "Bill of Rights."
And that concludes our Candidate
Designs for '27 and '28 Platinum Proof Coin.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

wonderful, Roger, thank you very much.
Are there any technical or legal
questions from the committee about this program or
these Designs for the 2027-2028 Platinum Proof Coins
before we begin our general discussion?

157
All right.

I hear none.

So then let

us begin and again, I would encourage all the
Committee members to keep your comments brief and to
identify yourselves prior to speaking.
Mike Moran, let's begin with you.
MR. MORAN:

I'm so happy you started

with me, Peter.
This is Mike Moran.

I find these

revised designs consistent with the intent of the
Committee during our last review.
beautiful.

I'm happy with them.

I think they're
And that's all I

have to say.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Fantastic,

thank you.
Dr. Fuller, if you would, please.
DR. FULLER:

Thank you,

Mr. Chairperson.
This is Dr. Harcourt Fuller.
completely agree with Mike.

I

These are very visually

stunning, beautiful, inspirational design, and I'm
quite happy with all of them.

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Wonderful.

158
Chris Capozzola, if you would, please.
DR. CAPOZZOLA:

Hi, this is Chris

Capozzola, no soapbox this time, and I also share the
sense that this is a successful series.

A tiny,

nitpicky thing, in looking at B01, the spacing of the
letters in "Bill of" looks, you know -- I mean, I
realize they're sort of stretched a little bit.
And I'm just wondering, if we end up
doing this as a set, you know, many people will
collect them as a set.

I'm just wondering if they can

be made a little bit more consistent.

I am not the

artist or numismatist on this panel.
So I'm not going to try to solve that,
but that was just an impression as a viewer.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you very

much, Chris.
Jeanne Stevens-Sollman, if you would,
please.
MS. STEVENS-SOLLMAN:

Thank you,

Mr. Chair.
This is Jeanne Stevens-Sollman.
agree with my colleagues.

I

This is a very beautiful

159
set.

I think we worked hard the last time it was

presented to us, and this presentation has corrected
all of our wishes.
So congratulations to the Mint and the
artists, and thank you again for this beautiful set.
And to reply to Chris, if I might, we
just have that little tiny space to state what this
coin is about, "Declaration of Independence," the
"United States Constitution."
The "Bill of Rights," there's just not
a lot of letters in there.

And I think we need to

just simply understand that that is the space that is
consistent throughout those three medals and the
lettering, I think, is fine.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.

That's all.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

Jeanne, thank you very much.
Sam Gelberd, if you would, please.
MR. GELBERD:

Thank you, Peter.

This is Sam Gelberd.

I share the same

sentiments of everyone who's already spoken.

I think

this turned out very well, love the progression of the

160
tree and the different appearances of the sun and the
rays.
Yeah, I do agree with what Chris
pointed out, the lettering, but between -- or the
space between the letters "O" and "F" in the word
"of."

I think that just needs to be tightened up a

little bit, and that would solve everything.
But, yeah, I definitely approve of the
designs and the prior work that we had done as a
Committee.

Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

Thank you, Sam.
Annelisa Purdie, if you would, please.
MS. PURDIE:

Thank you, Mr.

Chairperson.
This is Annelisa Purdie.

I'm also

going to echo my colleague's comments about being
pleased with the modifications to the design.
that the continuity works.

I think

I think that the designs

are beautiful.
And just as a minor point, one thing
that I noticed that I loved is, at the very end of

161
each of the leaves and the quill, in the example, the
first coin, and just about the same point around the
outer edge to just contribute to that continuity,
which is beautiful.

And I'm excited to see how these

are rendered in coin form.

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Wonderful,

thank you.
Kellen Hoard, if you would, please.
MR. HOARD:

Thank you.

This is Kellen Hoard.

I agree with all

of my colleagues about the designs looking great.

If

it's possible to make adjustments to the spacing of
the lettering of "Bill of Rights," that would be a
priority for me as well since it just does look
different.
I understand there's challenges, of
course, with the fewer number of letters.

I also

wouldn't mind, and, you know, this might look a little
unusual with the fewer numbers, keep it consistent by
having "Rights" curve along the bottom edge like all
the other ones do, rather than having it straight.
For me, that's just a minor semantic

162
thing, but I wouldn't mind seeing that as well.
so that's it for me.

