US Mint -
United States Mint Announces New One Ounce Platinum Proof Coin SeriesThe United States Mint announced today that it is launching a three-year platinum proof coin series starting in 2018 and continuing through 2020. The three-year program, titled "Preamble to the Declaration of Independence Platinum Proof Coin Series," will feature newly-designed one ounce proof coins struck in 99.95 percent platinum.
Since its inception in 1997, the American Eagle One Ounce Platinum Proof Coin has shared a common obverse (heads side) that featured a portrait of Liberty. The coin's reverse has hosted a variety of themed series, including "Vistas of Liberty," "Foundations of Democracy," "The Preamble to the Constitution," and "Torches of Liberty."
As the American Eagle Platinum Proof Coin Program enters its third decade, this marks the first time the United States Mint has issued a series featuring all new obverse designs created concurrently by one designer, as well as a new common reverse (tails) design.
Created by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program (AIP) Designer Justin Kunz, obverse designs in this series represent Kunz's interpretation of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the core American principles in the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence.
The series' obverse designs portray Liberty planting seeds for future sustenance, lighting the way westward, and harvesting the well-worked crops. The inscriptions "Life" in 2018, "Liberty" in 2019, and "Happiness" in 2020 are likenesses of the handwritten words from the Declaration of Independence.
The 2018 obverse design features "Life" personified by Lady Liberty teaching a small child to sow seeds in a field. The sword she carries symbolizes the power to defend life. The furrowed earth represents the forethought and labor required to sustain life. The tree and stream represent nature, suggesting the need to be good stewards of an environment that sustains life.
The reverse design depicts an eagle in flight with an olive branch in its talons, by AIP Designer Patricia Lucas-Morris, which will remain the common reverse throughout the series.
The first coin in the new series, the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence Platinum Proof Coin-Life, will be released in early 2018. Additional details will be available prior to each coin's release. Visit our program page for more information on this series.
Posted 10/26/2017 11:04 am
