Images of the upcoming 2015-W $100 American Liberty High Relief Gold Coin made an appearance this week on the United State Mint’s website.
They confirm selections of the designs recommended earlier this year by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee and endorsed by the Commission of Fine Arts. They also reflect some suggested changes.
Key specifications of the coin include a high relief, a composition in one ounce of 24-karat gold to .9999 purity, and a $100 face value. Images of the original candidate designs showed denominations of $75, which would have marked a first for a U.S. coin. The Mint has issued $100 coins since 1997 with its series of American Platinum Eagles.
Designed by Justin Kunz and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill, obverses offer a depiction of Lady Liberty with a torch held upright in her right hand and an American flag on staff in her left. The U.S. Mint adopted CCAC recommended changes to the flag’s staff, changing its angle as to not run into wording. Inscriptions include LIBERTY, 2015, IN GOD WE TRUST and the artists’ initials.
Reverses feature an eagle design that was praised and first presented as an option for the 2015-W $5 U.S. Marshals 225th Anniversary Gold Coin. It was also the CCAC’s choice in a proposed idea for a new American Silver Eagle reverse. The olive branch below the eagle was reduced in size compared to the original design, as recommended by the CCAC.
Inscriptions include UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, 1 OZ. .9999 FINE GOLD, ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS, the West Point Mint’s "W" mint mark, and the initials of the designer Paul C. Balin and sculptor Don Everhart.
These same obverse and reverse designs, excluding many of the inscriptions, will appear later this year on a one-ounce, .999 pure high relief silver medal.
Not all of the CCAC’s recommendations made the cut. Members had wanted an inscription of "One Union" followed by "$100" for the gold coin’s denomination.
Mintages, possible ordering limits and a release date remain unknown. The U.S. Mint on Tuesday published the coin’s online product page that initially showed it would launch on July 23, 2015. The page has since been removed and the release date was an error.
"An erroneous message appeared on the United States Mint website regarding the 2015 American Liberty High Relief Gold Coin," said Adam Stump, deputy director of the U.S. Mint’s Office of Corporate Communications. "The on sale date has not yet been established. More information will be available in the coming days. We regret the error."
Pricing of the $100 gold piece will change weekly depending on the gold market with the opening price established the Wednesday before its release.
