The Statue of Liberty commemorative coins are a series of

commemorative coin Commemorative coins are coins issued to commemorate some particular event or issue with a distinct design with reference to the occasion on which they were issued. Many coins of this category serve as collectors items only, although some countries ...

s which were issued by the

United States Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; tha ...

in 1986, the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

(formally ''Liberty Enlightening the World''). Statue of Liberty commemorative half dollar

1986 US Commemorative Proof Half Dollar Statue of Liberty 50C

Legislation

The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Commemorative Coin Act () authorized the production of three coins, a clad half dollar, a silver dollar, and a gold half eagle, to commemorate the centennial of the

(''Liberty Enlightening the World''). The act allowed the coins to be struck in both

proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength Proof may also refer to: Mathematics and formal logic * Formal proof, a con ...

and uncirculated finishes.

Designs

Half dollar

The obverse of the Statue of Liberty half dollar, designed by Edgar Z. Steever, features a view of the Statue of Liberty in 1913 with an immigrant ship in the background. The reverse, designed by Sheryl J. Winter, depicts an immigrant family viewing America from

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...

. Obverse (left) and reverse (right) of the half dollar

Dollar

The obverse of the Statue of Liberty dollar, designed by

John Mercanti John M. Mercanti (born April 27, 1943) is an American sculptor and engraver. He was the twelfth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint until his retirement in late 2010. Biography Mercanti was born in Philadelphia. There, he attended the Penn ...

, features the Statue of Liberty in front of the main building of Ellis Island. The reverse, also designed by Mercanti but with assistance from Matthew Peloso, features the statue's torch and a quote from Emma Lazarus' 1883 poem ''

The New Colossus "The New Colossus" is a sonnet by American poet Emma Lazarus (1849–1887). She wrote the poem in 1883 to raise money for the construction of a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''). In 1903, the poem was cast ...

''.

1986_Statue_of_Liberty_Silver_Dollar_Reverse

Obverse (left) and reverse (right) of the dollar

Half eagle

The obverse of the Statue of Liberty

half eagle The half eagle is a United States coin that was produced for circulation from 1795 to 1929 and in commemorative and bullion coins since 1983. Composed almost entirely of gold, its face value of five dollars is half that of the eagle coin. Produ ...

(five dollars) features a close-up view of the Statue of Liberty's face, while the reverse depicts a

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

in flight. Both sides were designed by Elizabeth Jones. , Obverse (left) and reverse (right) of the half eagle

References

Modern United States commemorative coins Gold coins Silver coins Eagles on coins Ships on coins Sun on coins

Coins A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to ...