WASHINGTON — The United States Mint is pleased to announce the release of its new America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins on December 6. The three–inch, five–ounce silver coins–the first of their kind produced by the United States Mint–are investment–grade coins with weight, content and purity guaranteed by the U.S. government. The coins are struck in .999 fine silver.
The United States Mint America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins will be available through an established network of Authorized Purchasers that will in turn make them available on the secondary market. To find a bullion retailer, visit /bullion-sales or call 1–800–USA–GOLD (872–4653). The cost of the coins will be determined by the current market price of silver plus a moderate premium to cover minting, distribution and marketing costs.
The maximum first year mintage for the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins is 165,000 units — 33,000 units for each of the five coins issued in 2010 in honor of Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas), Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming), Yosemite National Park (California), Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona) and Mount Hood National Forest (Oregon). Maximum mintage levels for the 2011 and future bullion coins have not yet been determined.
A numismatic version of the three–inch, five–ounce silver coins, also minted in .999 silver, will be available for purchase directly from the United States Mint during the first quarter of 2011. The maximum mintage for these collector versions is set at 135,000 units–27,000 units for each of the five 2010 coins. The United States Mint will strike all 2010–dated numismatic coins by the end of the year, as required by law. Additional information about the release date and pricing for the America the Beautiful Five Ounce Uncirculated Coins will be available at a future date.
Both the bullion and numismatic versions of these coins are legal tender and bear designs that are exact duplicates of those featured on coins released through the United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. The fineness and weight are incused on the coins’ edges. The bullion version, like its American Eagle Bullion Coin counterparts, will bear no mint mark. The numismatic version will bear the “P” mint mark of the United States Mint at Philadelphia.
Public Law 110–456, Title II–the “America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008″–authorizes the United States Mint to mint and issue .999 fine silver bullion coins replicating each of the designs featured on the America the Beautiful Quarters in quantities the Secretary of the Treasury deems appropriate. The numismatic coins are being produced under authority 31 U.S.C. §5111(a) (3), which provides the Secretary of the Treasury with broad authority to design, produce and sell numismatic items.
The United States Mint, created by Congress in 1792, is the Nation’s sole manufacturer of legal tender coinage and is responsible for producing an adequate volume of circulating coinage for the Nation to conduct its trade and commerce. The United States Mint also produces proof, uncirculated and commemorative coins; Congressional Gold Medals; and silver, gold and platinum bullion coins.