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Effigy Mounds National Monument Five Ounce Silver Coin Now Available

Silver News
The United States Mint Introduces the First Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coin in the 2017 America The Beautiful Series.

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The first coin in the 2017 America The Beautiful from the United States Mint, the Effigy Mounds National Monument will be released on February 7 and is now available to order from BGASC.com for shipping on February 16.

The Effigy Mounds National Monument

The much anticipated Effigy Mounds National Monument silver bullion five ounce silver coins are now available for order from BGASC.com.

The Effigy Mounds National Monument silver bullion coin is the first in a series of five 2017 America The Beautiful (ATB) quarters. As part of the ATB quarter program, the U.S. Mint also simultaneously produces five ounce silver coins with the same design as the ATB quarters. Demand for 2016 ATB silver coins were the second highest in the coin’s history.

Demand for the 2017 ATB coins is expected to continue to be strong starting with the release of the Effigy Mound National Monument silver bullion coin.

On the Back of the Coin

The Effigy Mounds National Monument coin features a depiction of three Native American effigy mounds, a bird and two bears. The words “E Pluribus Unum” and “Effigy Mounds” and “Iowa ” are emblazoned on the coin. The coin’s reverse was designed by Richard Masters and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Renata Gordon.

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Click to buy the Effigy Mound National Monument Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coin

The Effigy Mounds National Monument is located in Iowa and established in 1949. The National Monument protects over 200 Native American Indian earthworks created one to two thousand years old. Some of the mounds are in the form of animals including birds, bear, deer, buffalo, lynx, turtles and mountain lions. The bear and birds are the most common effigy mounds found in the National Monument and are depicted on the ATB coin. Effigy mounds have been found in the United States’ mid-west in Iowa, southeast Minnesota and southern Wisconsin and along the Wisconsin-Illinois boundary.

While the effigy mound forms are easily identifiable, and appear to be the work of dozens of different Indian tribes, their purpose is not so easily determined. Researchers belief the mounds were compiled in effigy to the deceased animals and may have formed ancient burial grounds. Other researchers suspect that the effigy mounds delineated Native American hunting grounds.

On the Front of the Coin

The ATB silver bullion coins look like giant quarters and even bear a face value of a “quarter dollar”, though the five ounces of silver contained in the coins makes them worth far more.

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Pictured above is a quarter dollar that is also a five ounce silver coin!

Sales of the U.S. Mint’s ‘other’ silver bullion coin, the America The Beautiful (ATB) coin are on the rise. ATB coins are produced in limited mintages, that have never exceeded 126,700. In contrast, the U.S. Mint has sold record amounts of one ounce American Silver Eagle coins from 2013-2015, selling over 133 million ounces. Sales of five ounce ATB coins from 2013 – 2015 were just 508,000 reflecting 2,540,000 ounces of silver sold.

In 2016, sales of American Silver Eagle coins fell 20% from 2015’s record sales. Sales of ATB coins in 2016, however, soared 35% from 2015. The U.S. Mint sold 286,000 American the Beautiful coins in 2016, the second highest total ever in the coin’s seven year history. The best selling coin in 2016 was the first coin of the series the Shawnee National Forest coin that sold 105,00. The coin with the lowest mintage in 2016 was the Fort Moultre National Monument coin that sold 27,900.

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The first two coins of the 2016 America the Beautiful series, the Shawnee National Forest and Cumberland Gap coins were the third and fifth best selling coins in the series’ seven year history.
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The United States Mint sold 286,000 America The Beautiful Coins in 2016.

About The America The Beautiful Coin Series

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.

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 ATB quarter program is a 12-year initiative that will honor 56 national parks and other national sites by 2020.

What’s Coming In 2017?

The Effigy Mound National Monument will be followed by the Frederick Douglass
National Historic Site (DC), Ozark National Scenic Riverways (MO), Ellis Island (Statue of
Liberty National Monument)(NJ) and George Rogers Clark National Historical Park (IN) coins in 2017.

Because of their limited mintages, the ATB silver coins often sell out quickly and in later years sell for higher premiums over the value of their silver bullion content.

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This article by BGASC is not, and should not be regarded as, investment advice or as a recommendation regarding any particular course of action.