And

Thank you very much.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Great, thank

you, Kellen.
Art Bernstein?
MR. BERNSTEIN:
Bernstein.

This is Arthur

I appreciate the process.

I appreciate

being heard, and you have my full approval.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

And, Art, can I

ask you was it you who recommended 14 stars, or was it
somebody else?
MR. BERNSTEIN:

I'll take the credit,

but I don't recall.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Oh, I'm sure it

was probably either you or Chris, but I can't recall
which one of the two of -- well done -MR. BERNSTEIN:
debate about Rhode Island.

I think there was some

We were -- as I recall.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
say well done to the Mint.
on this set are superb.

I also have to

I think that the revisions

I also thank Chris for

drawing attention to the issue with the lettering.

163
Now that I look at it a little bit more carefully, I
do see what he's seeing there and might want to see
some changes to that as well.
That said, actually, I would throw that
question to either Joe Menna or Mike Costello to see
how you might respond to those concerns.
MR. MENNA:

Mr. Chairperson and all

committee members, this is Joseph Menna.
These concerns were looked at very
carefully: Kellen's idea of arcing "Rights" along the
bottom, the spacing, and everything.
If you look at the angle of the boy's
foot, as it leads down to the "B" as it leads down to
the "R," and then you look at the "S" going up to the
"F" going through the "0," catching the arc of the
tree, the artist designed this very deliberately.
We tried different combinations of
kerning and spacing, less space between "Bill of" -scale with the incused text, the artist felt, in
working together with ODM, that this is the best
configuration.

But I am not trying to contradict any

recommendations.

164
I'm just offering the rationale because
everything everybody said was thought about by the
artist.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

That's very

good to hear, Joe; thank you.
Are there any other questions or
comments from the committee at this time?
All right.

Since we have already

scored this set, we did this back in October at our
meeting then I would recommend that we not score and
just move straight on to a motion if there are any
motions from the Committee at this point.
MR. BERNSTEIN:
Bernstein.

Peter, this is Arthur

I would like to move that we recommend

Designs C-01 and B-01, as presented by the Mint.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

perhaps to simplify that to just recommend Set 1,
would that be okay as presented?
MR. BERNSTEIN:
sense.

Sure, whatever makes

Didn't we already recommend the -- to the

Declaration of Independence?
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Oh, yeah, we

So

165
did.

So, yeah.

I think you're correct because I

don't think there were any modifications to the
Declaration of Independence, so the modifications are
to the other two.

So, yes, we would then recommend

the other two to go along with the coin we already
recommended.
Is there a second on this motion?
MS. STEVENS-SOLLMAN:
Stevens-Sollman.

This is Jeanne

I second it.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Fantastic.

Any discussion on this motion?
All right.

Then, all of those in favor

of this motion, please signify by saying "aye."
MULTIPLE SPEAKERS:

Aye.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Any opposed?

Any abstain?
All right.

Then, the motion carries.

Again, want to congratulate the Mint on a job very
well done with this set.

I'm very much looking

forward to seeing it struck in the coming years.
So we will now move on to the next item
on our agenda, which is to consider the candidate

166
designs for the 2025 Sacagawea 25th Anniversary Coins.
Roger, I'll turn it over to you to
present the portfolio.
MR. VASQUEZ:

Thank you, Dr. van Alfen.

This is Roger Vasquez.

To recognize

the 25th anniversary of the issuance of the Sacagawea
Golden Dollar, the United States Mint is considering
minting 24-karat, 1/2-ounce gold coins featuring the
design of the original coin first released in 2000.
The coins will contain the original
inscriptions featured on the original coin, and no
weight and fineness inscriptions will be added.
The obverse design, which was
first -- oh, it looks like we might have a -- and just
one moment, we'll review the designs.
to reload those.

We'll just need

But I'll go and read the description

now.
The obverse design, which was first
produced in 2000, retains the central figure of
Sacagawea portrayed in three-quarter profile.

On her

back, Sacagawea carries her infant son, Jean Baptiste.
Inscriptions include "Liberty," "In God

167
We Trust," and "2025."

And here, we have that design

and those are the inscriptions included in 2000.

The

date is updated and includes the "W" mint mark.
The reverse design features a soaring
eagle encircled by 17 stars, which represent each
state in the union at the time of the 1804 Lewis and
Clark Expedition.

