For the first time ever, Lady Liberty will appear as an African-American woman on a new U.S. coin, which goes on sale April 6. The coin, which commemorates the 225th anniversary of the U.S. Mint’s coin production, will be 24-karat gold and weigh about an ounce according to a statement released today.
The medallion is the first in a series of gold coins that will showcase Lady Liberty reimagined from various backgrounds, representing Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Indian-Americans and others “to reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of the United States,” according to the Mint. Released biennially, the coins will also be available in 0.999 silver.
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These are not for spending, of course. Though the new coin will have a face value of $100, and there will be a run of 100,000 of them, The New York Times points out that “they will sell for far more than face value, depending on the value of gold, currently more than $1,000 an ounce.”
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The new coin is a move from the Treasury Department, as they said in a statement, to “look to the future by casting Liberty in a new light, as an African-American woman wearing a crown of stars, looking forward to ever-brighter chapters in our nation’s history book.”
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