The United States Mint has published release dates for the next two numismatic releases for the America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Coins. These coins are struck in five troy ounces of .999 fine silver, feature a special finish created through a vapor blasting technique, carry the “P” mint mark, and are minted in limited quantities.
The coin featuring Grand Canyon National Park has been scheduled for release on June 29, 2011. The coin featuring Mount Hood National Forest has been scheduled for July 28, 2011. Typically, newly released US Mint products go on sale at 12:00 Noon ET.
The Grand Canyon coin features a view of the granaries above the Nakoweap Delta in Marble Canyon near the Colorado River. The inscriptions include “Grand Canyon”, “Airzona”, “2010”, and “E Pluribus Unum”. The Mount Hood coin depicts a view of Mount Hood with Lost Lake in the foreground. The inscriptions are “Mount Hood”, “Oregon”, “2010”, and “E Pluribus Unum”. The reverse for each coin was designed and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill.
The obverse of each features the 1932 portrait of George Washington by John Flanagan and carries inscriptions “United States of America”, “Liberty”, “In God We Trust”, “Quarter Dollar”, and the “P” mint mark. The edge of the coin includes incuse lettering “.999 Fine Silver 5.0 Ounce”.
Each 2010-dated release is expected to have a mintage of 27,000. The pricing is expected to be $279.95, but will remain dependent on changes in the market price for silver.
The previous releases experienced strong demand, resulting in rapid sell outs. The Hot Springs coin went on sale April 28 and sold out by May 13. The following coin featuring Yellowstone National Park went on sale May 17 and sold out by June 1. The third release featuring Yosemite National Park recently went on sale June 9, and has reached sales of 20,511 through June 12.
Although collectors have greeted the new product line enthusiastically, there are some signs that the rapid succession of releases is taking its toll. Due to a lengthy delay in the release of the 2010-dated designs, it is expected that ten different coins will be released in the current year, at an possible collective issue price of $2,799.50.
Assuming the US Mint continues to issue numismatic versions for all 56 planned designs, a complete collection would include 280 troy ounces of silver and have a potential cost of more than $15,000. The actual figure would vary based on the market price of silver over the next ten years.
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