Rounding out the three coins is the half dollar, with its obverse design by Edgar Z. The reverse, designed by Mercanti with assistance by Matthew Peloso, shows the torch of the Statue of Liberty figuring in the center of the canvas and rising above a famous quote inscribed upon the Statue of Liberty: “GIVE ME YOUR TIRED, YOUR POOR, YOUR HUDDLED MASSES YEARNING TO BREATHE FREE.” The obverse of the commemorative dollar showcases the Statue of Liberty with the Registry Room (or “Great Hall”) of Ellis Island seen in the background. The silver dollar was designed by John Mercanti, then busy preparing the American Silver Eagle that was also to debut in 1986. The reverse, a collaboration by Jones and Philip Fowler, reveals a side view of an eagle upon landing. The $5 gold coin – the first issued by the United States Mint since 1929 – is anchored by an obverse design from then-Chief Engraver of the United States Mint Elizabeth Jones featuring an upshot view toward the head of the Statue of Liberty, her rays seemingly beaming beyond the round confines of the coin. commemorative coinage was a project laid upon the skilled hands of the talented artists at the United States Mint. Honoring the Statue of Liberty on this U.S.

The first United States Mint program of the 1980s that utilized this now ubiquitous trinity of commemorative coin denominations was the 1986 Statue of Liberty Centennial, which pays homage to the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. The United States Modern Commemorative Coin series that began in 1982 has a common trio of coins across which a common design or theme is carried, and that numismatic threesome is the clad half dollar, silver dollar, and gold $5 coin.

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