US Mint Debuts First Gold Coin With Lady Liberty Depicted As Black Woman

WASHINGTON (CBSLA.com) — For the first time in 225 years, the U.S Mint has printed a gold coin that portrays Lady Liberty as an African-American woman.

U.S. Treasury officials debuted the design for the 2017 American Liberty 225th Anniversary Gold Coin, which marks a departure from previous designs.

The heads side of the coin depicts a profile of Liberty wearing a crown of stars with the words "LIBERTY," "1792," "2017," and "IN GOD WE TRUST."

The tails side shows an eagle in flight with inscriptions reading "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "E PLURIBUS UNUM," "1OZ. .9999 FINE GOLD," and "100 DOLLARS."

"We are very proud of the fact that the United States Mint is rooted in the Constitution," said Principal Deputy Director Jeppson. "Our founding fathers realized the critical need for our fledgling nation to have a respected monetary system, and over the last 225 years, the Mint has never failed in its mission."

Officials say the new coin is the first in a series that will serve to celebrate the cultural and ethnic diversity of the nation: future 24-karat gold coins will feature designs which depict Lady Liberty as Asian-American, Hispanic-American, and Indian-American, among others.

It's not the first time the U.S. Mint has broken with tradition: back in 2000, the Sacagawea dollar was introduced, but since 2012 the coin has not been released for general circulation due to low business demand and overall unpopularity.