This article presents photos of a 2017 American Liberty High Relief Gold Coin, the United States Mint’s flagship 225th anniversary product.
Released on April 6, the West Point Mint-struck piece is composed from an ounce of 99.99% fine gold and bears a collector proof finish.
The gold coin introduces a new biennial design series where Liberty reflects the cultural and ethnic diversity of the United States. Forthcoming coins will show Lady Liberty portrayed as an Asian-American, Hispanic-American, and Indian-American among others, according to the U.S. Mint.
This first coin depicts Liberty rendered as an African-American woman wearing a crown of five-pointed stars. The reverse (tails) shows an eagle in flight, with eyes toward opportunity and a determination to attain it. Here’s a pair of photos showing both coin sides:
The crown of stars pays homage to the bronze Statue of Freedom topping the dome of the U.S. Capitol.
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This next photo offers a larger view of the coin’s eagle-in-flight reverse.
Proof coins feature frosted designs and mirror-like backgrounds. The coin’s proof finish and laser frosting levels are hard to capture in photos, made more difficult by its high-relief format which throws around a lot of angled light. The following video offers a better showing of how the finish looks under light:
This collectible is actually the Mint’s very first high-relief $100 coin with a proof finish. The U.S. Mint’s first $100 American Liberty launched in 2015. It features a "business strike" finish, with photos of one here:
Back to the newest coin… below are close-ups of the coin’s edge. It’s unique with three separated sets of raised edge inscriptions reading ★ 225th ANNIVERSARY ★. The first photo is of an edge straight on while the second photo is a topside view.
High-relief $100 American Liberty’s are a bit smaller but a tad thicker than other 1-ounce gold pieces, like the American Eagle and Buffalo gold coins. These two photos offer visual comparisons:
Available from the U.S. Mint right here, pricing of the 2017 $100 American Liberty is $1,640.00. That can change depending on the weekly average of LBMA gold. (It also launched on April 6 at $1,640.00.) The coin’s mintage limit is 100,000. It sales reached about 19% of the possible through the end of April.
These next two photos show a coin standing upright, which also highlights that each are encapsulated for protection.
Each ships within a black lacquered hardwood presentation case, and is accompanied by a booklet detailing the evolution of Lady Liberty. Below are photos of the coin’s packaging, its presentation case and the booklet.
Later in 2017, the United States Mint will release .999 fine silver medal versions of the gold coin. Five of them are expected with two from the Philadelphia Mint (proof and reverse proof); one from the San Francisco Mint (proof); one from the Denver Mint (uncirculated); and one from the West Point Mint (enhanced uncirculated).
Last year, the Mint issued two silver medals bearing the same design as the 2015 American Liberty gold coin. The two were proofs, with one from West Point and the other from San Francisco. Both sold out within minutes.
In ending, below are a few more CoinNews photos of the coin under varying lighting conditions.
Mike Unser –
Thanks for the great article!
With sales of only 20,087 coins so far, this gold coin seems destined to be a rarity. I love my gold “black beauty” coin, even if the majority of collectors & dealers passed on this one due to racism.
The current price of this gold coin is $1640, not $1690 as stated in this article (it went up to $1690 a few weeks ago & dropped by $50 recently). A bargain!
-NumisDudeTx
NumisDudeTx –
I agree that some ugly racist comments have been made on this board. But I think there is possible other reasons. For me, I think the pricing is a joke, just like the 2016 gold 25c and 50c. For proof, you can now buy a SP70 of both below the original price.
Yes NumisdudeTx you are correct with the comment about racism. It is so sad that we still live in a country full of racism. I also bought one of these coins and I consider it to be one of the most gorgeous coins in my collection. We will be laughing one day when this coin is worth alot more than what we paid for it .
Seth –
The price of the coin was updated. Thank you!
Mike,
Is this article and pictures which have been shown a number of times an attempt to highten interest in a disaster of a coin that has only sold less than 20% of the minted 100,000 since it’s release? If so, nice try. It won’t help it. But, you did do your best.
