National Baseball Hall of Fame $1 Silver Commemorative Coin

The U.S. Mint released the National Baseball Hall of Fame $1 Silver Coin as part of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Program in 2014. It celebrates the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s 75th anniversary. The program includes a $5 gold coin, $1 silver coin, and a half dollar clad coin with the same obverse and reverse designs. A public design competition decided the common obverse.

Curved, Not Flat

The National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coins have a shape such that the obverse is concave and the reverse is convex. These are the first curved coins ever minted by the U.S. Mint. In 1973, the Mint did produce a curved Congressional Gold Medal in honor of Roberto Walker Clemente, the late Pittsburgh Pirates star right fielder.

The National Baseball Commemorative Coin Act specifically refers to modeling the coins after the convex/concave 2009 International Year of Astronomy Coins minted and issued by the Monnaie de Paris (French Mint). The United States Mint’s National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coins were also closely modeled after the Royal Australian Mint’s Southern Cross curved coins.

Research and development on the curved National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coins is unprecedented in recent U.S. Mint history. It covered height of relief limitations; milling, turning and grinding operations; coinability issues; laser frosting and proof polishing; and proof, uncirculated and clad test strikes.

During the planning phase for the minting and production of its first-ever curved coins, the Royal Australian and Perth Mints provided valuable technical insight to the United States Mint.