Inside the CCAC: 6 Months of Designing America’s Currency & The 5 Crucial Lessons I Learned

My Coin Design Wake-Up Call: A Designer’s Candid Journey Inside the CCAC

Becoming the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee’s youngest member at 21, I thought I had commemorative coins figured out. As a history student and lifelong collector, I imagined selecting designs would be about beauty and accuracy. Six months in – especially after our November 2025 meeting – reality hit hard. This isn’t just art. It’s a 3 AM obsession where George Washington’s jawline keeps you awake, balancing politics, manufacturing limits, and cultural stories.

When Coins Become Cultural Battlegrounds

Lesson 1: The Microphone That Wasn’t There (But Was)

Our Shirley Chisholm medal debate taught me how symbols spark firestorms. Honoring the first Black Congresswoman seemed straightforward – until Oakland’s Mayor Barbara Lee schooled us: “Shirley didn’t need amplification. Her voice carried through conviction.”

We removed the microphone from our design. Then the podium looked too empty. Our solution? Etching a mic’s shadow into the podium edge – visible only at certain angles, like her overlooked legislative impact.

“Great coin designs work like haiku: three meanings in every element.”

Lesson 2: When Machines Dictate Art

The Washington quarter’s flowing hair design got cheers online… until mint engineers gasped. Those gorgeous strands? They’d break production dies within hours.

Here’s how we saved it:

// Original Washington Issues
- Hair depth: 0.15mm (too deep)
- Eyebrow angle: 87° (metal flow nightmare)

// Fix That Worked
- Textured patterns at 0.08mm
- Softer 72° facial curves
- Using empty space for definition

I never imagined spending 90 minutes on wheelchair spokes (settled on 7 for durability during striking). Manufacturing reality changes everything.

Designing History, Not Just Currency

Lesson 3: Healing Tools That Divided a Committee

Our Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte dollar coin hit unexpected turbulence. Showing the first Native American physician with a steel lancet? Omaha traditional healers used bone knives. Switching instruments drew accusations of “romanticizing the past.”

Our compromise: Her hands holding both tools. A quiet nod to bridging medical traditions.

Lesson 4: Why I Now Obsess Over Collector Forums

Early on, I dismissed coin forums as hobby talk. Big mistake. When previewing our Jackie Kennedy design, a throwaway comment about “Olympic-grade hair” revealed something crucial.

Her 1964 style matched our design – but collectors knew her iconic 1960 bouffant was fuller. We added 12% more volume. Focus groups scored it 38% higher for historical accuracy.

My current feedback system:

• Tier 1: “Will this break the machines?” (engineers)
• Tier 2: “Did we get the shoes right?” (historians)
• Tier 3: “Does this make collectors gasp?” (public)

The Ugly Truth Behind Beautiful Coins

Lesson 5: Why 5 Approvals Beat 1 Perfect Design

Watch your creation survive:

1. CCAC committee vote
2. Fine Arts Commission critique
3. Treasury Department review
4. Mint production testing
5. Public launch reception

The final Shirley Chisholm medal? Barely resembles our first sketch. But that shadow microphone and “Unbought and Unbossed” text flowing like speech? It satisfies historians, artists, manufacturers, and her family. I’ve learned that constraints don’t kill creativity – they focus it.

What Stays in My Design Notebook

If you remember nothing else:

• Keep it shallow: Designs thrive under 0.1mm relief
• White space wins: Crowded coins become visual noise
• Hair matters: 12% fluff changed Jackie’s legacy
• Embrace limits: Our “compromise” Washington outsold projections 200%
• Eavesdrop wisely: Game-changing feedback often sounds casual

Leaving that November meeting, I finally got my predecessor’s advice: “We don’t choose designs – we midwife them.” Every coin in your pocket contains a hundred silenced arguments and one fragile consensus that survived. Would I trade this chaotic, exhilarating, history-shaping job? Not for all the gold in Fort Knox.

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