Inscriptions include "United States

of America," "E Pluribus Unum," and "One Dollar."
Dr. van Alfen, that concludes our
presentation of these candidate designs, back to you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you very much.
Are there any technical or legal
questions from the committee about this program or the
designs for this 25th Anniversary Coin before we begin
our discussion?
Sam, I see your hand is raised.
MR. GELBERD:

Yes, Peter, thank you.

This is Sam Gelberd.

One thing I did

notice that I really just wanted to speak about before
we get into our discussion, the decision to leave off
inscriptions indicating weight and/or fineness, I'm

168
not sure if the Mint could speak to the decision why
that decision was made, why we're leaving that off.
MR. VASQUEZ:

Let me see if there is a

representative from sales and marketing on the call
with us.

look.

MR. GELBERD:

Thank you, Roger.

MR. VASQUEZ:

Let me just take a quick

It does not look like we have anyone on from

sales and marketing at the moment.
MR. GELBERD:

I apologize.

All right, understood.

I

can address that then when I speak then; that's fine.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

Any

other questions or comments from committee members?
All right, then, let's begin our
discussions, starting with Chris Capozzola.
DR. CAPOZZOLA:
Capozzola.
here.

Hi, this is Chris

I have basically no particular comments

I think there's not much to comment on.

I'll

leave it to others who may have stronger comments on
how this might be received by the numismatic community
and collectors, more generally.

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you,

169
Chris.
Sam Gelberd?
MR. GELBERD:

Thank you, Peter.

This is Sam Gelberd.

So as I

previously stated, I can't help but notice that we did
leave off the fineness and weight of this coin.

And

as it is a bullion-related issuance, I think it's a
grave mistake to leave that information off.
I think it will cause a lot of
confusion down the road later for both collectors and
dealers of numismatic products.

It'll cause just a

lot of confusion in general in the numismatic
community if we leave that off.
In 2016, we made three different coins
to celebrate the Liberty Head Design, Liberty Head
Dime Design, the Standing Liberty Quarter Design, as
well as the Walking Liberty Half Dollar Design.
And all three of those were able to
accommodate and provide a space to indicate both
weight and fineness on those coins, though they were
initially silver coins when originally released in
1916.

If there's no consideration to put it on either

170
the obverse or reverse, I think it may be a good idea
to at least include this information on the edge of
the coin if we're not able to accommodate it
elsewhere.
Something else I'd like to add, because
this is noncirculating legal tender geared toward
collectors, I would like to ask Joe and/or Mike if any
consideration was given to utilizing the prototype
reverse that was popularized by the Cheerios Dollars,
that when General Mills had a promotion that ran with
the Mint, where about 5,500 Sacagawea Dollars were
released in Cheerios boxes with really boldly-detailed
feathers on the tail, it looks like the wings have
that design element, but not on the tail feathers.
So I would just like to ask if any
consideration was given to including those boldly
detailed feathers because I'm sure some collectors
will be raising questions about that in forums later
on.
MR. COSTELLO:

This is Mike Costello.

Hey, Sam, not that I'm aware of with
regard to the feathers, so.

171
MR. GELBERD:
MR. COSTELLO:

Okay, thank you.
No one brought it up,

thanks.
MR. GELBERD:

All right.

And --

Oh, I'm sorry; go ahead.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

No.

Go ahead,

Sam.
MR. GELBERD:

Oh, also just wanted to

point out, are these going to be issued as
uncirculated and as proofs?
I wasn't sure if that was written
anywhere, and if I overlooked that, I apologize.

And,

of course, always my personal numismatic soapbox, will
they be rendered in high relief?
And that's all I just wanted to add,
Peter.

Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Sam, you raised a number of questions.

All right.
In fact, I

also learned that -- I was not aware of these Cheerios
Dollars, so I'll have to ask you at some point a
little bit more about those.
But you did raise a number of questions

172
that I would like to throw at either Joe or Mike at
the moment.

First of which is whether or not it would

be possible to inscribe on the edge the weight and
fineness of the coin.
MR. COSTELLO:

This is Mike Costello.

While it would be possible, we would have to wait on
direction from Sales and Marketing whether to make
that happen or not, so.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
right.

Okay.

