America The Beautiful Coin Sales Off To Best Start Since 2011
The United States Mint’s Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coin Sales Perk Up
Sales of the U.S. Mint’s ‘other’ silver bullion coin, the American The Beautiful (ATB) coin are on the rise. The U.S. Mint has sold record amounts of one ounce American Silver Eagle coins from 2013-2015, selling over 133 million ounces. In contrast, sales of five ounce ATB coins from 2013 – 2015 were just 508,000 reflecting 2,540,000 ounces of silver sold.
Through mid April, however, sales of ATB coins are 169,000 reflecting 845,000 ounces of silver, or more than 2013’s entire mintage of 160,000 coins reflecting 800,000 ounces.
Sales of ATB coins are issued in mintages authorized by the U.S. Treasury. Historically, other than in 2011 when a few coins had mintages over 100,000, most ATB coins have been issued in mintages ranging from 20,000-50,000. Earlier this year, the first ATB coin of the five scheduled ATB coins, the Shanwee National Forest Coin, sold 105,000, making it the third best selling ATB in the coin’s history and the only coin outside of the 2011 mintages to sell over 100,000.
To date the U.S. Mint has released two of the five scheduled ATB coins, the Shawnee National Forest and the Cumberland Gap Historical Park coins. Later this year, the U.S. Mint will release three more ATB designs: Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Fort Moultrie at Fort Sumter National Monument.
The Cumberland Gap Historical Park coin has sold 64,000 so far in 2016, with an authorized mintage of 150,000.
More about the American The Beautiful Silver Coin Series
Each year since 2010, the U.S. Mint has produced five different designs of America the Beautiful coins. The reverse of the ATB coins features various depictions of U.S. National Parks or other national sites. The obverse of the ATB coins looks like a U.S. quarter featuring a portrait of George Washington. Indeed, the ATB series includes U.S. quarters intended for general circulation with face values of twenty five cents that are produced in the same design as their five ounce silver commemorative counterparts.
The America The Beautiful five ounce silver coins were authorized in 2008 under Public Law 110-456. The ATB coins are five ounces of .999 fine silver and are exact replicas of the designs of the America the Beautiful quarters ($.25) minted for general circulation. The ATB five ounce silver coins even have stamped on them “quarter dollar” on the obverse. ATB five ounce coins are the first five ounce silver coins ever produced by the U.S. Mint.
The ATB quarter program is a 12-year initiative that will honor 56 national parks and other national sites by 2020.
This article by BGASC is not, and should not be regarded as, investment advice or as a recommendation regarding any particular course of action.