2016-W 1/4-oz Gold Standing Liberty Quarter PCGS SP69 FDI Mercanti Signed

A Legendary Coin Reborn, Signed by a Living Legend!

In 1916, the horrific battlefields of the First World War were threatening to involve the United States. A year earlier, the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania was sank by a German U-boat, killing 120 Americans among the more than 1,100 passengers and crew that lost their lives. President Woodrow Wilson demanded and received a cease fire on passenger ships from Germany, but as the war ground to a brutal stalemate, fears were growing that the uneasy peace would be temporary.

Amidst upheaval in Europe, the U.S. was also seeing its domestic affairs being shaped by the women's suffrage and temperance movements. The time was right for the U.S. Mint to reflect this changing landscape by evolving Charles Barber's stationary designs to images that were more dynamic. An artists' competition was held to choose a new design for the quarter, and the winning composition came from renowned sculptor Hermon Atkins MacNeil. His education in neoclassical artistry combined with his talent for capturing motion and emotion in his subjects produced a truly unique interpretation of Lady Liberty. Standing in an opening between two walls, Liberty seems to be walking forward with two objects in her hands. In her right hand, an olive branch for peace is extended by Liberty's bare breast, symbolizing a nurtured, prosperous land. In her left hand, Liberty carries a shield just below her stoic, watchful gaze. It's a simple image that speaks volumes for the time.

Indeed, the peace of 1916 was short lived. When Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare, the U.S. joined their allies in battle. Subsequently, Liberty's bare chest became covered in armor, where it would stay for more than a decade. Lasting through a World War I victory and into the roaring 20's, the Great Depression would bring what was originally going to be a temporary halt to the Standing Liberty in 1931. However, when a commemorative design celebrating the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth became a hit with the public, MacNeil's design was permanently retired.

Today, after more than eight decades, the Standing Liberty is seeing new life in gold. Introducing the 2016 Centennial Gold Standing Liberty Quarter -- the second in the U.S. Mint's Centennial Gold program, following the mint's re-release of the Mercury Dime and the upcoming Walking Liberty Half Dollar in a celebration of a prime year in numismatic design. Minted in one-quarter ounce of 99.99% pure gold, MacNeil's original 1916 design comes to brilliant life, with a bald eagle captured in mid-flight on the reverse.

Your Standing Liberty will arrive to you graded as almost flawless Specimen-69 (SP69) by Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) along with First Day of Issue (FDI) - Washington D.C. designation, meaning that your coin is among the first struck by the West Point mint, received in our nation's capital and certified within the first day of issue. This legendary coin will also come sonically sealed by PCGS, with a label signed by one of the most prominent names in U.S. Mint history, former Chief Engraver John Mercanti.

100,000 Standing Liberty Quarters will be minted, but with collectors already clamoring for this new release, supplies are expected to be absorbed into collections almost immediately. Independently graded Standing Liberty Quarters will be even rarer, and only a select few will be signed by John Mercanti. This is an incredibly unique chance to have this combination for your very own. Don't stand down -- click through now!