Goal: To create a coin that reflects pop culture from a specific decade in the past 500 years.

Role: Historian and Artist

Audience: The U.S. Mint

Situation: Imagine the U.S. Mint is planning to make a pop culture coin to represent each decade for the past 500 years (1520s–2020s). They have asked you to research a specific decade and create a coin to represent that era. They define pop culture as “things that are popular in society at a given time.”

Product: A coin design celebrating the pop culture of one of the decades from the past 500 years.

Task: Create a coin design by completing the following steps:

Look at examples of current pop culture coins by clicking through the following links:

- U.S. Mint Superheroes
- Dr. Seuss Coins
- New Zealand Mint New Releases

Pick a decade (10-year period) from the past 500 years (e.g., 1920s, 1970s, 1580s, 1770s).

Investigate what happened during your chosen decade, specifically focusing on pop culture:

- What kind of music was popular?
- What kind of clothing was popular?
- Who were the most influential people of the period?
- Were there any new inventions?

Design a coin (front and back, known as obverse and reverse) that represents the time period you have chosen. Include the following information:

- Design(s)/Images
- Year
- Denomination (how much the coin is worth)
- At least one inscription (phrase)

Answer the following questions using the online submission form:

- What decade did you choose?
- What is depicted on your coin?

Write one paragraph (3–5 sentences) explaining how your design represents the pop culture of the time period you chose.

Submission deadline is May 1, 2025.