The Bureau of Engraving and Printing announced on Dec. 18 that the first of three issues in its 2016 Intaglio Print Subscription Program, dubbed the Independence Collection, will go on sale Jan. 7. This is in conjunction with BEP’s participation at the Florida United Numismatists convention in Tampa. 

This year’s program focuses on the Declaration of Independence and its famous phrase with the words “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Each of these “rights” is personified on its own 8.5-inch by 11-inch souvenir card featuring what the BEP refers to as “unique, engraved vignettes focusing on the age-old art of intaglio printing” superimposed over a replica of the Declaration.

“Life” is represented by Thomas Crawford’s statue of Freedom on top of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. — a vignette that is familiar to paper money collectors from its appearance on the first issues of federal currency, the $5 demand notes of 1861, as well as the $5 legal tender notes of 1862 to 1863.

“Liberty” is personified by the Statue of Liberty as it appears on the $50 Liberty Loan War Bond of 1917. It will go on sale March 3, at the American Numismatic Association National Money Show in Dallas.

The final card, “Pursuit of Happiness,” will go on sale Aug. 9, the first day of the ANA World’s Fair of Money in Anaheim, Calif. 

To participate in BEP’s 2016 Intaglio Print Subscription Program and to ensure receipt of all three prints, subscriptions must be made by Jan. 31. Each intaglio print will ship after its first day of sale. The subscription is $51. Individual cards are $22.50 each. To purchase, visit the BEP website, moneyfactorystore.gov. Order may also be placed by phone, at 800-456-3408, or by fax, at 888-891-7585.