In the News

PHILADELPHIA — Julius Erving and fellow basketball hall-of-famer Sheryl Swoopes struck fear in the opposition on the court.

On Tuesday, they struck coins at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, unveiling a special commemorative coin expected to raise as much as $10 million for Springfield’s Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Hall of Fame president and CEO John Doleva was there as well, along with U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield.

“I actually struck a coin,” Neal said by phone. “So it was pretty neat. It will be a substantial fundraiser for the Hall of Fame. It’s just a limited edition of commemorative coins.”

The Mint only makes two commemorative designs a year, and only offers them in limited quantities. It created the coins to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Hall of Fame’s founding in 1959.

The Mint will produce and issue up to 50,000 $5 gold coins, 400,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 half–dollar clad coins. Surcharges collected from coin sales—$35 for each gold coin, $10 for each silver coin, and $5 for each half–dollar coin— go to the Hall of Fame.

Each is dome shaped, like the Hall of Fame building itself.

Some of the Hall of Fame coins will be the first-ever colorized coins produced by the Mint. Coins with proof and uncirculated finishes will go on sale April 4, and the colorized versions of the silver and clad coins will go on sale at a later date.

The Philadelphia Mint was established under President George Washington in 1792 making circulating coins as well as bullion, medals and commemorative coins.

“Being at the U.S. Mint was momentous,” Neal said.

Philadelphia is also where Erving, known as “Dr. J," presided over a hoops dynasty as a 76er. He played college basketball at the University of Massachusetts Amherst before going pro with the ABA’s Virginia Squires, the New York Nets and then Philadelphia.

“I saw him play at UMass,” Neal said. “I saw him play at AIC.”

Erivng, Neal said, remembered playing against American International College’s Henry Payne, who recently had his jersey retired by the Yellowjackets.

Swoopes is a three-time Olympic gold medalist and was the first player selected at the beginning of the WNBA. She was enshrined at the Hall of Fame in Springfield in 2016.

Neal said her remarks Tuesday were very moving, as she talked about her childhood in Texas and how much her membership in the Hall of Fame means to her.

James Naismith created basketball at a Springfield YMCA gymnasium in 1891, hanging peach baskets as he searched for ways to keep students active in the winter.

The obverse, or “heads” design of the coin features three players reaching for the ball as one, reflecting how the sport of basketball has brought together diverse people around the world through a simple, universal, and unifying athletic experience, the Mint said. One player uses a wheelchair and one player is female.

Their arms are slightly elongated to emphasize the full exertion of physical and mental energy required to excel in the sport. The rim and net are subtle background design elements complementing the three players.

The reverse, or “tails” design depicts a basketball about to pass through the net.

Commemorative coins must be authorized by federal law. This coin was a three-year effort sponsored by Neal and by U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican whose district includes hoops powerhouse the University of Kentucky. Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey and the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, a well known as a basketball fan, were the sponsors in the Senate.

The bill passed unanimously in the House and Senate and was signed into law Dec. 21 by President Donald J. Trump.

Commemorative coins have raised $425 million in surcharges since the modern commemorative coin program began in 1982, the Mint said. The money has helped build new museums and maintain monuments like the Vietnam War Memorial, preserve historical sites like George Washington’s home, support various Olympic programs and to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.

The basketball shrine is closed now for a $20 million interior renovation and update, the result of a $30-million capital campaign.