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YELLOWSTONE PARK Arts panel chooses coin design By MICHAEL MILSTEIN Gazette Wyoming Bureau In a belated birthday present for the nation's first national park, the U.S. Mint in June will issue a commemorative silver dollar marking Yellowstone's 125th anniversary - which took place two years ago. Each coin sold will include a $10 surcharge, $5 of which will go to Yellowstone while the other $5 goes to the National Park Service for use at parks throughout the country. The federal Commission of Fine Arts on Wednesday recommended a design for the coin featuring Old Faithful geyser on the front and the Department of Interior Seal, centered around a buffalo, on the back. The commission rejected the U.S. Mint's proposal that the front of the coin carry an image of a curiously chubby and puzzled-looking black bear with Old Faithful in the background. Under the Mint's proposal, the image of Old Faithful alone that the commission chose for the front would have gone on the back instead, said Sue Kohler, a historian with the commission. "That would have had Old Faithful on both sides," she said. Commission members thought the simple image of the world's best-known geyser was most appropriate for the front of the coin. "The commission liked the design with just Old Faithful - it seemed to represent Yellowstone because that's what people think of when they think about Yellowstone," she said. The commission reviews the designs for all U.S. coins, but its choice is only a recommendation to the secretary of the treasury, who has final say. The secretary usually, but not always, follows the commission's recommendation, Kohler said. U.S. Mint and National Park Service officials will officially issue the new coin June 25, probably in Washington, D.C. The issue date will come about two years and three months after Yellowstone's actual 125th anniversary. Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., sponsored a bill authorizing the Yellowstone coin and Congress passed the bill in 1995. Various delays in developing a design for the coin and backups in commemorative coin production put the release behind schedule, officials said. The legislation authorizes the minting of up to 500,000 coins, but the Mint produces only enough coins to meet demand and typically no more than 200,000 of a single coin design are produced. Although the price of the coin will not be set until its official release, each coin will probably sell for $30 to $40, including the $10 surcharge to be returned to Yellowstone and the National Park Service. Proof coins, which are struck with specially polished dies so they have a mirror finish, will be slightly more expensive than basic uncirculated coins that will also be produced. If 200,000 coins are produced and sold, they would earn $2 million to be split between the park and the Park Service. The Yellowstone coin will be available from the U.S. Mint by mail order and will probably be for sale in stores in and around Yellowstone, too, said Mint spokesman Michael White.
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