All

Thank you.
MR. MENNA:

And, Mike, if you don't

mind -MR. COSTELLO:
MR. MENNA:

Yeah.

Go ahead --

That is a last option.

I

would say that we would be able to find space on the
surfaces of the coin, Mike.

Unless Mike disagrees to

accommodate that request, if it's made, and we're -MR. COSTELLO:

I'd much rather have it

on the surface of the coin.
MR. MENNA:

Yeah.

And we could

accommodate it.
MR. COSTELLO:

All right.

173
MR. MENNA:
Mike.

And I'll jump ahead of

The relief height is consistent with the coin

that it's celebrating.
Right, Mike?
MR. COSTELLO:

Correct.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

And

that was my next question, so thank you for answering
that as well.
All right.

We'll move on then to Mike

MR. MORAN:

Thank you, Peter.

Moran.

This is Mike Moran.

I listened to this

discussion of the weight and fineness; I've had it
with Jeff Garrett before.

I was particularly

disappointed with the three Weinman and MacNeil Gold
Coins of 2016 because I felt like the weight and
fineness on the reverse of those coins broke the
continuity of the original design.
I feel it'll do the same here.

I

really think that the primary market for this coin is
going to be the people that collect the Sacagawea
Dollars.

If you're a bullion collector, do you care

174
what's on that lump of gold?
Some of them do, but the Double Eagle
takes care of most of the bullion sales.

I don't

think you'll see bullion collectors going after this
coin really at all, but that's my judgment on that.
I would point out that we're about to
issue, in 2026, the best of the best from the Mint,
which includes in gold without weight and fineness the
designs of, again, the 1916 coins, the High-Relief
Double Eagle, and the 1804 dollar.
And we do that with the two silver
dollars that we're issuing each year.

The Morgan and

the Peace, there's no weight or fineness on that.
they certainly have been robust in their sales.

And
I

don't see the point of weight and fineness on anything
except for bullion coinage.

That's it.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

Mike, thank you very much.
Dr. Harcourt Fuller, if you would,
please.
DR. FULLER:
Mr. Chairperson.

Thank you,

175
I have no substantive comments.

I do

recognize sort of the debate, I guess, if you will,
between Sam and Mike with respect to weight and
fineness.
that.

I don't have an opinion on it outside of

I think the designs are fine.

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you very

much.
Jeanne Stevens-Sollman, if you would,
please.
MS. STEVENS-SOLLMAN:

Yes, thank you,

Mr. Chairperson.
I have to agree with my colleagues.
This is a very lovely coin, and there's nothing I can
add to it, so congratulations.

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you very

much.
Annelisa Purdie, if you would, please.
MS. PURDIE:

Thank you,

Mr. Chairperson.
This is Annelisa Purdie.
are mostly nostalgic.

My comments

I can't believe it's been 25

years since this was initially released and that

176
they're about another, possibly one and a half
generations who don't remember this coin when it was
released.
So even though it is not circulating,
which it would be nice if it were, but I understand
there were mixed feelings about that, the idea that
this is coming back as a commemorative coin is
exciting.
I do agree that the people who were
initially excited about this coin and its debut would
be interested in collecting it as well, and the design
looks fine overall.

She's still got that inscrutable

expression, which I like.
And I'm probably one of the few people
who actually still gets excited to see one of these
Sacagawea Dollars, getting one of these back in
change -- would prefer to exchange them, so, to get
them back and just say, "Everyone, hey.
legal tender.

I actually like these."

Keep the
So that's all

I got.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
much, Annelisa.

Thank you very

177
Kellen Hoard, if you would, please.
MR. HOARD:

Thank you.

This is Kellen Hoard.

I'm one of those

one and a half generations that does not remember
these coming out.

But I have always appreciated

these, and I have no real substantive comments.

I

think it looks great, and I have no opinion placing
fineness.

Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you.

Art Bernstein?
MR. BERNSTEIN:

This is Art Bernstein.

I can see both sides of the issue with regard to
weight and fineness, but I think I lean towards
including it, particularly because this is a coin that
is golden in color with a brass finish.
And I know people frequently who
receive these call me and say, "Hey, I just got a gold
coin."

And I have to say, "Well, actually, it's not

gold; it's brass."

