The throwback design being featured on the coins this year is truer to both the president's appearance and his widow's wishes, mint officials say. Mint officials had begun discussing a Kennedy coin shortly after his death and were able to show his widow and brother Robert Kennedy trial strikes of the coin within a month after the assassination. The evolution of JFK's profile in coinage was noticed last year by San Francisco mint employee Michael Levin, who convinced higher-ups that the original design was fuller and more lifelike. By spotlighting a popular president and the work of an engraver esteemed in the coin world, the mint is guaranteeing interest in the anniversary products, said Douglas Mudd, curator and director of the Money Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado.