Obverse. Image Courtesy of Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS.com)
  • 5 Dollars 2007, KM# 406, United States of America (USA), 400th Anniversary of the Settlement at Jamestown
  • 5 Dollars 2007, KM# 406, United States of America (USA), 400th Anniversary of the Settlement at Jamestown
Description

The 2007 Jamestown $5 Gold Coin was issued to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia. In the spring of 1607 three ships carried English settlers to the New World where they would establish the first permanent English settlement in what would become the United States.

The 400th anniversary of Jamestown had also been the subject of the Virginia State Quarter, released in 2000. The quarter also featured an image of the three ships that bought the settlers to Jamestown and carried the dual date of the anniversary.

Obverse

Depicts Captain John Smith with the Native American chief Powhatan. The inscriptions read “Liberty”, “1607”, “2007”, “Founding of Jamestown”, and “In God We Trust”.

John Smith (1580–1631) was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author. He played an important role in the establishment of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in America, in the early 17th century. He was a leader of the Virginia Colony between September 1608 and August 1609, and he led an exploration along the rivers of Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay, during which he became the first English explorer to map the Chesapeake Bay area. Later, he explored and mapped the coast of New England.

Powhatan (c. 1547 – c. 1618), whose proper name was Wahunsenacawh (alternately spelled Wahunsenacah, Wahunsunacock or Wahunsonacock), was the leader of the Powhatan, an alliance of Algonquian-speaking American Indians living in Tsenacommacah, in the Tidewater region of Virginia at the time when English settlers landed at Jamestown in 1607. Powhatan, alternately called "King" or "Chief" Powhatan by English settlers, led the main political and military power facing the early colonists, and was probably the older brother of Opechancanough, who led attacks against the settlers in 1622 and 1644. He was the father of Matoaka (Pocahontas).

Design: John M. Mercanti

1607 LIBERTY 2007
IN GOD
WE
TRUST
JM
FOUNDING of JAMESTOWN

Reverse

Depicts the remains of the Jamestown Memorial Church (current view of the rebuilt 1907 church), which is the only remaining structure in Jamestown. The inscriptions read “United State of America”, the face value “$5”, “E Pluribus Unum”, and “Jamestown Memorial Church”.

Jamestown Church, constructed in brick from 1639 onward, in Jamestown in the Mid-Atlantic state of Virginia, is one of the oldest surviving building remnants built by Europeans in the original thirteen colonies and in the United States overall. It is now part of Historic Jamestowne, and is owned by Preservation Virginia (formerly known as the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities). There have been several sites and stages in the church's history, and its later tower is now the last surviving above-ground structure from the days when Jamestown was the capital of Virginia. The current structure, active as part of the Anglican church, is still in use today. The ruins are currently being researched by members of the Jamestown Rediscovery project.

Design: Susan Gamble

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$ 5
W
E PLURIBUS UNUM
SG
JAMESTOWN MEMORIAL CHURCH

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)

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