Sincerely, DrWho7
michael angiolillo – You are so right about the hefty premium the Mint is charging for this gold coin, but it is a first with raised edge lettering, a first 225th anniversary of the U.S. Mint coin & a first U.S. Mint coin depicting Lady Liberty as an African-American woman. And, it is a one-year only design & in Proof & in high relief & in .9999 fine 24-karat gold. It also will obviously have very low sales due to the racist collectors, dealers & investors who will not buy it Therefore, with all these factors, IMHO it has long-term… Read more »
Seth, You know I have the utmost respect for you but, I just cannot believe what you said about the mint executives, designers and others being caught off guard especially when you said they had to shut down their blog, website or whatever because of racist remarks. They knew from day one the backlash this coin was going to cause. I also think it’s unfair to call this “The Trump Effect”. He wasn’t even president when the conception of this coin started. Everybody who was anybody who had anything to do with this coin knew of the racial implications of… Read more »
I not only buy coins for the fact they’ll appreciate in value, but also for their beauty. I believe this coin to be ugly. I am not being racist, however I feel the Mint is diverging from what has historically represented Liberty. I will not buy one unless I see that others feel as I do and stay away thereby increasing its value.
8% of its 100,000 limit will make it appreciate in value.
Danny Morano – I guess we will have to respectfully agree to disagree on this issue. But, I was at the invitation-only official unveiling of this coin in Washington DC at the Treasury Department building & I spoke to many employees & VIPS & the main speaker at the event who is an African-American lady executive at the Mint’s headquarters in DC & believe me, I didn’t hear a single concern about racism from them. They truly thought, as did the CCAC & CFA members did, that this would be a groundbreaking coin for the $100 gold coin series as… Read more »
Reasons not buy:
1. Way too expensive;
2. Way too many struck/minted;
3. Way too little appreciation potential;
4. Way too ugly obverse;
5. Way too many politically correct designs and themes from the USM.
Reasons to buy:
1.
I can’t believe the price of the coin. As far as it being ugly I don’t think so myself. It has beauty and is of a rare design. I will try to get the less expensive silver example.
Trump affect, give me a break! I don’t know why there is such stupid thinking as this but whatever goes wrong just blame Trump… I thank President Trump for being brave enough to take on such a job as this after Obama really messed things up with all the racial crap going on that he helped promote. Nuff said….
I think the coin is beautiful being GOLD. Very expensive and I think if the price drops maybe more will be sold.
Nels –
I don’t want to get into a political argument with anyone per se, but I wasn’t blaming President Trump – a successful businessman – but the large numbers of racists who came out & voted for him, most voting for the first time & only the ones who showed their ignorance as racists which of course was not every Trump voter by far. I am a reasonable gay Democrat, and have a number of LGBTQ Republican friends who voted for Trump.
Happy coin collecting!
-NumisDudeTx
Seth Riesling, that was the most racists comment you have made yet! Most of the ppl that voted for Trump wanted a change in America. This is something I wished for all my life as every year since I was old enough to vote and see all the promises made but next to none was kept. Look at Hillary and all the wrong sleazy things she has done. So glad she didn’t make it as are president. President Trump is not perfect by a long shot but he’s done a lot of good so far. I knew you were a… Read more »
Nels – Thanks for sharing your political views with me, but I was not being disrespectful. I was just making an observation from what I viewed during the past polarizing election. I actually have hopes that President Trump will nominate an experienced numismatist to be US Mint Director since we haven’t had one in more than 6 years. It doesn’t matter to me if the person is a Democrat or Republican, as long as they are qualified & are looking to straighten out the Mint & make it better. If President Trump can do that, I will be impressed &… Read more »
Seth Reisling, yes that would be nice and I’m the same way on voting. I always like reading what you and Danny Morano has to say about coins and that idea fits in nicely! Something good has to happen with the Mint soon!
Ps. I wish I had the ‘s’ of the ALSM coins! I think they are beautiful!
Nels –
I don’t usually recommend one dealer’s offers, but I got an email yesterday from Modern Coin Mart (MCM) in Sarasota, Florida about their current sale on more than 500 different coins & medals. They have what you are looking for – the 2016-S American Liberty Proof silver medals in original Mint packaging for sale at $95 (the regular price is $104) with free Shipping till tomorrow at midnight. I haven’t looked elsewhere recently, but this seems to be a fair price considering how few were offered (12,500). Good luck Nels!
-NumisDudeTx
HB Guy-
The coin’s mintage limit is 100,00. That’s the “limit” not the final sales of the coin which will be much, much lower! Like the 2016 National Park Service Commemorative $5 gold coin the mintage limit was a lot higher than the final sales count which made it a record low mintage coin. Few saw the potential of this $5 gold coin thus increasing it’s value. IMHO this will happen again with this gold coin. The coin is expensive for being an ounce of gold but it’s value in the future will increase.
