This $100 U.S. coin will be the first to show Lady Liberty as a black woman
Lady Liberty has been featured on American coins since the 1790s. Take a look and you'll notice they've always featured white women.
That's changing in 2017, though. The U.S. Department of the Treasury unveiled designs for the 2017 American Liberty Gold Coin on Thursday, and it shows Lady Liberty as a black woman.
She wears a crown of stars, and looks forward "to ever brighter chapters in our Nation’s history book," the news release says.
This American Liberty Gold Coin is the first in a series of 24-karat gold coins that will be released every two years. There are also plans to show Lady Liberty as Asian, Hispanic, and American-Indian "to reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of the United States," according to the Department.
The coin is being released in celebration of the United States Mint's 225th anniversary. Its theme is “Remembering our Past, Embracing the Future," and it's worth $100.
The New York Times says 100,000 of these coins will be made, and they'll go on sale April 6. There will also be silver medals with the same image.
In case you were surprised to find out we had a $100 U.S. coin, don't worry. These are meant more as collector's items than to buy stuff with.
