America the Beautiful
January 13, 2017 8:25 AM Subscribe
Yesterday in a press release, the US Mint announced their plans for their upcoming 225th anniversary "Lady Liberty" gold coin, the first in a series of 24-karat gold coins that will feature designs which depict an allegorical Liberty in a variety of contemporary forms--including designs representing Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Indian-Americans among others--to reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of the United States. You can see the first proposed design here.
I dig it, but I wonder if the people who collect gold, based on their political/economical beliefs, will be interested in this.
posted by k5.user at 8:48 AM on January 13, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by k5.user at 8:48 AM on January 13, 2017 [4 favorites]
but I wonder if the people who collect gold, based on their political/economical beliefs, will be interested in this.
Good thing the US Mint isn't beholden to the feelings of a group of racist wingnuts!
posted by phunniemee at 8:51 AM on January 13, 2017 [9 favorites]
Good thing the US Mint isn't beholden to the feelings of a group of racist wingnuts!
posted by phunniemee at 8:51 AM on January 13, 2017 [9 favorites]
It's not clear from the articles, but it sounds like a separate commemorative series instead of a replacement for the silver and gold Eagle coins. Since none of them are actually legal tender, though, that distinction doesn't make much difference.
posted by yhbc at 9:05 AM on January 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by yhbc at 9:05 AM on January 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
That is lovely.
posted by dilettante at 9:05 AM on January 13, 2017
posted by dilettante at 9:05 AM on January 13, 2017
The coin's face was designed by Justin Kunz, who worked on another project aimed at gold collectors: he was a senior artist for World of Warcraft.
posted by justkevin at 9:12 AM on January 13, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by justkevin at 9:12 AM on January 13, 2017 [15 favorites]
The Mint releases design candidates of every product they release months in advance, including this one! I definitely like some of the rejected eagle designs better.
posted by Small Dollar at 9:20 AM on January 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Small Dollar at 9:20 AM on January 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
Apparently you won't be able to buy these directly from the Mint. Is it generally safe to go to local dealers? So many of the radio/TV commercials sound like they're marketing to doomsday preppers.
posted by fuse theorem at 9:29 AM on January 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by fuse theorem at 9:29 AM on January 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Good thing the US Mint isn't beholden to the feelings of a group of racist wingnuts!
Not until January 20, at least.
I seriously wonder if the Trump administration is going to allow this. Shutting this down seems like exactly the kind of meaningless "stick it to the liberals/end the PC nonsense" red meat Trump loves to toss out.
posted by Sangermaine at 9:35 AM on January 13, 2017 [7 favorites]
Not until January 20, at least.
I seriously wonder if the Trump administration is going to allow this. Shutting this down seems like exactly the kind of meaningless "stick it to the liberals/end the PC nonsense" red meat Trump loves to toss out.
posted by Sangermaine at 9:35 AM on January 13, 2017 [7 favorites]
When I was picking up my daughter from preschool on Wednesday, she wanted me to do a "Children of the World" puzzle with her. It showed the earth and a bunch of kids in "national costumes" next to the flag of their country. Naturally, one of the flags was the United States, and naturally, the kid from the US was white. Whites are a minority at her school, outnumbered by Indian-Americans and Asian-Americans. The kids in the puzzle who look like those children are standing next to other flags.
Preschoolers are fairly oblivious to this, of course, but over time the aggregate messaging has got to end up being that "you're not American if you're not white".
I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to be "that parent" and ask the preschool to remove the puzzle from circulation.
posted by Slothrup at 9:44 AM on January 13, 2017 [16 favorites]
Preschoolers are fairly oblivious to this, of course, but over time the aggregate messaging has got to end up being that "you're not American if you're not white".
I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to be "that parent" and ask the preschool to remove the puzzle from circulation.
posted by Slothrup at 9:44 AM on January 13, 2017 [16 favorites]
Oh wow, this is breathtakingly beautiful. I can't wait to see what the others look like.
I was recently admiring paper i-bonds, which feature some really interesting individuals - not only ethnic and gender diversity, but also just more different types of people than we see on our circulating money. Singers, scientists. I love that the Mint and the Treasury do this for commemorative and obscure items, but I wonder what it could mean if we had circulating currency with this kind of diversity, you know?
posted by sunset in snow country at 9:46 AM on January 13, 2017 [4 favorites]
I was recently admiring paper i-bonds, which feature some really interesting individuals - not only ethnic and gender diversity, but also just more different types of people than we see on our circulating money. Singers, scientists. I love that the Mint and the Treasury do this for commemorative and obscure items, but I wonder what it could mean if we had circulating currency with this kind of diversity, you know?
posted by sunset in snow country at 9:46 AM on January 13, 2017 [4 favorites]
Shutting this down seems like exactly the kind of meaningless "stick it to the liberals/end the PC nonsense" red meat Trump loves to toss out.