And I think, on this particular

coin, we should err on the side of providing more
information, rather than less.
On a different issue, just to make this

178
more complicated, I wondered if there was any
consideration to changing the monetary value of the
coin.

As I recall, most of the 1/2-ounce gold coins

typically have a value of $25, and I just wondered if
that's something that should've been thought about
with regard to this 1/2 ounce of gold.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Art, thank you

very much.
I do have a quick question following up
on what Art just said.

Are these commemorative coins

going to be struck at the same size as the circulating
Sacagawea Dollars, or will they be a different size
diameter?
MR. VASQUEZ:

Mike Costello, do you

have any specific information on that?
MR. COSTELLO:
larger.

This is --

It'll be slightly

It's a 1/2-ounce gold at 1.063, and our $1 is

1.043, so twenty-thousandths larger.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

they will be virtually the same size.
MR. COSTELLO:
yeah.

Virtually, the same,

So

179
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
right.

All right.

Yeah, all

That's useful information.

Thank

you very much.
I don't have a whole lot to add to this
discussion myself aside from the fact that I agree
with Mike that in the 2016 Gold Commemorative Adolph
Weinman reissues, I do think that the inclusion of the
weight and fineness sort of ruined the whole feel of
designs a little bit, you know.
I understand the importance for some
collectors of this to add it, but I'm not sure that it
would really be that attractive to this and, you know,
might really, in some ways, detract from Glenna
Goodacre's original design and conception here.
All right.

So are there any other

questions or comments from the committee at this time?
All right -MS. PURDIE:

Mr. Chairperson, this is

Annelisa Purdie.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Yeah, Annelisa,

please, go ahead.
MS. PURDIE:

Just a quick comment, I'm

180
very glad that the design stayed the same for this
25th anniversary recoin.

I don't think that it needed

any changes or any modifications somewhat and that the
overall purpose of it is still the same.
reassuring to see.

It's very

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you very

much.
I don't think that we need to score on
this simply because this design has already been in
circulation for a quarter century, and I'm not
entirely sure if the newly-constituted CCAC -- well,
in fact, the CCAC was constituted 20 years ago.
So this predates the CCAC, but whoever
was making recommendations for designs at that time,
25 years ago, had already gone through that process.
So I don't think we need to go through
a scoring process again to score on Glenna Goodacre's
designs here.

So I think we could just move straight

on to a motion if there is a motion from the committee
at this point.

Anyone?
Kellen, I see your hand is raised.
MR. HOARD:

Yeah.

This is Kellen

181
Hoard.

I'll move to recommend this product design.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Okay.

Is there

a second?
MS. STEVENS-SOLLMAN:
Stevens-Sollman.

This Is Jeanne

I'll second the motion.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

So

we have a motion then to recommend the designs as they
stand in the portfolio.

Is there any discussion then

on this motion?
All right.

Then, let us vote on that.

All those in favor of the motion, please signify by
saying "aye."
MULTIPLE SPEAKERS:

Aye.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Any opposed?

Any abstain?
MR. GELBERD:

I abstain, Peter.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
MR. GELBERD:

All right --

-- Sam Gelberd, thank

you.
MR. BERNSTEIN:

And I also abstain;

this is Art Bernstein.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Okay.

Even

182
with those abstentions, the motion does carry.

So

thank you all for this, and we will quickly move on to
our final agenda item, which is to consider potential
concepts and/or themes for Future Native American
$1 Coin Programs.
So, Roger, I'll turn it over to you to
present this.
MR. VASQUEZ:

Thank you, Don.

Sorry,

thank you, Dr. van Alfen.
This is Roger Vasquez.

Each year since

2009, in accordance with Public Law 110-82, the Native
American $1 Coin Act, the United States Mint mints and
issues $1 coins that honor and celebrate important
contributions made by Indian tribes and individual
Native Americans to the development and history of the
United States.
The obverse head side of the coin
retains the depiction of Sacagawea and her infant son,
first used in the 2000 on the Sacagawea Golden Dollar
Coin, while the reverse tail side of the coin depicts
the contribution and changes every year.
There is an approved reverse design

183
selection and approval process for the Native American
$1 Coin Program.
The process requires the Mint to
develop and maintain a pool of design concepts
appropriate for the program with input from the
Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate, the
Congressional Native American Caucus of the House of
Representatives, the National Congress of American
Indians, and other stakeholders.
The Mint works with the Smithsonian
National Museum of the American Indian and other
subject matter experts to verify the concepts as
accurate and appropriate.

