'LIFE' PREAMBLE PLATINUM PROOF COIN

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V21 2018 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 21, Number 3, January 21, 2018, Article 21

This week the U.S. Mint will release the first in a series of three coins embodying the principles cited in the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution, "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." Here's an excerpt from the press release. -Editor

The United States Mint will open sales for the 2018 Preamble to the Declaration of Independence Platinum Proof Coin on January 25, 2018, at noon Eastern Time.

This coin is the first release in the three-year (2018-2020) Preamble to the Declaration of Independence Platinum Proof Coin Series. The series features all new obverse (heads) designs, as well as a new common reverse (tails) design on a one ounce, 99.95 percent platinum proof coin each year.

The series portrays 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 in the likeness of the handwritten words from the Declaration of Independence.

The obverse of the 2018 coin 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. Inscriptions are “LIBERTY,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” “2018,” and “LIFE.”

Artistic Infusion Program (AIP) Designer Justin Kunz created all the obverse designs of this platinum proof coin series. The 2018 platinum proof coins were sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Phebe Hemphill.

The coins’ common reverse design for this series depicts an eagle in flight with an olive branch in its talons. Inscriptions are “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “1 OZ.,” “.9995 PLATINUM,” and “$100.” AIP designer Patricia Lucas-Morris created the reverse design, which was sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart.

To read the complete press release, see:
New Platinum Proof Coin Series on January 25 (https://www.usmint.gov/news/press-releases/united-states-mint-releases-first-coin-in-new-platinum-proof-coin-series-on-january-25)