I was thinking how this should keep talk radio alive for a few days or so.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:59 AM on January 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
I was thinking how this should keep talk radio alive for a few days or so.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:59 AM on January 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
It's good to see that Libera is still being honoured, 2510 years after the establishment of the temple to the Aventine Triad.
posted by heatherlogan at 10:22 AM on January 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by heatherlogan at 10:22 AM on January 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
What... does one do with a gold coin? (Besides admire it as an object.) Like practically speaking, when you want to convert it to currency. It seems like anyone who is buying gold retail is going to give you a much lower than market price for it? Will any bank accept gold? In what situation is gold actually worth the price of gold?
posted by danny the boy at 10:23 AM on January 13, 2017
posted by danny the boy at 10:23 AM on January 13, 2017
You bury them in remote places for groups of plucky children adventurers to find.
posted by Sangermaine at 10:32 AM on January 13, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by Sangermaine at 10:32 AM on January 13, 2017 [12 favorites]
You'd get more of a percentage of the bullion value if you sell it in a private sale instead of to a dealer. Like, on eBay or at a coin show or something.
posted by Small Dollar at 10:36 AM on January 13, 2017
posted by Small Dollar at 10:36 AM on January 13, 2017
Saw this earlier and it warmed my heart, a small glimmer of hope on an otherwise dark day. Always good to see proof that at least some people are pushing back against oppression and continuing to work toward a more inclusive society, even if only in largely symbolic ways. Thanks for posting this.
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 10:52 AM on January 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 10:52 AM on January 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
What... does one do with a gold coin?
Pretend you are Smaug.
posted by nubs at 11:00 AM on January 13, 2017 [11 favorites]
Pretend you are Smaug.
posted by nubs at 11:00 AM on January 13, 2017 [11 favorites]
Super gorgeous. Numismatist!Hermione wants one for her collection for sure.
posted by Hermione Granger at 11:09 AM on January 13, 2017
posted by Hermione Granger at 11:09 AM on January 13, 2017
I dunno, it seems like Trump might have a certain affection for gold.
posted by blue_beetle at 11:27 AM on January 13, 2017
posted by blue_beetle at 11:27 AM on January 13, 2017
What... does one do with a gold coin?
Hoard. And, pray that whoever is left after the apocalypse takes gold in payment for more bullets.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:35 AM on January 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hoard. And, pray that whoever is left after the apocalypse takes gold in payment for more bullets.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:35 AM on January 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
In the 80's I had the job of animating a big national TV ad campaign for a US Mint gold coin issue.
Thing is, apparently due to the set price being seen as low, the limited run, and other factors, all the execs at the ad agency saw a great investment and bought up all of the coins before they even went on sale (they had some kind of pre-buy deal in their contract).
Since the commercial was almost done, and the massive blocks of air time were already paid for, I was tasked with dropping some other rather prosaic silver commemorative quarter into the spot to replace the gold coin.
The ad execs were henceforth heard making joyful little comments, "That takes care of the kid's college fund! Looking for a summer house now."
It was a little odd, because the theme was "Rising Sun" and it ended up looking like a daylight rising moon.
posted by StickyCarpet at 12:24 PM on January 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Thing is, apparently due to the set price being seen as low, the limited run, and other factors, all the execs at the ad agency saw a great investment and bought up all of the coins before they even went on sale (they had some kind of pre-buy deal in their contract).
Since the commercial was almost done, and the massive blocks of air time were already paid for, I was tasked with dropping some other rather prosaic silver commemorative quarter into the spot to replace the gold coin.
The ad execs were henceforth heard making joyful little comments, "That takes care of the kid's college fund! Looking for a summer house now."
It was a little odd, because the theme was "Rising Sun" and it ended up looking like a daylight rising moon.
posted by StickyCarpet at 12:24 PM on January 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to be "that parent" and ask the preschool to remove the puzzle from circulation.
Yes. Be the change you wish to see in the world.
posted by WizardOfDocs at 12:57 PM on January 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yes. Be the change you wish to see in the world.
posted by WizardOfDocs at 12:57 PM on January 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Apparently I must now add "the abstract concept of liberty" to the list of things conservative white people insist must be depicted as white, alongside Saint Nicholas, from what is now Turkey, and Jesus, the Jewish rabbi from ancient Palestine.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 12:59 PM on January 13, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Pater Aletheias at 12:59 PM on January 13, 2017 [5 favorites]
There's a picture with a straight-on view of both sides of the coin here.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:05 PM on January 13, 2017
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:05 PM on January 13, 2017
The new Lady Liberty coin is black...and racists on the internet are losing their minds.
