The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s 60th anniversary will be the subject of a new United States Mint coin with sales benefitting their various programs.
Professional Coin Grading Service is partnering with the Hall on the project.
The planned $5 denomination gold, $1 silver and 50-cent clad coins to be struck by the U.S. Mint will be legal tender and similar to coins issued a few years ago in conjunction with the Baseball hall of Fame.
PCGS will be creating customized designs for encapsulation inserts in conjunction with the Springfield, Mass.-based museum.
According to the Mint, the dome-shaped coins will be curved to resemble a basketball. The obverse will feature three basketball players – a woman and two men, one of which is a Paralympian in a wheelchair — and all are laying up the same basketball. The reverse depicts a ball going into a hoop.
Sales from the Basketball Hall of Fame’s official anniversary coin – which launches next spring – could provide significant fundraising opportunities for the Hall. The Mint’s program calls for the production of up to 50,000 gold coins, 400,000 silver coins and 750,000 clad coins.
“It is an honor for Collectors Universe to work with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on this 2020 commemorative coin project,” stated Collectors Universe CEO Joe Orlando. “Not only do we believe this specially designed coin will appeal to the numismatic and sports collector communities alike domestically, the worldwide popularity of the sport opens the door to international opportunities. In addition to creating customized designs to enhance the presentation of these coins, we intend on using the power of our leading PCGS and PSA brands to help broaden the appeal of these collector items.”
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame President and CEO John Doleva added: “The funds generated will allow us to bolster our educational programs and ever-growing portfolio of events nationwide.”
The Hall of Fame is authorized to receive surcharges from the sale of the coins in the amount of $35 per gold coin, $10 per silver and $5 per clad.