Philadelphia, PA – The United States Mint today unveiled the designs that will be featured on two commemorative coins that will be issued in 2007 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in America, at Jamestown, Virginia.

The unveiling was part of a ceremony, hosted by Jamestown 2007, which saw the arrival in Philadelphia of a full-sized replica of the ship, Godspeed, one of the three vessels which carried the original Jamestown settlers from England to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in 1607.

The obverse of the $5 gold coin, designed by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver John Mercanti, depicts Captain John Smith conversing with an American Indian; and the $5 gold reverse, by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program Master Designer Susan Gamble, pictures the Jamestown Memorial Church – the only remaining structure from the original settlement.

The obverse of the silver dollar, designed by recently retired United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Donna Weaver, depicts ‘Three Faces of Diversity,’ representing the three cultures that came together in Jamestown, and the reverse of the silver dollar, also by Susan Gamble, depicts the three ships that brought the first settlers to Jamestown: the Godspeed, the Susan Constant and the Discovery.

Surcharges from the sale of these commemorative coins are authorized to be directed to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Association of the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities.

Public Law 108-289, dated August 6, 2004, authorizes the United States Mint to produce 100,000 $5 gold coins and 500,000 $1 silver coins to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the founding of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia. The coins are expected to go on sale during the first quarter of 2007, and will be available in both proof and uncirculated conditions.

Images of the Jamestown 400th Anniversary Commemorative Coins can be found by clicking on “Commemoratives.”