The Ellis Island National Monument Silver Uncirculated Coin will be struck with a reverse design emblematic of Ellis Island National Monument of New Jersey. This silver uncirculated coin will appear as the fourth of five 2017 strikes of the America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin™ Program also marking the thirty-ninth for the series overall. As of this posting, a release date was not known for the coin.
Coins of this series are considered the numismatic versions of the US Mint’s America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin™ Program. Both series feature strikes composed of five ounces of .999 fine silver with diameters of three inches and reverse designs emblematic of sites of national interest from around the United States and its territories.
Both are also actually based on a series of circulating coins from the US Mint known as the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. All three series, however, are struck for typically very different reasons. These silver uncirculated coins are struck for collectors, the associated bullion coins are struck for investors and the quarters are generally struck for use in circulation.
However, all three programs contain the same basic designs, which are taken from the quarters. This means the obverse of each will have a portrait of George Washington by John Flanagan which has been featured on circulating quarters dollars since 1932. Surrounding the portrait will be the inscriptions of UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST and QUARTER DOLLAR.
The reverse will contain the design showcasing a portion of Ellis Island National Monument. This design will also include the inscriptions of ELLIS ISLAND, NEW JERSEY, 2017 and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
Ellis Island National Monument in New Jersey
Ellis Island National Monument of New Jersey was created to recall and commemorate both the facilities and those who passed through them when the island served as an immigration center to the United States. From 1892 to 1954, these facilities were touted as being the busiest immigration center of the US.
In the years of its operation, over 12 million people passed through the halls of Ellis to become eventual citizens of the United States. After its use as an immigration center, it was used as a detention facility for those in the process of being deported.
