High Relief $100 Gold

According to The United States Mint, “The design was strongly influenced by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC), an 11-member body established in 2003 by Congress to advise the Secretary of the Treasury on the themes and designs of all U.S. coins and medals.”

This new “modern” design of Lady Liberty was designed by a team of four individuals from the US Mint. The obverse was designed by Artistic Infusion Program Artist Justin Kunz and sculpted/engraved by Medallic Artist Phebe Hemphill. Reverse was designed by Artistic Infusion Program Artist Paul C. Balan and sculpted/engraved by Medallic Artist Don Everhart.

Two different versions of the coin exist. A satin finish and a scarce Proof-Like finish that are both classified as business strikes. The satin finish will appear somewhat medallic by nature because of how the coin was struck. Proof-Like issues are more reflective in nature but much scarcer and have commanded hefty premiums over the regular issue during past auction sales.

Released on April 6^th, 2017, this coin was struck in 24K gold or .9999 fine gold with a face value of $100. The surfaces are a satin-like finish with a reeded edge. High relief is created by making the diameter of the coin smaller, and thicker, which allows the design elements to be raised more than a coin struck under normal circumstances. This type of striking process produces superlative detail and a total of 49,325 coins were issued and sold by the mint. Just shy of the 50,000 initially authorized for striking at West Point.