The Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Silver Bullion Coin will mark the last of five 2019-dated releases of the US Mint’s America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin™ Program. The reverse of the silver bullion coin will contain a design showcasing a portion of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness found in the state of Idaho. A release date for the coin was not known at the time of this posting.
In addition to marking the last of five to be issued in the series in 2019, the Frank Church River of No Return Coin will also be the fiftieth strike released in the silver bullion coin program overall. The program debuted in 2010 and will include a total of fifty-six when the last one is released in 2021.
Each one is struck from five ounces of .999 fine silver and features a diameter of three inches. The reverse of the coins each contain a design emblematic of a different site of national interest found throughout the United States and its territories with one site chosen from each state, the District of Columbia and the five US territories.
The design honoring the aforementioned wilderness will not likely be known until late in 2018. Design candidates for the strike should appear earlier that year. What is known is that the reverse will include the inscriptions of FRANK CHURCH RIVER OF NO RETURN, IDAHO, 2019 and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
These coins are struck as large investment grade versions of the US Minsk’s America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. Accordingly, the obverse of each contains the same portrait of George Washington that is seen on the obverse of all of the quarters. The portrait is surrounded by the inscriptions of UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST and QUARTER DOLLAR.
Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness of Idaho
The Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness is composed of 2,366,757 acres in the state of Idaho. It was officially established by the United States Congress on January 1, 1980 and is officially managed by the US Forest Service.
The wilderness takes its name from two different entities. First, Frank Church was a US Senator who was largely responsible for the protection of the area. Second, the River of No Return is the nickname given to the Salmon River which runs through the wilderness.