Gee! What a surprise!
posted by zakur at 12:56 PM on January 14, 2017
Gee! What a surprise!
posted by zakur at 12:56 PM on January 14, 2017
Heh, I had some eye-opening moments scrolling through people's posts when this became a Facebook trending topic. Totally disturbing, but I feel like I'm starting to learn more about how racists think. (I still maintain that most POC understand racism better than most white people do to begin with, but I hadn't previously gotten too deep into the weeds of this whole "white genocide" idea that seems to be where all the most unapologetic racists are at right now. That was...enlightening.)
And yeah, while thinking about how we can ever build a working society with these people, I did get drawn into false equivalencies for a bit. I love to see diversity; they think diversity is destroying their culture; what to do?! But you know, today I saw Moana for the first time, and look okay I'm on my period and Lin-Manuel Miranda was totally jerking my emotions around with his music but tbh I basically cried through half the movie because it was so beautiful to see people of color in a Disney movie. Moana and Maui's hair; their noses, lips, skin; seeing all that portrayed as beautiful, in these awesome heroic characters. And frankly, I had some seriously complicated feelings reading this post for the first time and seeing that there was going to be a coin featuring an Asian American Liberty. I spend half my life yelling about Asian representation but when it happens I'm just left flabbergasted, I never thought it would really happen, I want to ask "Are you sure?" I'm excited, but a little uncomfortable, like I've just won an award I don't deserve. And I want these fuckers who feel threatened by the production of this coin to know what that feels like, to feel just once the feeling of seeing someone you look like and relate to in a movie (or on a coin!) for the first time EVER, instead of just feeling angry and afraid because there is one thing, just one thing that is not for them.
posted by sunset in snow country at 6:20 PM on January 14, 2017 [2 favorites]
And yeah, while thinking about how we can ever build a working society with these people, I did get drawn into false equivalencies for a bit. I love to see diversity; they think diversity is destroying their culture; what to do?! But you know, today I saw Moana for the first time, and look okay I'm on my period and Lin-Manuel Miranda was totally jerking my emotions around with his music but tbh I basically cried through half the movie because it was so beautiful to see people of color in a Disney movie. Moana and Maui's hair; their noses, lips, skin; seeing all that portrayed as beautiful, in these awesome heroic characters. And frankly, I had some seriously complicated feelings reading this post for the first time and seeing that there was going to be a coin featuring an Asian American Liberty. I spend half my life yelling about Asian representation but when it happens I'm just left flabbergasted, I never thought it would really happen, I want to ask "Are you sure?" I'm excited, but a little uncomfortable, like I've just won an award I don't deserve. And I want these fuckers who feel threatened by the production of this coin to know what that feels like, to feel just once the feeling of seeing someone you look like and relate to in a movie (or on a coin!) for the first time EVER, instead of just feeling angry and afraid because there is one thing, just one thing that is not for them.
posted by sunset in snow country at 6:20 PM on January 14, 2017 [2 favorites]
Gold is . . . interesting. If you pull up a gold price chart adjusted for inflation, there's a clear spike up followed by a gentle slope down several times in the last century or so, and the price always ends up somewhere the extraction cost at a large operation, about $350-400/oz. Even after the last recession and the 9/11 madness, it's clearly sloping down until the latest election, and I'm guessing the latest upswing is due to uncertainty with the next presidential administration. Sure, it's pretty, it doesn't rust or oxidize, it's easy to determine the purity, and it has industrial uses, but most of its value is due to demand, so it is easy for it to vacillate wildly in price. Will it hold its value if society collapses? I believe it will hold *some* value, as a trade metal, but you can't eat it, shoot it at people (well, actually it would make a good substitute for lead bullets, but who'd shoot gold at someone when all the world's car wheel weights are free for the taking), and a lot of the "gold" people have as jewelry are low alloy or plate, which won't have much value to a goldbug. I suppose amalgam gold fillings would be easier to make if you have a dentist who's willing to work with it, so it may have some value there, and as long as there is some sort of religion, you'll have people insisting the cross, chalice, vestments, and other paraphernalia be of gold for the sybolism. Same with wedding rings, even in the middle ages a band of gold, no matter how thin, was seen as mandatory. All the same, I expect that a societal collapse would result in gold dropping down in value to less than extraction cost, and in areas where gold can still be mined its value to drop even further. Hopefully, we'll never find out.
posted by Blackanvil at 11:59 AM on January 16, 2017
posted by Blackanvil at 11:59 AM on January 16, 2017
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posted by blob at 8:41 AM on January 13, 2017 [3 favorites]