Obverse. Image Courtesy of Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS.com)
  • 5 Dollars 1997, KM# 280, United States of America (USA), Jackie Robinson
  • 5 Dollars 1997, KM# 280, United States of America (USA), Jackie Robinson
Description

The 1997 Jackie Robinson Five Dollar Gold was issued on August 16 in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of his appearance in a major league baseball game as the first black player.

This coin has the distinction of being the lowest mintage of all modern commemorative coins, making it the key date of the entire series. This refers to the uncirculated version, which had a mintage of just 5,174 coins.

Obverse

Depicts a portrait of Robinson in his older years, when he was active in civil rights politics. The inscriptions read “Jackie Robinson”, the date “1997”, “In God We Trust”, and “Liberty”.

Jack Roosevelt Robinson (1919–1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. When the Dodgers signed Robinson, it heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

During his 10-year MLB career, Robinson won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, was an All-Star for six consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1954, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949—the first black player so honored. Robinson played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Series championship.

In 1997, MLB retired his uniform number 42 across all major league teams; he was the first professional athlete in any sport to be so honored. MLB also adopted a new annual tradition, "Jackie Robinson Day", for the first time on April 15, 2004, on which every player on every team wears No. 42.

Design: William Cousins

JACKIE ROBINSON
1997
W
IN GOD
WE
TRUST
WC
LIBERTY

Reverse

Depicts a baseball with the words “Legacy of Courage” and the dates of his birth and death “1919-1972”. Additional inscriptions read “United States of America”, “E Pluribus Unum”, and “Five Dollars”.

Design: James Peed and John Mercanti

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
1919-1972
Legacy of
Courage
JP JM
E PLURIBUS UNUM
FIVE DOLLARS

Edge
Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Non-circulating)
Material Gold
Fineness 0.900
Weight 8.359 g
Diameter 21.6 mm
Thickness -
Shape round
Alignment Coin
Mint
West Point Mint (W)

Related coins

Jackie Robinson

Silver, 26.73 g, ⌀ 38.1 mm