SIDNEY — Time is getting closer for the 200th celebration of the founding of the city of Sidney.
In conjunciton with the celebration — which will begin in 2020 — the Sidney-Shelby County Bicentennial Committee has released Sidney’s Bicentennial logo design.
“For some of the same reasons that were part of our consideration when we selected the logo for Shelby County’s Bicentennial, we wanted to create a logo that was red, white and blue, provided basic information including the year Sidney came into existence (1820) and the bicentennial year (2020),” Shelby County Commissioner/Bicentennial Committee Co-Chair Bob Guillozet said.
“The logo design also contains the verbiage that has described Sidney for several decades — ‘Gateway to the Miami Valley,’” Guillozet said. “We also wanted to recognize that Sidney is the county seat of Shelby County, have a high-impact design that was celebratory in nature and one that is easily recognizable. I think we accomplished all of that, largely through the design talents of Mary Beth Monnier.”
The same sub-committee that designed the logo also designed the coin that will be minted. Guillozet noted the design will be unveiled at next Tuesday’s meeting of the Bicentennial Committee.
“Our meeting was rescheduled because of the conflict with Election Day,” Guillozet said. “As a result, if we wanted the coins in time for Christmas, we needed to push forward because of the time the mint needs to prepare the dies. It was the consensus that we wanted the coins delivered prior to Christmas.”
The coin is expected to be 1.54-inches in diameter, with the face of the coin using the same design as the logo which features the clock tower of the Shelby County Courthouse and the words “County seat for Shelby County Ohio 200 Years.”
The obverse side of the coin contains an image of the massive Big Four Bridge that dominates the south end of Sidney and the words “Gateway to the Miami Valley.” The design is currently in the hands of the engravers at Osborne Coinage in Cincinnati, who will produce proof coins for inspection before producing the initial run of 250 coins.
Osborne Coinage is the oldest private mint in America. Established in 1835, Osborne Coinage has produced coins for both public and private use. In 1860, when Illinois Senator Abraham Lincoln decided to run for president, the company provided him with inexpensive campaign coins to give away during his campaigns in both 1860 and 1864. Osborne made coins for eight other presidential campaigns including those of Ulysses Grant and Franklin Roosevelt.
“We were quite happy with the quality of the coins Osborne produced for Shelby County’s Bicentennial,” Sidney Mayor/Bicentennial Committee Co-Chair Mike Barhorst said. “There was really no reason to look further.”
“I want to thank my colleagues on the committee for their effort to develop a design that will stand the test of time,” Barhorst said. “I especially want to thank Mary Beth Monnier and the staff of Creative Marketing Strategies for their patience in taking our ideas and adapting them. I’m not sure how many designs were proposed before we finally settled on the final design, but it has taken months. I think the end product is well worth the time that was spent creating the design.”
The coins can be pre-ordered by picking up a form at the Sidney offices of Mutual Federal Saving Bank, Peoples Federal Savings & Loan, the Shelby County Historical Society, or Sidney City Hall. The coins are $50 each, and come encased in a protective plastic capsule. Coins will be available for pickup on Dec. 17. Coins reserved but not picked up by Dec. 23 will be sold on a first-come, first served basis.
“In addition to the limited edition coins, we are offering a jeweler’s case that can hold two coins for those who purchased a Shelby County Bicentennial coin and may want to purchase a case to display both coins together,” Barhorst said. “Those deluxe, black velvet, two-coin boxes are just $5 each.”
Sidney’s Bicentennial Celebration will formally begin on March 14 at the Cameo Theatre. Additional information will be released soon about the opening ceremonies.
Other events include the return of the Vietnam Traveling Wall (May 13-17), a Fourth of July Parade and fireworks (July 4), and the biennial Civil War Living History Weekend (Sept. 19-20). Sidney will host the regional Tree City USA awards luncheon (April 17), the first ever Mayor’s Breakfast for the Boy Scouts of America (May 6), the Sidney Arts & Music Festival (June 19-20), the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure (June 21-27), a tour of city churches (Oct. 17-18), and a host of other events.
“We plan to celebrate Water Week (April 25-May 2), Wastewater Week (May 3-9), Police Week (May 10-16), and Fire Week (Oct. 6-12),” Barhorst said. “We plan to close the near year-long celebration with a Charter Day celebration on Jan. 2, 2021, an event that will celebrate the origins of modern Sidney with the voters passing the City Charter that established the City Manager Form of Government.”
