Benjamin Franklin designed the Libertas Americana medal and Augustin Dupré engraved it with imagery celebrating American independence and the Franco-American alliance.

Now, to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, the Monnaie de Paris returns to that medal to with a five-coin collection titled “Independence of the United States — Liberty,” the sixth and final set of issues in a series that began in 2020.

Six years in the making

The Monnaie de Paris launched its “History of American Independence” series in 2020 with a coin commemorating the arrival of Lafayette in Boston. Each subsequent year introduced a new subject: Washington Before Boston in 2021, the Great Seal of the United States in 2022, the Libertas Americana medal in 2023, the Battle of Cowpens in 2024, and Benjamin Franklin and the Winged Genius in 2025. The 2026 release returns to the imagery of the Libertas Americana medal, reinterpreting it with a contemporary artistic approach for the 250th anniversary of American independence.

What is changed
and what is not

The design choices for the 2026 reverse are deliberate and meaningful. Minerva, representing France, wears the same shield bearing three fleurs-de-lis, helmet and breastplate as on the original medal. Lady Liberty rather than a baby now represents the United States, holding the tablet from the Statue of Liberty inscribed with the date of American independence in Roman numerals: JULY IV MDCCLXXVI. Together, the two figures hold the flame of liberty and look to the future.

The leopard, representing the British threat, is no longer part of the scene. Where the original medal depicted the two figures in a moment defined by that threat, the 2026 reinterpretation shows them standing proudly side by side after years of shared history, exchange and growth.

Surrounding the figures is the inscription LIBERTAS POPULUSQUE UNIVERSALIS — meaning Freedom and Universal People — and the date 4 July 2026.

The obverse for the 2026 collection is identical to that of the 2023 Libertas Americana release, providing a direct visual link between the two chapters of the series.

The collection

The five-coin 2026 set spans silver and gold. The .999 fine silver offerings are a 41-millimeter diameter 2-ounce €25 coin and an 85-millimeter 500-gram €250 coin, both in Antique High Relief.

The gold pieces are a Proof 22-millimeter 7.78-gram €50 coin, a 34-millimeter 31.1-gram €200 coin, and a 50-millimeter 155.5-gram €500 coin; the €200 and €500 pieces have the Antique High Relief finish.

The craft

The engravers who produced the models for these coins work from freehand designs or CAD software, fashioning low-relief models in industrial oil-based modeling clay. They worked alternately with concave and convex plaster molds until satisfied they have achieved the best three-dimensional rendering of the design.

The minting tradition behind these coins stretches back to the fourth century B.C. in France, when striking with a hammer first appeared. Today’s minters use presses rather than hammers, but their knowledge of dies, engraving and metals — passed seamlessly down from one generation to the next for centuries — guarantees the excellence of their work.