![]() ![]() But the fact that it exists at all underscores an ongoing shift in American currency. The New York Times ’ Erin McCann notes that they’ll likely sell for far more than face value due to their gold content. It’s safe to assume that a 24-karat gold coin worth $100 won’t find its way into your change jar any time soon. However, Barthodi changed those plans and adapted his original design to portray a white goddess instead. The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor was based on sculptor Frédéric Bartholdi’s plans for an allegorical representation of an Egyptian peasant woman. Mint in 1792, required that all coins have “an impression emblematic of liberty, with an inscription of the word Liberty.” Since then, liberty-as a concept and as a word-has been an indelible part of American coinage.ĭespite the dominance of white representations of Liberty in the past, one of Ameria's most famous Lady Liberties has connections to women of color. And as Gandhi points out, liberty is actually a required part of American coins. Liberty has been portrayed as both a goddess of freedom and peace, a symbol of American promise. Called both Columbia (to represent the United States) and Lady Liberty, her image has graced all sorts of American coins. ![]() Only one woman has made multiple appearances on American currency in the past-a woman both allegorical and white. Sacagawea, a Native-American woman of Lemhi Shoshone descent who helped guide the Lewis and Clark exhibition, has been found on $1 coins since 2000-the only coin to prominently feature a person of color before the new $100 coin. Mint stated it will “depict an allegorical Liberty in a variety of contemporary forms.” Though women of color have always been part of America, their images were absent on past coinage. The $100 coin will be introduced as part of the kickoff of the mint’s 225th anniversary year and will be the first in a series that will also depict Liberty as Asian-American, Hispanic-American, and Indian-American. Mint announced historic plans to depict Liberty as an African-American woman on a new gold coin. Now, reports Lakshmi Gandhi for NBC News, the U.S. But what does she look like, anyway? In popular culture, she's almost always depicted in one way: as a white woman. Her qualities are well-known and widely revered: She’s benevolent and represents freedom and hope. Lady Liberty is among the most enigmatic symbols of American democracy. When it comes to representation, this coin is more than worth its weight in 24-karat gold. ![]()
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