PHOTO CREDIT: "Presidential $1 Coin image from the United States Mint."
"The United States is honoring our Nation's Presidents by issuing $1 circulating coins featuring their images in the order that they served in office. The United States Mint issues four Presidential $1 Coins each year, with Presidents Johnson, Grant, Hayes, and Garfield being honored in 2011. Each coin has a common reverse design featuring a striking rendition of the Statue of Liberty. These coins feature large, dramatic artwork, as well as edge-incused inscriptions of the year of minting, or issuance, E PLURIBUS UNUM and the mint mark. In 2009 "In God We Trust" was moved from the edge to the face of the coin."
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"Presidential $1 Coin Lady Liberty Reverse
On October 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland accepted the Statue of Liberty on behalf of the United States and said, in part, "We will not forget that Liberty has here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar be neglected."
She is the work of sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, who enlisted the assistance of engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, designer of the Eiffel Tower, to help him solve some of the structural challenges presented by creating a statue of such magnitude.
The Statue of Liberty was completed in 1884 and shipped to the United States in June 1885, having been disassembled into 350 individual pieces that were packed in over 200 crates for the transatlantic voyage. In four months’ time, she was re-assembled in New York Harbor, standing just over 151 feet from the top of the statue’s base to the tip of the torch her right hand holds high above the waters of New York Harbor.
Originally intended as a gift to celebrate the American Centennial in 1876, the Statue of Liberty was given to the United States as a symbol of the friendship forged between the new American government and the government of France during the American Revolutionary War.
The tablet she holds in her left hand carries the inscription "July IV MDCCLXXVI" in reference to the July 4, 1776, signing of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the Nation.
There are 25 windows running the length of Lady Liberty’s crown, which is topped by seven rays, meant to convey both the light of the sun and the seven seas and continents of the world.
For millions of Americans, the Statue of Liberty was the first sight that their ancestors saw as they arrived in America after having left their homes in search of a better life for themselves and for their families.
To celebrate her 100th anniversary, the Statue of Liberty was featured on a United States commemorative coin in 1986. In 1997, a close-up image of the Lady Liberty was chosen for the obverse of the new American Eagle platinum coins."
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"The story of the Statue of Liberty is a story of change. The people of France gave the Statue to the people of the United States over one hundred years ago in recognition of a friendship established during the American Revolution. Over the years, the meanings of the Statue have grown until she has become an international icon of freedom and liberty, the most recognizable symbol of democracy in the world.
The idea of the Statue originated around 1865 with Edouard de Laboulaye who saw the United States as a country that had proved that democracy was a viable type of government- after all they had just survived a Civil War and abolished slavery. De Laboulaye also saw the gift as a way to reflect his wish for a democracy in France. Artist Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, who was known for large-scale work, was commissioned to design this sculpture. Nothing happened for some time, but finally (in 1874) Bartholdi came to the United States to look for a location for his monument. He saw Bedloe's Island from his ship as he sailed into the New York Harbor, and realized it would be a perfect location - since here his statue would always have an audience.
'Statue of Liberty Liberty Enlightening the World', which is the full title of Bartholdi's work was fashioned in the style of Greco-Roman art. Bartholdi used a technique called repousse to create her copper skin - hammering out each piece of copper until it was only 3/32 of an inch thick. Bartholdi recruited French engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel to build a skeleton for his statue. Eiffel designed a massive iron pylon and secondary skeletal framework which allows the Statue's copper skin to move independently- yet stand upright. This flexibility is needed to allow the Statue to sway in the sometimes violent harbor winds.
Since the Statue was a joint effort between American and France, it was agreed that the American people were to build the pedestal, and the French people were responsible for the Statue and assembly. In France, public fees, various forms of entertainment and items with the Statue on it were ways to raise money. This was also tried in the United States- but with limited results. Joseph Pulitzer stepped in and was able to raise the remaining money for the pedestal using his newspaper "The World".
The Statue was completed in France in July of 1884, then disassembled and shipped to the United States. She arrived in NY In June 1885. Once the pedestal was finished, the statue was re-assembled in four months. On October 28, 1886 the dedication of the Statue of Liberty took place in front of thousands of spectators.
Not yet seen as an international, much less national symbol, the Statue saw many physical changes and many administrative changes. She was cared for by the Lighthouse Board, the War Department, and finally the National Park Service after 1933 (although she had already been declared a National Monument in 1924). Bedloe's Island was renamed Liberty Island in 1956 in honor of its most famous resident and in 1965 President Lyndon B Johnson added Ellis Island to the Statue of Liberty National Monument. In May of 1982, in anticipation of the Statue's 100th birthday a restoration project was initiated. At the start of the Statue's restoration, the United Nations in 1984 designated the Statue of Liberty as a World Heritage Site. The newly restored Statue opened to the public on July 5, 1986 during Liberty Weekend, which celebrated her centennial.
The tragedy of September 11, 2001 resulted in the closure of Liberty Island. The island re-opened after 100 days, however the Statue remained closed until August 3, 2004 when the pedestal level was opened for visitation. On July 4, 2009, the Crown of the Statue of Liberty was reopened to the public. Visitors must make a reservation to climb to the top of the Pedestal or to the Statue's Crown.
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