The United States Mint provided information about and unveiled proposed designs for a 2024 Liberty and Britannia gold coin and silver medal — a collaborative US-UK Mint program.
This program will include a Liberty and Britannia design jointly created by the Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint, Joseph Menna, and the Chief Engraver of the British Royal Mint, Gordon Summers.
"The 2024 Liberty and Britannia 24-karat gold coin and silver medal program marks the first original design collaboration between two of the largest mints in the world," the U.S. Mint noted.
Earlier, on Jan. 25, representatives of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) and Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) joined the Royal Mint Advisory Committee to review candidate options for the joint design.
Now, 6 pairs of candidate designs are up for review and discussion. On Feb. 16, the candidates were reviewed by the CFA. The CCAC will review them today, Feb. 28. The Treasury Secretary will consider recommendations from both bodies before making the final selections for the U.S. Mint’s gold coin and silver medal designs.
Background
Along with some background information about the joint program, U.S. Mint-provided descriptions and images of the candidate designs follow.
Each mint will produce coins and/or medals using the joint design and incorporating its own required inscriptions. The joint design will be used by the Royal Mint as a reverse, with its obverse bearing the portrait of the King.
The United States Mint will use the joint design as an obverse. Menna created the reverse candidate designs submitted for review to complement the exploration of the connection between the two countries, while further reflecting on the American ideal of Liberty.
Obverse Designs
Inscriptions for the gold coin and silver medal obverse designs are "Liberty" and "2024." Designs will be produced in both their one ounce gold coin and one ounce silver medal versions.
LB-O-01 invites both comparison and contrast by featuring profile portraits of allegorical Liberty and Britannia presented as complementary and balancing elements suggestive of the faces on a playing card. Each figure holds their respective symbols; Britannia, her trident, and Liberty, her torch.
LB-O-02 depicts Liberty and Britannia standing side by side, Britannia with her trident and Liberty with her torch. Each allegorical figure leans against a pedestal.
Reverse Designs
Inscriptions for the gold coin are "United States of America," "E Pluribus Unum," "AU 24K 1 oz.," and the denomination, "$100." "Liberty and Britannia" is an inscription that appears on most candidate designs. The corresponding silver medal designs include the inscription "United States of America" and optionally "Liberty and Britannia." Designs are presented in both their gold coin and silver medal versions.
LB-R-01 references the United States’ 2023 American Liberty 24k coin by pairing a bristlecone pine on the left with an English yew tree on the right. They are separated by the Atlantic Ocean with a sun rising above it, heralding new possibilities for both nations.
LB-R-02 presents the allegorical Liberty from the obverse design in full figure, her flowing hair referencing past United States coins portraying Liberty. The design stands in contrast to the monarch featured on British coins, presenting a reverse that is distinctly American.
Designs LB-R-03 and LB-R-03A also feature allegorical Liberty from the obverse design. Liberty occupies the center of the composition, while the drapery of her dress and flowing hair emulate the branches of a tree, moving past the border of the design. LB-R-03A includes the optional inscription "LIBERTY AND BRITANNIA."
For the Obverse (of both the gold coin and the silver medal since these are in all cases identical except for the gold coin’s mandated inscriptions) proposal #1 is a distinctively elegant and dramatically impressive design and far superior to #2 which appears to depict a couple of tired and bored Vegas showgirls on their break.
As to the Reverse #1 is the epitome of a painfully generic natural vista, #2 seems to splendidly succeed in portraying an expectedly self-assured Liberty while #3 looks all too much like a lost Cinderella after missing her midnight cutoff.
To me, they all look like they’re cut from comic books or animated movie posters. It’s not anything I’d like on a coin.
I understand your point, Major D, but as for what this style might in fact best be compared to I’d go with the paintings and posters of the undisputed master of art nouveau illustration, the great Czech visual artist Alphonse Mucha.
Here’s another sample of his work to help provide a wider view of his output:
Don’t give them any ideas. It looks like a fantasy from Lord of the Rings or something similar. Who’s going to mint it? The U.S. Mint or the Royal Mint?
Antonio, if anything it’s possible the modern day Lord of the Rings film visualizers might have procured some of their images from the highly estimable and one of a kind artist Monsieur Mocha, who happened to live between 1860 and 1939. Pictured below from the Alphonse Mucha silver round collection is the obverse of a 5 ounce silver proof based on the “JOB” promotional poster from the prior comment up above.
I might be interested in the 01 versions for the obverse and reverse. But the 02 versions obverse and reverse are horrendous. Bored showgirls is right. Maybe temple prostitutes or the temple guards for the 02 obverse. Yuck.
I meant 03 on the reverse. 02 is ok with the special lettering.
I agree, East Coast Guru, that R2 is the likely best choice among what is currently being offered; that being said, the prodigious amount of information inscribed on the gold coin version has the appearance of the proverbial “throwing in of the kitchen sink”.
Regarding O2, East Coast Guru, as my original appellation I had considered “Halloween Hookers” but felt that was a bit harsh.
Lord of the Rings is an apt comparison. I think these are better suited for novelty rounds than US Mint coins. What’s next- Lady Liberty from the movie Heavy Metal?
We seem to have many opinions here but it’s not surprising that the candidate Liberty images would present different problems and bring up unique issues for viewers depending on who is judging them. For example, the Liberty pictured below on the 2016-S Silver Medal was the ideal for those who were involved in choosing that particular design while to me it seems to be none other than the typical Midwestern college girl appearing in a Fourth of July sorority row pageant.
Makes sense now. Looks like a design made for rolling paper company. These coins are reefer madness. They should do more of a yin yang coin. With one side liberty and other brit chick. It can be like that other famous painting. Where you look at it and see a hot woman, but when you spin it 180 degrees, it’s an old hag.
And so the cost will be….? Mint currently sells 1 oz coin for around $2700, and add in the silver medal…what do you think $2800?
This is thanks to the law that the Mint is free to make any medals or gold coins it wants but not so when it comes to silver coins.
A totally insanely high price no matter how you look at it. Akin to so many other products the Mints purveys items like this seem to be meant solely for the better off if indeed not the very wealthiest of purchasers, as are the millions of precious metal bullion coins.
As soon as I saw JOB as one of the products that Mucha had created a poster for I started looking for ZIG ZAG but alas, to no avail.
There is the eureka moment. A silver coin/medal (silver because of antimicrobial properties) that you can smoke out of that you can totally pass off as regular change. No officer that isn’t residue it is just severely toned
They’re all terrible. St. Gaudens, Morgan, Barber, Gasparro, Weinman and the like would roll over in their graves.