The Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Silver Bullion Coin will be issued by the US Mint in 2016. This silver bullion coin will feature imagery similar to the Cumberland Gap Quarter including a reverse emblematic of Cumberland Gap National Historical Park of Kentucky. As of this posting, a release date was not known for the coin.
The US Mint produces these coins as directed by Public Law 110-456. They are officially known as strikes of the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin™ Program and contain obverse and reverse imagery similar to an associated America the Beautiful Quarters® Program.
Coins of this series are struck for investors from five ounces of .999 fine silver. They feature a very large diameter of three inches and are initially sold through the Mint’s network of authorized purchasers for a small premium above the current spot price of the silver contained within them.
Obverse designs of each coin are the same and contain the portrait of George Washington initially designed by John Flanagan. The portrait was first featured on the obverse of the 1932 circulating quarter dollar and has been in use on the quarters in one form or another ever since making it extremely familiar to many. Around the portrait will be the inscriptions of UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST and QUARTER DOLLAR.
The reverse of the coin will contain the design emblematic of Cumberland Gap. Also shown will be the inscriptions of CUMBERLAND GAP, KENTUCKY, 2016 and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park in Kentucky
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park of Kentucky was officially established on June 11, 1940. It is located on the border between Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia at the location of a large break in the Appalachian Mountains.
In fact, this break is the reason behind the park as the site has served as a trail through the mountains for centuries. This includes the route many pioneers used to explore the wilds of Kentucky during the early days of the country. It is also the strategic location sought after by both sides during the American Civil War.