In December 2024, the Mint

emailed proposed concepts to CCAC members.
Today, we're asking for you to provide
commentary on the concepts proposed for 2027 and 2028.
The Mint also invites you to propose new concepts to
the pool to expand it for future years.

When sharing

concepts, it is always helpful to know if there are
any significant dates associated with them.
For 2027, the proposed design concept
honors Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte of the Omaha

184
Tribe, who lived from 1865 to 1916.

She's widely

acknowledged as the first Native American woman to
earn a medical degree in the United States, graduating
at the top of her class in 1889.
After earning her degree, she dedicated
her career to providing medical care to the Omaha
Tribal Community.

During her career, Dr. Susan La

Flesche Picotte served more than 1,300 people over
450 square miles, working tirelessly to improve public
health on the reservation.
She campaigned against alcohol
consumption and tuberculosis, and she implemented
various public health measures to improve the overall
well-being of her community.

Near the end of her

life, she built the first hospital on an Indian
reservation that was funded by private funds.
The hospital was named a national
historic landmark in 1993.

It should be noted that

this concept provides an opportunity to highlight the
field of medicine, a first for the Native American
$1 Coin Program.
Also, go on to talk about the proposed

185
concept for 2028 to honor He'e Nalu, also known as
"surfing," a water sport deeply rooted in Native
Hawaiian culture and history in which a person
performs maneuvers on a wave while standing on a
board.
For centuries, Hawaiian men and women
practiced it as a favored pastime, demonstrating one's
physical prowess and mastery of the waves.
Driven by the contributions of Native
Hawaiian surfers, this sport has evolved into a global
industry, retaining its profound cultural heritage and
reverence for the ocean.
Surfing made its Olympic debut at the
2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

In 2028, the United States

will be hosting the Summer Olympics in which surfing
will be a featured sport.
This concept provides an opportunity to
feature a sport whose popularization by Native
Hawaiian surface has had enormous impacts on the
United States while also highlighting native
contribution to sports alongside the Olympics and the
Youth Score -- excuse me, and the Youth Sports

186
Quarters and Paralympics Half Dollars Program.
And that concludes those proposed
concepts, back to you, Dr. van Alfen.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

Roger, thank you very much.
So again, this is essentially just a
discussion.

The Mint is looking for proposals or

commentary on the number of themes and individuals
that was circulated a little bit earlier.
So I will open this discussion then to
begin with Dr. Fuller.
If you would, please, Harcourt Fuller.
DR. FULLER:

Thank you, Mr.

Chairperson.
I'd like, at this moment, to take a -I need to think about it a little bit more.

So if you

could, come circle back to me, thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

I'll do that.

Art Bernstein?
MR. BERNSTEIN:

This is Art Bernstein.

I don't have anything to add to the discussion.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you very

187
much.
Jeanne Stevens-Sollman?
MS. STEVENS-SOLLMAN:
Stevens-Sollman, and I'm sorry.

This is Jeanne

I do not have

anything to add to this right now.

I'd like to come

back to it at a later time in the year.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you.
Thank you very

much.
Annelisa Purdie?
MS. PURDIE:

Thank you, Mr.

Chairperson.
This is Annelisa Purdie.
are brief.

My comments

I do like some of the ideas proposed here.

I also would like to come back to this at a later
point as we get more information.
One thing to potentially look out for
and a question that I have over, in general, is with
the inclusion of surfing and traditionally Native
Hawaiian sports, whether there's a potential issue
with the inclusion of the Native Hawaiian population
with the general American Indian population.
I know that there's been controversy in

188
the past in terms of identification and representation
and whether that would be a potential roadblock to
seeing from the perspective of the Native Hawaiian
people in the future representations of these coins,
so just something to think about.

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Annelisa, thank

you very much for that; I was not aware of that.
Chris Capozzola, if you would, please.
DR. CAPOZZOLA:

Thank you.

This is Chris Capozzola.

I think maybe

I did too much homework for this assignment because I
actually do have a few things I'd like to just share
with the Mint, and then also may be misunderstood the
timeline of what's at stake because it seems as if
2027 and 2028 are largely spoken for.
And so, if when we're looking for
anniversaries in the future, we should be looking, you
know, even further out than that.

