The 2014 one-half ounce Eleanor Roosevelt First Spouse gold coins will be on sale by the United States Mint, starting at noon on Sept. 4.
According to the Mint, the coins will be struck at its West Point facility in Proof and uncirculated finishes.
Maximum mintage is set at 10,000 across all product options, the Mint states in a release.
Pricing will be based on the Mint’s gold pricing structure, available at www.usmint.gov/catalog.
2014 First Spouse Gold Coin Reverse – Eleanor Roosevelt.
The release describes the gold coins as follows:
“The design features a portrait of Mrs. Roosevelt with the inscriptions ELEANOR ROOSEVELT, IN GOD WE TRUST, LIBERTY, 2014, 32nd, and 1933-1945.”
The coin’s reverse depicts Mrs. Roosevelt’s right hand lighting a candle. “A glowing light rises over a stylized graphic of the Earth’s curved horizon, symbolizing her life’s work and the global impact of her humanitarian initiatives.” Inscriptions are UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, $10, 1/2 OZ. and .9999 FINE GOLD.
Eleanor Roosevelt was born Oct. 11, 1881, in New York City. She was considered the eyes, ears and feet for her partially paralyzed husband. She reported directly and in great detail to the President regarding her many trips inside and outside the country at his request and at her own behest.
Mrs. Roosevelt was a delegate to the United Nations and was proud of her own work on behalf of the state of Israel. She took many stands against injustice in the U.S. She publicly resigned from a major women’s organization when a prominent singer was denied the opportunity to perform in its venue because of her race.
Mrs. Roosevelt visited the homeless on the streets and worked in soup kitchens, even on Christmas Day. She, along with her friends, started a business at her home in Val-Kill that manufactured furniture in the U.S. to provide jobs during the Depression.
Mrs. Roosevelt visited war zones during the Second World War, held her own weekly radio addresses and even spoke about the bombing of Pearl Harbor before her husband addressed the nation in his famous Day of Infamy speech. She also wrote a very popular syndicated newspaper column.
Adlai Stevenson said of her after her death: “She would rather light a candle than curse the darkness, and her glow has warmed the world.”