US Mint releases 3 new coins
The U.S. Mint has released three new coins honoring famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman.
The coins are part of the Harriet Tubman Commemorative Coin Program and include a $5 gold coin, $1 silver coin and half-dollar clad coins.
“Every coin produced by the United States Mint helps to tell a story that teaches us about America’s history or connects us to a special memory,” Mint director Ventris Gibson said in a statement. “We hope this program will honor the life and legacy of Harriet Tubman and inspire others to learn more about this amazing woman.”
The $5 gold coin features an image of Tubman in her years after the Civil War with the reverse showing two clasped hands to represent her commitment to others. An image of Tubman on the $1 coin shows her with two war-era boats while the back shows her holding a spyglass, honoring her time as a scout and spy for the Union Army. The half-dollar coin features Tubman as a director of the Underground Railroad to honor her work freeing slaves. The back shows hands forming a bridge with the North Star above guiding escapees to freedom.
The commemorative coins come with a surcharge with prices ranging from $47 to $718, or $836.25 for a set of three.
A portion of the proceeds from the coins will go to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio and the Harriet Tubman Home Inc. in Auburn, NY.
Tubman, born into slavery in Marland sometime between 1820 to 1825, escaped from slavery in 1849 using what was known as the “Underground Railroad,” a loose network of people and transportation used to help slaves escape bondage. Once she was freed, she turned her attention to helping her family members and others escape slavery.
In time, she led her parents, several siblings and about 60 others to freedom in as many as 15 trips to the South to rescue slaves. She later expanded the Underground Railroad to Canada after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law in 1850 which required that slaves captured in the north be returned to their owners.
In 2016, federal officials announced Tubman’s image would replace President Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. Those plans have been put on hold, however, and likely won’t occur until at least 2030.