2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coin Program Three–Coin Proof Set.
A century ago, Father Edward Flanagan rented an old Victorian–style mansion to give displaced children a home. His boys home, which became “Boys Town,” was founded on December 12, 1917. Each year more than 2 million children and families benefit from Boys Town Programs.
The obverse of the $5 gold coin features a portrait of Father Flanagan. Inscriptions include “BOYS TOWN CENTENNIAL,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” “FR. EDWARD FLANAGAN,” “LIBERTY,” and “2017.” The reverse features an outstretched hand holding a young oak tree growing from an acorn. As stated in the idiom “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow,” this design represents the potential of each child helped by Boys Town to grow into a productive, complete adult. Inscriptions include “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “THE WORK WILL CONTINUE,” “FIVE DOLLARS,” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”
The obverse of the silver dollar features a young girl sitting alone and gazing upward into the branches of an oak tree looking for help. The empty space around the girl is deliberate and meant to show the child’s sense of loneliness, isolation, and helplessness. Inscriptions include “BOYS TOWN,” “When you help a child today...,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” “LIBERTY,” and “1917–2017.” The reverse features an oak tree offering shelter and a sense of belonging to the family holding hands below it, which includes the girl from the obverse. Inscriptions include “…you write the history of tomorrow,” “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “ONE DOLLAR,” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”
The obverse of the half dollar features an older brother holding the hand of his younger brother in 1917. They walk toward Father Flanagan’s Boys Home and the 1940s Pylon representing what would become Boys Town. Inscriptions include “BOYS TOWN,” “1917,” “2017,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” “LIBERTY,” and “Saving Children.” The reverse features a present–day Boys Town neighborhood of homes where children are schooled and nurtured by caring families. Out of these homes come young adults who graduate from high school and the Boys Town program. Inscriptions include “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” “Healing Families,” and “HALF DOLLAR.”
