By CoinWeek ….
The United States Mint will be releasing two numismatic products this year featuring its 2024 Liberty and Britannia design collaboration with The Royal Mint. This is the first time that engravers from both institutions have worked on a unified design to be used on collectibles unique to each mint.
According to the U.S. Mint’s 2024 online product schedule, sales for the Liberty and Britannia 24K High Relief Gold Proof Coin (product 24YA) and the Liberty and Britannia Silver Proof Medal (product 24YB) are set to open on February 8. The silver medal will have an initial retail price of $89.00 USD, but pricing for the High Relief gold Proof coin has not yet been announced (as of the time of writing) and will be determined by the Mint’s precious metals pricing grid closer to the coin’s release.
2024 Liberty and Britannia Specifications and Reverse Design
CoinWeek’s previous article on the topic described the common design created by Chief Engravers Joseph Menna of the United States and Gordon Summers of the United Kingdom. And while the obverse of the Royal Mint products was already understood to feature the effigy of King Charles III, the reverse of the U.S. Mint 2024 Liberty and Britannia products has been revealed since news broke about the project earlier this month.
Also created by Chief Engraver Menna, the reverse depicts the sun rising amidst clouds over the Atlantic Ocean. To each side of the waters is a shoreline featuring a tree native to the nation on that respective side. On the western shore is a Great Basin bristlecone pine tree found in the American West, and on the eastern shore is a common (English) yew tree. The sturdiness and longevity of the trees is symbolic of the nature of the special relationship between the U.S. and Great Britain.
From the top of the gold coin going downward toward the sun are the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, LIBERTY AND BRITANNIA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, AU 24 1 OZ., IN GOD WE TRUST, and the face value of the collectible coin, $100, in separate lines. The ‘W‘ mint mark for the West Point Mint is found on the American side of the reverse and the designer’s initials JFM are placed on the British side.
The silver medal features the same design but inscriptions are limited to UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and LIBERTY AND BRITANNIA. Struck at the Philadelphia Mint, the ‘P‘ mint mark can be found on the American side of the reverse.
The High Relief gold Proof coin is struck in 24-karat (99.9% pure) gold and weighs one Troy ounce. The edge is reeded.
The silver medal is struck in one Troy ounce of 99.9% pure silver and measures 1.598 inches (40.60 mm) across.
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