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The United States Mint is thrilled to announce that our American Liberty 225th Anniversary Gold Coin™ has won its category for “Best Gold Coin” of 2019! The panel of international judges convened by Krause Publications made its selections from coins issued two years prior to the year of the award.
To take home a Coin of the Year category award is an exceptional achievement. Our talented Sculptor-Engravers and Artistic Infusion Program Artists deserve recognition for this accomplishment. The American Liberty 225th Anniversary Gold Coin’s obverse was designed by Justin Kunz and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill; the reverse was designed by Chris Costello and sculpted by Michael Gaudioso.
While this coin debuted in 2017 on the 225th Anniversary of the United States Mint, it is currently available for purchase. Bring home your very own award-winning coin design today!
This design is also available on our 2018 American Liberty One-Tenth Ounce Gold Proof Coin™
The one ounce gold coin is accompanied by a companion book that provides history and insight on the evolution of our Nation’s depictions of Liberty on coins.
LIBERTY’S ORIGINS
Early artists depicted Liberty with classically–inspired European features and symbols, but the methods and tools available at that time limited the complexity of the designs. As the Nation evolved, so did depictions of Liberty on coins, and over time Liberty’s personifications reflected changes in the country. In addition to the advancing minting techniques that made more intricate designs possible, world events heavily influenced the way Liberty was depicted.
In times of war, Liberty became a defender with a shield; in times of peace, Liberty was depicted having traded the shield for an olive branch. Over time artists began to create images of Liberty with North American symbols like cotton and wheat or wearing a Native American headdress. Liberty’s imagery incorporated the Nation’s own history and attributes in addition to those of the Classical and French Revolutionary eras, and began to serve as a more fully developed icon of our national identity.
“We will not forget that Liberty has here made her home;
nor shall her chosen altar be neglected.”
– President Grover Cleveland, speech accepting the Statue of Liberty from France in 1886