I do not think that the low sale figures on this coin is related to racism as some have speculated. My opinion is it is a terrible design, nothing to do with the a African American model. The mint could have chosen the same model with a different profile or full figure profile. I know the big stars are on the figure on the capital dome but does not look good on a coin. It would look better with a crown of small 13 stars are something like Lady Liberty in New York. This is a coin failure of design… Read more »
Nels, what “good things” has Trump done so far? Am curious to know, other than deporting immigrant workers, aligning with russia,firing the FBI director, his family selling “private visas” for the wealthy Chinese and damn near about to start a nuclear war against North Korea.
Well ya wanted a change right? Hahahaha Lol
BEAUTIFUL COIN!!!!!
Hewhodontknow——Of course you’re wrong
The 4 primary reasons for those who do not want to buy this coin do indeed run from a racist attitude held, to blind ignorance (the spewing of the “it’s politically correct” mantra) about what this coin series actually represents (including honoring our nation’s diversity), to too expensive for such a high mintage coin, to some not liking the aesthetics of the design.
Only the last 2 reasons are sensible reasons.
It is sad to see the racist attitudes and the ignorance displayed by far too many people who’ve commented somewhere on the WWW about this coin.
Just a disgustingly ugly coin. Horrible rendition of Lady Liberty. And sales show what a huge mistake they made. Liberals are extreme racists. Remember, The Democrat Party founded the KKK.
No doubt that there are some people in the US who harbor a racist attitude regardless of their skin pigmentation. But for those who assume that because someone holds Conservative views, or Liberal views, or is “white” or of any particular skin color that these specific traits or political opinions make someone a racist, then you are only fooling yourself and ignorant people for believing that. Also, there’s nothing politically correct about a coin series that intends to symbolize people of color in the U.S. That would be akin to claiming that it’s politically correct to showcase women on a… Read more »
Hewhodontknow, lol
Beautiful coin. Problem with gold is that it is relatively unaffordable, nobody keeps gold at home, ends up in the safe deposit box, can’t appreciate them locked up like that. Then there is the issue of all the materials associated. At this stage in life, have way too many boxes, books and not enough space for them and for collecting interest you need to keep all of the stuff. If the concept of citizens being Afro-American scares you, fine. Don’t buy the coin. Don’t buy the medal. At lest this gives me a better chance to buy the silver medal… Read more »
Those who cry “racism” because of us who recognize that political correctness is a poison in society are insulting and xenophobic. Many of us who are critical at the obvious political motive behind the American Liberty gold coin theme, not just with this coin but for every design coming out bi-annually have no problem with honoring black heroes in American History. The US Mint released the Frederick Douglass quarter, a true hero of the civil rights movement and champion of freedom for blacks and women’s rights! You don’t see the controversy there for good reason. You didn’t see controversy around… Read more »
The USA Census Bureau has calculated that citizens of black & brown skin color will be a majority of the USA population in 2042 – just 25 years from now (maybe less, according to some studies by other statisticians). They will be the buyer’s of this beautiful gold coin on the secondary market then as their socio-ecomomic situation improves. A great thing for sure!
-NumisDudeTx
Seth, interesting take on this.
I’ve seen the coin first hand and it’s stunning. In fact, on YouTube I did a “First Look and Unboxing” video showing close up video of this coin. In the video I mention how unpopular coins of today can become the hot coins of tomorrow based on low final mintage.
Mike Unser & CoinNews readers – FYI My main source at the US Mint told me that they are announcing that the 2017-P Proof silver low relief medals with this African-American Lady Liberty design will be offered on June 14 (Flag Day). There is no mintage limit, no product limit, & no order household limit. You can buy as many as you want! Put it on your calendar! They will probably be priced at $34.95 each like the 2016 silver medals, but that is not set in stone yet since they will have special 225th U.S. Mint packaging with a… Read more »
CoinsA-Z that was an awesome video! I watched it on my tv and one thing I don’t understand is all the lint and debri that comes with it. For a high relief coin one would think the mint would do something about cleanliness! The coin looked a lot better then the last one did with no scratches on it. I can’t wait for the silver coins to come out and hope that everyone that wants one will get a chance to buy like maybe 1 to 5 per household instead of the big companies gobbling them up and reselling them… Read more »
Sturgeon, could’ve been more wrong if I would’ve voted for trump lol
A decision most people that did will eventually regret. The future will tell.
Nels, am always good to make people laugh.. Glad you have a sense of humor haha
Political correctness is “FAKE NEWS! FAKE NEWS!”
