The United States Mint unveiled designs for silver dollars commemorating the 100th anniversary of America’s involvement in the First World War. The ceremonial unveiling happened Oct. 9 during the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

World War I American Veterans Centennial Silver Dollars will be released in numismatic qualities of proof and uncirculated with up to 350,000 available through calendar year 2018.

Officials at the ceremony included Under Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, U.S. World War I Centennial Commission Chair Robert Dalessandro, World War I re-enactors, and Thomas Johnson, Chief of Corporate Communications for the United States Mint.

"Our team at the U.S. Mint is proud to have the honor of crafting the coin that will commemorate the contributions and the history made by American men and women — of all walks of life — who bravely stepped forward 100 years ago to defend the interests of the nation and that of her allies," Johnson said.

LeRoy Transfield of Orem, Utah, created the designs while now retired United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart sculpted them. They were selected by the Treasury Secretary based on winning designs from a juried competition. Judges included three members from the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee and three members from the Commission of Fine Arts, as required by Public Law 113-212.

Transfield’s obverse or heads side design, titled "Soldier’s Charge," depicts an almost stone-like soldier gripping a rifle. Barbed wire twines appear in the lower right-hand side. Inscriptions are LIBERTY, 1918, 2018, and IN GOD WE TRUST. Poppies have been used since 1921 to commemorate soldiers who have died in war.

The barbed wire design continues onto Transfield’s reverse design, which is titled "Poppies in the Wire." It shows abstract poppies mixed in with the wire. Inscriptions include ONE DOLLAR, E PLURIBUS UNUM, and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Surcharges of $10 will be collected on the sale of each commemorative coin with proceeds, after associated costs, paid to the United States Foundation for the Commemoration of the World Wars to assist the World War I Centennial Commission in memorializing the centenary of the war.

The U.S. Mint in 2018 will also produce and sell silver medals honoring the Army (see Army medal designs), Navy (see Navy medal designs), Air Service (see Air Service medal designs), Marines (see Marines medal designs) and Coast Guard (see Coast Guard medal designs). Their designs have yet to be revealed.