Who designed the Liberty Bell-and-Moon reverse of the 1976 Bicentennial dollar?

Dennis R. Williams designed the Liberty Bell-and-Moon reverse of the 1976 United States Bicentennial dollar. His composition placed the Liberty Bell in front of the Moon, creating one of the most distinctive U.S. circulating coin designs.

Williams was 21 when he won the dollar category in the nationwide competition organized for the Bicentennial coinage. He was an art student and had originally created the design as a class assignment. The Mint later made small changes for production, including adjustments to lettering and the bell’s lower edge.

The dollar retained Dwight D. Eisenhower’s portrait on the obverse. Its reverse differed from the other Bicentennial denominations: the quarter used a colonial drummer, while the half dollar showed Independence Hall. All three coins displayed the double date 1776–1976.

The Moon is sometimes mistaken for a star or another celestial symbol. It was deliberately part of Williams’s design, set behind the Liberty Bell as a visual pairing of national history and the modern space age.