BELFAST — A coin designed for the U.S. Mint by Belfast graphic designer Gary Cooper has been dubbed the 2021 Coin of the Year. 

The Coin of the Year program, in its 38th year, is an internationally conducted competition presented by World Coin News to recognize outstanding coin design and innovation worldwide with worldwide judges analyzing coins across 10 competition categories. 

“In the first round of COTY voting by category, the United States Mint 5-ounce Apollo 11 dollar received twice as many votes in Best Contemporary Event as its closest competitor," said Tom Michael, COTY coordinator, World Coin News contributor and market analyst. “It was nominated again in the Best Silver Coin category, where the voting was much more competitive, so I think the event itself was the most significant factor in early voting. However, I am sure that theme, design and challenging production must all have factored into the judges' decisions on the final vote for overall Coin of the Year, where voting was quite competitive.”

The Belfast artist won a 2018 contest sponsored by the U.S. Mint to produce a design to be featured on a commemorative coin ahead of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. 

Artists were not permitted to depict astronauts or any copyrighted items such as such as logos or verbal attributions to astronauts.

“I knew right from the start that my design would center around the iconic boot footprint photo taken by astronaut Buzz Aldrin,” Cooper recalled during a recent interview about conceptualizing his winning design. “The photo itself was illuminated by stark sunlight on an airless moon landscape. I wanted to depict the footprint in full sculptural 3D and as though the viewer was standing directly above it. To get this effect I needed to imagine what details would be required inside those black shadowy areas. The lunar eclipse in August 2017 was the inspiration for the “MERCURY-GEMINI-APOLLO” border inscription (with intervening phases of the moon) leading up to the moment of July 20, 1969.” 

His submission, ultimately, impressed the judges who decided to award him the $5,000 award for his winning design (which was in addition to $500 for the initial design proposal). 

“To say that I was stunned and in utter disbelief at the time would be understatement,” said Cooper, of being the grand prize winner. “To at last have realized success and for the commemoration of a momentous event in world history was both gratifying and humbling.” 

Cooper spent about a month perfecting the coin’s design working through a plethora of design drawings, revisions and refinements. Shortly after winning the competition, the U.S. Mint asked Cooper to create two additional designs to help conform with their technical requirements for successful striking of the coins in four sizes.

“NASA’s 1960’s space programs for me remain a stellar example of how a country united in its culture can accomplish incredible and daring feats when fully committed working together for the long haul in getting the job done,” Cooper said. “My hope is a sense of national pride and purpose exemplified with the space programs could redevelop and emerge to face the serious challenges ahead in the 21st century.” 

Since childhood, Cooper has had a passion for being an artist, and earned his bachelor’s of fine arts in graphic and industrial design from the Kansas City Art Institute. 

The opportunity to design a coin for the U.S. Mint was a long time coming for Cooper who had offered, to no avail, his design services to the U.S. Mint while a high school student in 1971 when the organization was working to create an Eisenhower dollar. He also attempted to have his designs selected for the Sacagawea golden dollar in 1998, the State of Maine Quarter in 2001 and the State of Maryland and State of Texas quarter designs. 

He also came close to having a coin chosen for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Cooper’s design, entitled “Dad’s baseball glove”, for the Hall’s 2014 commemorative coin competition received runner-up honors. 

Cooper won a design competition, in 2001, for a bronze plaque honoring Maine Vietnam Veterans for the Hall of Flags in Augusta. 

In subsequent years, he has been commissioned by the State of Maine to create bronze plaques for Maine’s Korean, World War II and Women Veterans and the current Maine Honorable Service medal.