I think I would

just say a couple things very briefly, one, a couple
of comments on categories, and then a couple of names
for future consideration.
First, on the point of athletics, I

189
would just remind the Mint that, you know, if all goes
according to plan, we will be engaging in a series of
quarters related to sports starting, you know, after
the semiquincentennial.
And so, while, you know, surfing may
not, you know, fit into that, especially as they're
focused on youth sports, you know, we don't want to
necessarily repeat.

And this was an issue with Maria

Tallchief, who appears both, you know, on a quarter
and then also on a dollar.
And maybe that's not the end of the
world, but I just wanted to flag that.

And similarly,

military, as a category, has, in some ways, already
represented, right, in some ways in the American
Indians in the U.S. Military 2021 Coin.
There are four categories I'd like to
make a pitch for that are not on the list for you
know, future research.

And I defer to, you know, NMAI

and others to actually fill out the list.
But one is transportation, that often
our coins -- recognize innovations in those areas, and
I think that there could be lots of ways that Native

190
American transportation could be depicted.
A second is, of course, religious
expression and religious liberty in Native
communities.

And there are all kinds of individuals

that could be flagged here, like Samson Occom, Luther
Standing Bear, Chief Joseph, Black Elk, and the Ghost
Dance, as a category.
Another category is capitalism and
economic innovation that often Native American history
has told us the story of Native Americans victimized
by U.S. capitalism.

But there are, of course, many,

many Native innovators in business and economics who
could be recognized.
And finally, one I'd make a real pitch
for is law, and again, often, the story of Native
American history is told as the Native Americans
victimized by U.S. law.

But we also have stories of

people sort of fighting back and using the legal
system to advance Native concerns.
And here, I was going to make a pitch
for 2027 as the bicentennial of the Constitution of
the Cherokee Nation.

That ship may have sailed, but

191
two individuals to think -- or two or three
individuals to think of since this -- you know, we
often recognize firsts.
One would be James McDonald, who is
Choctaw, who was recognized as the first Native
American attorney, Eliza or Lyda Conley, a Wyandotte
woman who was the first Native American to argue
before the U.S. Supreme Court, and Margaret Treuer, an
Ojibwe, who was the first Native American woman judge.
And again, I could go on, but I'll
leave it at that.

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:
you very much for doing your homework.

Chris, thank
I think these

are all very good suggestions for future concepts and
themes.
Sam Gelberd?
DR. CAPOZZOLA:

-- if the court

reporter didn't get it, I can send you some notes
later.

Just let me know.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

again, Chris.
Sam Gelberd?

Thank you

192
Sam seems to be frozen at the moment,
so I'll come back to Sam.
Mike Moran?
MR. MORAN:
conclusion here.

I have to draw a parallel

I can remember my first meeting, and

we were going through a quarter design.

And Heidi

Wastweet got done with her presentation, and it was
very thorough, professional.

She's accomplished,

anybody that knows her.
And who does Gary Marks call on next
but me, a brand-new member of the committee?
thought, "Oh, my God."
bad.

And I

And it came off about that

Well, this is the same thing.

It doesn't make a

difference how much time in grade you've got.
You called on me now because Sam
disappeared on us right after Chris' brilliant
presentation.

How in the hell can I say anything

after that that shows any kind of a degree of
intelligence?

No.
I don't have anything to say other

than, Chris, fill in the blanks and give -- some names
on this because it was very well thought out.

And I'm

193
embarrassed to follow you.

That's --

DR. CAPOZZOLA:

For the record, I am

often embarrassed to follow Mike Moran.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you, Mike.
Kellen Hoard?
MR. HOARD:

Sure, thank you.

I really think the two themes that were
recommended for '27 and '28 were great, and I, you
know, am fully behind them.

The name, I would really

like to see raised and the person is Billy Frank, Jr.,
who is from my home state of Washington.
I'm really involved with fishing treaty
rights, but to my knowledge, I'm not sure we've
actually done any individual from the Pacific
Northwest for this Native American Series, which seems
like an oversight to me, especially for someone like
Billy Frank, Jr., who played such an enormous impact
on clarifying treaty rights for Native Americans and
his social activism.
So I would love to see that in the next
couple years, as soon as possible.

