Baseball-themed commemorative coins will be issued by the U.S. Treasury for one year beginning on January 1, 2014, The Numismatist magazine reports in its September issue. President Obama signed the National Commemorative Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act (PL 112–152) into law on August 3.
The legislation authorizes the Treasury to produce three denominations in honor of the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and stipulates the maximum number of coins — half dollars (750,000), one-dollar silver coins (400,000), and five-dollar gold coins (50,000).
The designs of the gold and silver pieces will include a concave obverse, to suggest the spherical shape of a baseball, and a convex reverse.
The legislation was sponsored by Representative Richard Hanna (R., N.Y.), whose district includes Cooperstown. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.) introduced similar legislation in the Senate.
— William Van Ornum is professor of psychology at Marist College and director of research at American Mental Health Foundation.