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.
I love it… Looks like a winner to me.
I don’t care what they say, the liberty lady looks anorexic to me.
And Mike, you’re slipping up. The $100 1 oz platinum eagle has been issued since 1997, not 2007. And the last line of your article should read $100, not $10.
Also, notice the 1 oz high relief silver coin is no longer listed in the 2015 product schedule. Personally I consider that a good thing.
Will be interesting what they do with this… limited or unlimited. If limited will it be small enough to be a success. The Kennedy gold 50c is still not sold out at 72,696 on a limit of 75,000. This is also a full 1 oz. so will cost more than the current $1,165 cost of the Kennedy gold, which will reduce sales. However, I think the design is good and a 24k gold high relief coin. I think the success for a type coin (an expensive type coin) is to limit the number produced, keep it small so as to… Read more »
Jim, thanks for catching those! The article has been corrected.
I like the design too. Now if we can only get work like this on circulating coinage …! However I do wish the “One Union” denomination had been included. It really surprises my non-collector friends when I tell them there are more denominations than just dollars and cents 🙂 Does anyone know why they opted to put the mint mark on the reverse rather than near the date, following post-1968 convention? Oh, and Mike: So long as people are playing proofreader, my ex-teacher’s antennae detected a couple of other minor typos: – should “sculptured by” be “sculpted by” ? –… Read more »
I’m with Springer, want one but it depends on the mintage. btw i thought sculpted is a potato dish?
I have never eaten sculpted potatoes but have scalloped potatoes
Munzen, I guess they were following the design of Silver Eagles in having a reverse mint mark.
The reverse certainly seems to owe something to the St. Gaudens twenty. Anyway, very beautiful but too rich for my blood.
Every gold coin struck since 1986 (excluding $5 and $10 commemoratives struck from 1984 to present) has the weight and purity stated on the reverse. Even now the 2015-W American Liberty HR Gold Coin. The 2009 St. Gaudens UHR Double Eagle was not a commemorative per se and yet, nowhere on the coin does the coin show its weight and purity. As if that’s not enough, the 2016 centennial coins bearing Liberty on the dime, quarter and half dollar shall state it’s purity and weight. The point is, why should the 2009 UHR be any different? It’s a bullion coin… Read more »
@Stuart: The US Mint is consulting with other Mints i.e. Perth on what to do, no confusion here. Just look to our northern neighbors and see what the RCM pumps out to see the potential profit for this Mint…They are moving in that direction, they need direction and are basically begging for it IMHO.
Looks like the same reverse as the 2015 Australian coin that John Mercanti designed. It’s not entirely the same, but it is quite similar. This coin is not that original to me.
SW –
What, you’re complaining about the 2009 UHR coin now? That ship has sailed. Besides no coin that isn’t clad or of $1 coin composition will ever be used as official currency even if it has all the phrases, mint markings, dates, etc. that the clad coins have. So where the mint decides to put these things is at their discretion and I doubt that even Congress has a say in the matter.
I agree with the poster who said Liberty looks anorexic. I think a more heroic or resolute looking Liberty would be more appropriate. This one looks like she is ready to pass out from lack of food.
Senior: If you saw “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, there was a scene with sculpted potatoes.
OT but I can’t resist a bad joke …
Good one Munzen. 😀
It’s a shame such devotion cannot be shown to our circulating coins and currency. It bugs me to no end to see these unintended-to-be-used-as coins coming out year after year while leaving circulating coin and currency so uninspiring and pedestrian. Governments around the world are no better at this unfortunately as various European commemoratives demonstrate versus their Euro coinage…
Personally while I most always use a credit card when I do get change I don’t pay attention to what’s on the coin especially with the plethora of reverses on the quarters these days – and we have 6 more years to go with that series. No, I would be satisfied if the basic coins just had a 5, 10, 25, and 1 (get rid of the penny) just like a blind person couldn’t care less what the designs were on the coins.
This will be a big hit (with proper mintage).
Good job guys (CCAC).
I must agree that “Barbie” needs a bit of rounding out to become the true “Ms. Liberty”.
The Coin Lacks Certain Beauty. Now We Have The Eagle Just Holding The Olive Branch With No Arrows? Next Coin Will maybe have a Chinese Panda on The Back Squeezing The Eagles Neck. After All The 5 oz Silver Coins should Say 5 Dollars instead of the same legal tender of A Common Quarter. The quarters that come in the Annual Sets with Silver AND the no silver versions of the annual sets Including loose change of course should be NO Comparison. I think that it would be A BIG help in The US Mint sales on the 5 ounce… Read more »
I was going to buy the coin, but why not make it UHR? Just HR? I don’t think it will have the appeal that the 2009 did. Think I’m going to pass.
This coin is absolutely beautiful. Hard to understand the “anorexic” comments – Strong face, great design. Love the LIBERTY placement. This is the coin to own for 2015 and will easily make the “100 greatest coins”.
My opinion – perfection –
How much is one of these worth today