New US Coin Features a Big First

The US Mint has unveiled a commemorative $100 gold coin that features an image of Liberty as a black woman, the AP reports. The 2017 American Liberty 225th Anniversary Gold Coin shows the woman's head in profile with a crown of stars. It features the year of the mint's founding, 1792, as well as 2017. The mint says the other side of the coin will depict an eagle in flight. The coin will be released on April 6. The mint says it's the first in a series of 24-karat gold that will also depict Liberty in designs representing Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Indian-Americans. The mint says the goal of the coins is to reflect the "the cultural and ethnic diversity of the United States." Reuters notes it's the first time a US coin has featured Lady Liberty depicted as a black woman. (More Lady Liberty stories.)