It’s all a conspiracy from the Obama administration against the Us mint and collectors LMAO! Lol hahaha
Seth – Earlier in this comment section, you stated, “IMHO it has long-term potential for price increase in the 10-25 year investment period” Unfortunately this is true of most coins one buys. And that’s why I have reconsidered my coin collecting hobby. Again, take the gold 25C and 50C from last year. They are now selling below purchase price. Many collectors say they dont worry about that and they just buy for the enjoyment. But that’s not me. I can’t spend $1300 on two coins and hope it breaks even in 7-10 years. The problem is liquidity. If you buy… Read more »
Nels –
In your last comment posted at 1:12 pm you asked about the silver medals. I posted a comment on this at 11:40am. No household limit & no mintage limit.
-NumisDudeTx
Seth Riesling Thank you and Ampex also has them for 89.99. I don’t know much about the company’s but I’m sure what they have has been gone through and didn’t make the pf70. How can they have the 2017’s silvers out already or is that out of stock a lie? Just didn’t get them yet I bet seems the mint has it on June 14. Thanks again Seth.
Nels – What APMEX is doing is a pre-order situation. They don’t get them early – no one does, but when they do get them, they pick the best to send to the grading services & sell off the ones with problems to customers who don’t understand the crooked process! It is always best to order directly from the Mint on issue day. Even though the Mint only offers a 7-day return period after you receive an order in the mail, at least you have s chance of getting a 70 grade. If you pre-order from a big boy dealer… Read more »
Seth Riesling, yeah I figured as much. I hate buying off any of the company’s or eBay. I’m going to give it my best to be ready for this one once again. Last time I went on the site 10 min early and when the time to sell came up I had to sign back in again and by that time they were sold out. Like a min later. Not sure if it’s just my area or why. Maybe just too many ppl on at one time. Oh well. I’m sure mcm goes through there coins too so I know… Read more »
Patriot1-
Your explanation of why this coin isn’t selling is spot on. It’s the design. I didn’t buy this coin and didn’t buy last years gold liberty.
Enought already! There’s a hundred reasons or more this coin is not selling! But, let’s be honest here. Deep down inside, we all know the real reason. Agreed? Let’s talk about true Americans, Native Americans which have been sadly overlooked. They should have minted the Fractionals again last year, the coins 10th anniversary but didn’t. When and if are they going to do it again? This year? Next year? I have the first set thankfully. I have been buying more Foreign coins why? They are more diverse, interesting, great designs and new minting techniques like Smart Minting, 5oz. UHR ect.… Read more »
Danny Morano, very well said and thank you for your Service in the military! We all know where your heart is and so you made a mistake and corrected it… You are good to go and keep up the good job you have done.
It could be rightfully argued that the Centennial gold coin sales are also very poor. For gold coins that are considerably smaller and less expensive, their sales figures are anything but impressive….they arguably should have been sold out in 2016. So it’s not just the 2017 Amer. Liberty gold coins that are seeing unimpressive sales. There’s nothing wrong with being critical of individuals who express a racist attitude though of course maligning anyone as a racist (including using the guilt-by-association fallacy) without any evidence is a big problem. Bottom line: buy the coins and medals that you like and don’t… Read more »
Please, Please Forgive me, I should have proof read better. I did not mean to say Jews. I guess all the bantering made me mess up. I sincerely apologize to the Jewish People and it was not something in my head. It was an honest mistake and I hope I am forgiven for it. Good Lord, what I thought was a comment that could quiet things down about this coin now because of one mistake, I meant to say Jewels and the 1967 Kruegerrand was the first modern Gold coin I bought. I am no racist or anti semitic just… Read more »
Danny Morano –
I will say Thank You again for your service to the USA as a Veteran! I am an Air Force/NSA brat of 21 years. You made a simple typo & you explained it to us as a Gentleman. That is commendable. Get your confidence back & make it a great coin collecting day Danny! May G-D bless you with all good things.
