Washington — The Robins Foundation Theater at Jamestown Settlement, Virginia, was the site of a public ceremony today in which United States Mint Director Edmund C. Moy and other officials launched the sale of gold and silver Jamestown 400th Anniversary Commemorative Coins. Afterwards, a crowd lined up at the Jamestown Settlement Gift Shop to become the first to purchase the collectible coins and take them home.
“As we conduct our lives in the relative comfort of 2007, it is difficult to imagine the adversities facing the brave Jamestown settlers of 1607, but these coins will help us remember their contributions,” Director Moy told the crowd. “Only 60 of 214 settlers survived a brutal winter, called the ‘starving time.’ The suffering at Jamestown continued for decades, but the settlers succeeded in establishing the first permanent English settlement in the New World. It was in Jamestown that democracy began in America’s first representative assembly.”
Congress authorizes up to two commemorative coin programs annually. Only the United States Mint produces official U.S. commemorative coins. Public Law 108–289 authorized the Jamestown 400th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program. Surcharges from the sale of these coins are authorized to be paid to the Jamestown–Yorktown Foundation of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, to support the understanding of the legacies of Jamestown, to continue the preservation and improvement of the infrastructure of Jamestown, and for other purposes.
The Jamestown 400th Anniversary Commemorative Coins are limited to maximum mintages of 500,000 for a $1 silver coin and 100,000 for a $5 gold coin. The denominations of $1 and $5 are symbolic, as the collectible coins’ bullion content and artistry are worth more than their face values.
For images of the Jamestown 400th Anniversary Commemorative Coins, please click here.
The obverse design of the $5 gold coin, by United States Mint Sculptor–Engraver John Mercanti, features Captain John Smith in conversation with an American Indian. The reverse design of the $5 gold coin, by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program (AIP) Master Designer Susan Gamble and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor–Engraver Don Everhart, depicts the Jamestown Memorial Church. The gold obverse inscriptions are “1607,” “Liberty,” “2007,” “In God We Trust,” and “Founding of Jamestown.” The gold reverse displays the inscriptions, “United States of America,” “$5,” “E Pluribus Unum,” and “Jamestown Memorial Church.”
The obverse design of the $1 silver coin, by former United States Mint Sculptor–Engraver Donna Weaver and sculpted by Don Everhart, depicts three faces of diversity, representing the cultures that lived and worked together to ensure the success of the colony at Jamestown. The reverse design of the $1 silver coin, by AIP Master Designer Susan Gamble and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor–Engraver Charles Vickers, shows the Susan Constant, the Godspeed and the Discovery, the three ships that carried the English settlers to the Virginia shoreline. The $1 silver coin obverse inscriptions are “Liberty,” “In God We Trust,” “Founding Jamestown,” and “1607–2007.” The silver reverse displays the inscriptions, “United States of America,” “E Pluribus Unum” and “One Dollar.”
The United States Mint offers the Jamestown 400th Anniversary Commemorative Coins in both proof and uncirculated conditions. The Proof $5 Gold Coin is available for the introductory price of $230, and the Uncirculated $5 Gold Coin for $220, through 5 p.m. (ET) February 12, 2007. Thereafter, the Proof $5 Gold Coin will be $255, and the Uncirculated $5 Gold Coin will be $245.
The Proof $1 Silver Coin is available for the introductory price of $35, and the Uncirculated Silver Dollar Coin for $33, through 5 p.m. (ET) February 12, 2007. Thereafter, the Proof $1 Silver Coin will be $39, and the Uncirculated $1 Silver Coin will be $35.
To ensure the broadest and fairest access to the Jamestown 400th Anniversary Commemorative Coins, a limit of 100 units per household is in effect for each product option during the first 30 days of the product’s release. At the end of the initial 30–day period, and each 30–day period thereafter, the United States Mint will re–evaluate this limit and either extend, adjust or remove it.
The public may order the Jamestown 400th Anniversary Commemorative Coins by using the United States Mint’s secure website, www.usmint.gov, or by calling 1–800–USA–MINT (872–6468). Hearing– and speech–impaired customers may order by calling 1–888–321–MINT (6468). A shipping and handling fee of $4.95 per order will be added to all domestic orders. We expect to begin shipping the coins by the end of January 2007.