The America the Beautiful silver bullion coins comprise a series of silver bullion coins with a face value of a quarter dollar. The coins contain five troy ounces of silver, making them the largest silver bullion coins ever issued by the United States Mint. The design of the coins duplicates exactly—though enlarged—each of the America the Beautiful quarters. They were issued from 2010 to 2021. The coins were available for sale during the year in which their corresponding circulating coin is issued. The coins are distributed by the United States Mint's network of authorized bullion dealers, and may be resold at the discretion of the Director of the National Park Service.
Design
All coins in the series feature a common obverse depicting George Washington in a restored version of the portrait created by John Flanagan for the 1932 Washington quarter, while the reverse feature five individual designs for each year of the program (one in 2021), each depicting a national park or national site (one from each state, federal district, and territory). Unlike the reeded edge of the normal quarter, the silver coins have a smooth edge inscribed with the coin specifications: .999 FINE SILVER 5.0 OUNCE.
Differences between uncirculated and bullion versions There are three main differences between the uncirculated and bullion versions of the coin:
Each uncirculated coin comes with a certificate of authenticity from the Mint and is placed inside a plastic capsule and then in a presentation box; the bullion version is shipped in tubes of 10 coins. The tubes are shipped by the mint in "monster boxes", ten tubes to a box, and the contents are sold at the retailer's discretion. The uncirculated coins are vapor blasted ("burnished") after minting, giving them a matte finish, while bullion coins have a shinier finish. Under the "In God We Trust" inscription, the uncirculated coins feature a "P" mint mark representing the Philadelphia mint, whereas the bullion coins do not have a mint mark.
Legislative history
The program is authorized by Title II of the America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008.
Minting history A new coining press from Germany, the Grabener 1000 press, was installed on March 1, 2010, at the Philadelphia Mint for use in producing the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins. The press provides up to of pressure for each strike and can produce in excess of 1 million coins per year. Silver planchets for the series will be supplied by Sunshine Minting.
In conjunction with the April 27, 2010, meeting of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee in Philadelphia, committee members were shown examples of the America the Beautiful silver bullion coins.
Coins released to date Year No. State/territory SiteUS Mint item#Release date Bullion mintage Uncirculated mintage2010 1 Arkansas Hot Springs National ParkNP14/19/2010 33,000 ea. 27,000 ea. 2 Wyoming Yellowstone National ParkNP26/1/2010 3 California Yosemite National ParkNP37/26/2010 4 Arizona Grand Canyon National ParkNP49/20/2010 26,019 5 Oregon Mount Hood National ForestNP511/15/2010 26,9282011 6 Pennsylvania Gettysburg National Military ParkNP61/24/2011 126,700 ea. 24,625 7 Montana Glacier National ParkNP74/4/2011 20,856 8 Washington Olympic National ParkNP86/13/2011 104,900 18,398 9 Mississippi Vicksburg National Military ParkNP98/29/2011 58,100 18,594 10 Oklahoma Chickasaw National Recreation AreaNP1011/14/2011 48,700 16,8272012 11 Puerto Rico El Yunque National ForestNQ01/23/2012 24,000 17,314 12 New Mexico Chaco Culture National Historical ParkNQ14/2/2012 24,400 17,146 13 Maine Acadia National ParkNQ26/11/2012 25,400 14,978 14 Hawai'i Hawai'i Volcanoes National ParkNQ38/27/2012 20,000 ea. 14,863 15 Alaska Denali National ParkNQ411/5/2012 15,2252013 16 New Hampshire White Mountain National ForestNQ51/28/2013 35,000 20,530 17 Ohio Perry's Victory and International Peace MemorialNQ64/1/2013 30,000 ea. 17,707 18 Nevada Great Basin National ParkNQ76/10/2013 17,792 19 Maryland Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic ShrineNQ88/27/2013 19,802 20 South Dakota Mount Rushmore National MemorialNQ911/4/2013 35,000 23,5472014 21 Tennessee Great Smoky Mountains National ParkNR11/27/2014 33,000 24,710 22 Virginia Shenandoah National ParkNR23/31/2014 25,000 28,451 23 Utah Arches National ParkNR36/9/2014 22,000 ea. 28,434 24 Colorado Great Sand Dunes National ParkNR48/25/2014 24,103 25 Florida Everglades National ParkNR511/3/2014 34,000 22,7322015 26 Nebraska Homestead National Monument of AmericaSN12/9/2015 35,000 21,286 27 Louisiana Kisatchie National ForestSN24/13/2015 42,000 19,449 28 North Carolina Blue Ridge ParkwaySN36/22/2015 45,000 ea. 17,461 29 Delaware Bombay Hook National Wildlife RefugeSN49/14/2015 17,309 30 New York Saratoga National Historical ParkSN511/16/2015 17,5632016 31 Illinois Shawnee National Forest16AJ2/1/2016 105,000 18,781 32 Kentucky Cumberland Gap National Historical Park16AK4/4/2016 75,000 18,713 33 West Virginia Harpers Ferry National Historical Park16AL6/6/2016 55,300 18,896 34 North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt National Park16AM8/29/2016 40,000 18,917 35 South Carolina Fort Moultrie (Fort Sumter National Monument)16AN11/14/2016 35,000 ea. 17,8822017 36 Iowa Effigy Mounds National Monument17AJ2/6/2017 17,251 37 District of Columbia Frederick Douglass National Historic Site17AK4/3/2017 20,000 ea.17,678 38 Missouri Ozark National Scenic Riverways17AL6/5/2017 17,694 39 New Jersey Ellis Island (Statue of Liberty National Monument)17AM8/28/2017 40,000 17,670 40 Indiana George Rogers Clark National Historical Park17AN11/13/2017 35,000 14,731201841Michigan Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore18AJ02/19/201830,000 ea.17,77342Wisconsin Apostle Islands National Lakeshore18AK04/13/201816,80243Minnesota Voyageurs National Park18AL06/14/201816,83944Georgia Cumberland Island National Seashore18AM09/12/201852,50016,37645Rhode Island Block Island National Wildlife Refuge18AN11/26/201880,000 ea.15,912201946Massachusetts Lowell National Historical Park19AJ02/07/201916,64447Northern Mariana Islands American Memorial Park19AK04/04/201916,28748Guam War in the Pacific National Historical Park19AL06/06/201972,50016,27749Texas San Antonio Missions National Historical Park19AM08/29/201955,20016,21150Idaho Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness19AN11/14/201925,00016,310202051American Samoa National Park of American Samoa20AJ02/06/202045,000 ea.15,78152Connecticut Weir Farm National Historic Site20AK05/18/202015,39953U.S. Virgin Islands Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve20AL09/18/202013,56654Vermont Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park20AM11/23/202013,60155Kansas Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve20AN12/7/202013,617202156Alabama Tuskegee Airman National Historic Site21AJ4/8/202152,90019,819
See also
America the Beautiful quarters America the Beautiful quarter mintage figures American Silver Eagle Bullion Bullion coin Inflation hedge Silver as an investment
Notes
External links United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Program