For the 50th anniversary of the Ford Motor Company, Lincoln built one special Capri convertible with 14-karat gold-plated trim and named it the Anniversary.

For Henry Ford II, his brothers Benson and Bill, and the Ford family, the 50th anniversary of the Ford Motor Company was a big deal. To help mark the event, a beautiful coffee-table book called Ford at Fifty was published, a star-packed two-hour television special was simulcast on two networks, and a small fleet of vehicles was prepared for the car show circuit. Lincoln’s contributions to the show ensemble included the XL-500 dream car (see our feature here), a gold Capri hardtop with a Bengal theme and the princely name Maharaja, and this one: a customized 1953 Capri convertible called the Anniversary.

The Anniversary’s exterior paint was a custom pearlescent mix called Frost White Pearl Essence, while the interior was upholstered in matching white metallic leather with gold leather welting. Even the carpeting was snow white, and for the pièce de résistance all the exterior and interior trim was replated in 14-karat gold at a reported cost of $4,000. That was not a small piece of change in 1953, when the price of a new Capri convertible (in factory trim without the gold plating) was $3,699.

The Lincoln division produced a number of special one-off cars along similar lines in the 1953-55 period, both for the car show circuit and for customers with close connections to the Ford Motor Company. A few of these cars have survived, but the ultimate fate of the gold-plated 1953 Anniversary seems to be unknown.