He was born in

194
1931.

So I could see, like, a centennial of birth,

but in general, I would like to see that if it's
possible.

Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Kellen, thank

you very much.
Sam, are you unfrozen?
MR. GELBERD:

Yes.

technical difficulties, folks.

Sorry about the

This is Sam Gelberd.

I did not do nearly as much homework as Chris did, but
I did want to add something for the 2028 theme for
surfing.

I am a skateboarder and snowboarder; surfing

is very, very important to me as a sport.
And I know we may include it as one of
the Youth Sports for the upcoming Quarter Series after
the "Semi-Q."

I would just like to put as possible

themes for 2028 if we are going to be doing surfing -and we cannot underestimate how important -- I mean,
we call it a "sport."

But surfing, it's very sacred

in Hawaiian culture.
So if we are going to do it justice, I
think we should probably include a theme with the one
gentleman that really popularized the sport worldwide.

195
And that would be Duke Kahanamoku, also known in some
circles as "The Big Kahuna."
Honolulu from 1932 to 1961.

He was a sheriff of
He was an MP Officer

during World War II.
He really popularized the sport.

I

think he even introduced it to FDR and his family at
one point as well.

So I really think that serious

consideration should be given to Duke Kahanamoku as
the theme for 2028.
If not, as a second choice, perhaps a
big wave surfer, Eddie Aikau, there's a huge contest
named after him that takes place -- actually, it just
happened in Hawaii recently.
So I just want to make sure that if we
are going to be doing He'e Nalu that we really do the
theme justice by including people that have really
popularized the sport worldwide, primarily Duke.
that's all I need to add for right now, Peter.

And

Thank

you.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right,

thank you very much, Sam.
Dr. Fuller, I'll come back to you if

196
you like to add anything at this point.
DR. FULLER:

Yeah, I think at this

point, to be honest with you, I think I really don't
have anything to add.
I think I'm not as versed on the topic
as I should be, and so I think others have already
given excellent advice and opinion, so.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you.
All right,

thank you very much.
For myself, it occurred to me, as a
curator in a numismatic museum that does have a
collection of indigenous currency, that, sort of
touching on to some degree what Chris suggested,
focusing on capitalism, that's perhaps a theme of
currency and exchange of some sort might be worthwhile
pursuing, particularly since I think it would be
really rather interesting to see Native currency on a
coin of some sort, so a little bit -- there, perhaps.
But I'll leave it at that.
Art, I see that your hand is raised.
MR. BERNSTEIN:
Bernstein.

Yes.

This is Art

Peter, in terms of process, I believe

197
you're going to constitute a future new Numismatic
Themes Subcommittee and -CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Of which, you

are Chair, yes.
DR. FULLER:
correct.

Yes.

So my belief is

Maybe this is a matter that since we do have

some time maybe this could be referred to that
subcommittee to consider the items we've already heard
about as well as some future items.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

And I do think

that's a very good idea that this is something that
our Future Themes Subcommittee could work on a bit
more and come up with some proposals later this year.
At this point, I'd like to ask Roger or
any of the other Mint staff if they have any comments
or questions at this point.
MR. VASQUEZ:

No further comments, just

a very big thank you to everyone for weighing in and
appreciate the ideas.

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

It

has been a long day, and I do appreciate everybody's
diligence and attention and participation in this

198
meeting.

We managed to get through a good number of

portfolios, and I think we did it quite well.
And so, at this point, if all
discussion has concluded, I would then like to thank
my colleagues on the CCAC as well as the Mint staff
and the public, as well as our members of the press
who are attending this meeting today.
So all of the upcoming meetings for the
CCAC will, of course, be announced in the Federal
Register, and at this point, I will entertain a motion
to adjourn.
MR. BERNSTEIN:

This is Art Bernstein.

I move that we adjourn.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

Thank you.

Is

there a second?
DR. FULLER:

This is Harcourt Fuller.

I second the motion.
CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

All right.

All

those in favor of this motion, please signify by
saying "aye."
MULTIPLE SPEAKERS:

Aye.

CHAIRPERSON VAN ALFEN:

And do I need

199
to ask are there any opposed?
All right, so the meeting concludes -stands adjourned at 3:19 or 3:20 p.m.
(Meeting adjourned at 3:20 p.m.)

200
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201
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