The Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Silver Bullion Coin will be issued by the US Mint in 2017 featuring a reverse design emblematic of the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site of the District of Columbia. This coin will be released as the second 2017 issue of the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin™ Program and will be struck to resemble the associated Frederick Douglass Quarter, also issued that same year.
Coins in this silver bullion series are each composed of five ounces of .999 fine silver and feature a diameter of three inches. The program was created by the United States Congress as part of Public Law 110-456 which also created the series of associated America the Beautiful Quarters®.
However, where the quarters are issued typically for use in everyday commerce, these bullion coins are intended for investors. As such, when initially available, the bullion coins are sold through the Mint’s network of authorized purchasers for a small premium above the current spot price of the silver contained within them.
This means if silver is currently trading for $30 an ounce, these coins would be priced at $150, plus the premium – five ounces times $30 an ounce equals $150. This gives investors the opportunity to obtain small amounts of silver guaranteed by the US government for weight and purity for near market prices.
These coins are struck to resemble the associated quarters including an obverse portrait of George Washington along with the inscriptions of UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST and QUARTER DOLLAR. The reverse of this specific coin will contain the design emblematic of Frederick Douglass National Historic Site along with the inscriptions of FREDERICK DOUGLASS, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, 2017 and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in the District of Columbia
Congress initially established the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site of the District of Columbia on February 12, 1988. However, the site had been owned by the government since 1962.
It preserves the house and surrounding property known as Cedar Hill which was once owned by noted 19th century writer, orator and statesman Frederick Douglass. Douglass was a former slave who escaped to freedom and became one the the most well known African Americans of the age while championing the cause of equality.
