African-American Lady Liberty to Grace $100 Coin

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January 15, 2017

A new commemorative coin will she Lady Liberty as an African-American woman, a first for the United States.

On the coin face, a crown of stars holds back Lady Liberty's hair. On the reverse is an eagle in flight.

The U.S. Mint and Treasury will create 100,000 of the 24-carat gold coins, which will have one ounce and have a face value of $100. The coins will sell for far more than face value, the Mint said, primarily because of the price of gold, which in early January 2017 was $1,000 an ounce; commemorative coins tend to sell for a higher price anyway.

An additional 100,000 silver reproductions of the coin's face will sell for $50.

The new coins, which will help commemorate the 225th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Mint, will be on sale from April 6. The Mint said that it would issue new designs every two years, with coins in future years depicting Lady Liberty as an Asian woman, a Latina, and a Native American woman.

The only other coin that depicts a nonwhite person and is still in circulation is the Sacagawea dollar, which depicts the Native American woman who helped Meriwether Lewis and William Clark complete their exploration of the newly acquired Louisiana Territory, reach the Pacific Ocean, and return safely home.

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