Sincerely,
-NumisDudeTx
The perfect storm of the 2o17 AU HR> Priced WAY over spot; not a design that is embedded in memories or collecting lore, Mint is creating a new one, the follow-ups will be interesting. ALso, colector burnout & Po’d @ mint over all the debacles over the past few years, less collectors in general, if you buy this coin what can you sell it for NOW, spot….spot + likely but nowhere near spot +$400. I guess I am a traditionalist but can’t help but feel a gold 2017 Flowing Hair a la 17oo’s HR would have kicked it…we’lll see, the… Read more »
Coins A-Z – You are so right about the three different 2016 gold centennial coins based on classic Mint coins from 1916. There was so much excitement in the hobby about them & yet only the smallest, least expensive one sold out! I truly thought all three of the gold versions of 3 iconic Mint designs of the past would have sold out fairly quickly, especially since they were all one-off ounce or less of gold. Yet, they are still available from the Mint! Also, your advice about collecting only what you like (& not only what you think will… Read more »
The fact is that the 2017 AM 225th Liberty 24k Gold 1OZ is the best selling gold proof coin in 2017 for the US Mint. It is out selling all Proof Gold coins including the cheaper coins like the 1/10 OZ. In fact the weekly numbers came out today and the USmint has now sold 21,275, up from 19,304 from last week, which is a +1,971 sales in 1 week. The point is this coin is very successful by the numbers. It can’t be the best seller for the USMint Gold Proof Coins in 2017 and be a failure. If… Read more »
Thanks for the reminder, Seth! I do now recall that the US Mint has previously delineated what you’d written. As an aside, in recent years, I have grown to be much more a collector of medals (new and old and from around the world including many of those from Europe, China, and the U.S.) than coins. The fact that the U.S. Mint has offered collectors a beautiful (and record setting sell-out) proof silver Amer Liberty silver medal in 2016 and will be releasing 5 Amer. Liberty silver medals in 2017 is just icing on the cake for me as a… Read more »
Coins A-Z. Your analogy about the founding fathers being black and enslaved being white for a political motive is not an example of political correctness, that would be a misrepresentation of truth to fit a political agenda. Political Correctness can and does include lies and inaccuracies. but it often is used to describe some language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society and often in the extremes. The other side of the coin is that it overly inclusive. When you see TV commercials or shows showing every race and… Read more »
Hi SalivateMetal, I’m probably not going out on a limb to assume that you are one and the same as SalivateMetal on YouTube. If you are, I certainly feel like I should take this opportunity to let others here in this venue know (if they do not already) how informative your videos and video channel is. For those not familiar with that channel which covers topics related to coins, precious metals, and related topics, please consider taking a look and consider subscribing to SalivateMetal’s YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIzYEzXT34388IscvgVADDA – I respectfully disagree with you on a couple of your points. First,… Read more »
Hi Nels, I didn’t see your comment from 5-22 till just now where you write: “CoinsA-Z that was an awesome video! I watched it on my tv and one thing I don’t understand is all the lint and debri that comes with it. For a high relief coin one would think the mint would do something about cleanliness! The coin looked a lot better then the last one did with no scratches on it. I can’t wait for the silver coins to come out and hope that everyone that wants one will get a chance to buy like maybe 1… Read more »
CoinsA-Z –
The only AL silver medal offered on June 14 will be the 2017-P Proof version in regular low relief. The other 4 versions with different finishes from each of the 4 Mint facilities will be offered later in the year as a 4-medal set only. There is no mintage limit, no product limit & no household limit on these beautiful medals that are great companions to the gold $100 AL coin.
Happy coin & medal collecting!
-NumisDudeTx
CoinsA-Z, Thank you. 🙂 I must have mis-interpreted your previous comments. I am glad that you don’t apply the label of “racist” to those of us who recognize and are against political correctness. My analysis of the motive was based on the same press release to which you refer. The Merriam Webster definition focuses on what is to be eliminated. However, it does not address that which is overly included. Liberty is an ideal that transcends races and cultures.
Indeed SalivateMetals – no plagiarism intended 😉 – I am probably just as fiercely opposed to what I see as the incessant application of political correctness and the conflation of one who is opposed to the modern day use of political correctness (often as a weapon to silence a certain perspective or position) to “racist” as you are….our only difference here seems to be how we interpret the motivation or thinking of the US Mint in its design decision to include women in a coin series, some of whom just happen to not be depicted as caucasian. There’s no evidence… Read more »
The Eagle on this coin is outstanding!! Looks like sales is up too so who knows how many will be bought… What’s your opinion? Please let me know for you guys are the best on coinnews.net
SalivateMetal, I would like to humbly suggest that the depiction on U.S. Mint coins and/or medals of figures, female or otherwise, of an ethnicity other than Caucasian is not in any way in and of itself an act of “political correctness” but rather an expression of the cultural diversity long present in the American population mix.
Old Collector, well put indeed.