For the first time ever, the US Mint has minted a $100 gold coin with the embossment of a black woman on its side to celebrate the Mint’s 225th anniversary, the New York Times reveals. The 24-karat gold coin was unveiled within the Department of the Treasury’s Cash Room in Washington, DC.
The African-American woman embossed on the $100 24-karat gold coin is now known as the Lady Liberty.
Rhett Jeppson, Mint Principal Deputy Director, revealed that a white woman had always been used as the face of Lady Liberty on American gold coins since the 1790s – but having now featured a black woman, other gold coin series will later feature Asian, Indian and Hispanic American women to “reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of the United States” and the American people.
This commemorative coin will be released to the public on April 6 and produced every two years.
The original Lady Liberty was a gift statute given by France to the United States in 1886 and now erected at the New York Harbour. It symbolized freedom to millions of people coming into America through the harbour and reflects the warmness with which even refugees would be accepted with a beacon lamp held aloft in the air.
Jeppson noted that the reason behind the Lady Liberty gold coin is to honour American heritage and traditions among other cultural values.
It must however be cautioned that members of the public mustn’t expect to have the gold coin in their hands for store purchases. Only 100,000 gold coins with the Lady Liberty image on them will be minted and they will only be for collectors. However, it won’t sell at the face value of $100; it will be much costlier than that since an ounce of gold currently sells for over $1,000 in the gold market.
And again, not only gold coins will be manufactured this time; about 100,000 of silver medals with the image of the Lady Liberty will also be produced with each of them selling for between $40 and $50.
According to Reuters, the revenue made from the sales of the Lady Liberty gold coins will be remitted back to the Treasury. Just last year, about $600 million made in gold coins sales was remitted to the government. Collectors know what they ought to do to get their hands on the gold coins when they are released for sales on April 6.