The Great Basin National Park Silver Bullion Coin will be struck by the US Mint with a reverse emblematic of Great Basin National Park of Nevada. The silver bullion coin will mark the third release in 2013 of the US Mint’s America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins™ Program. An official issue date was not known at the time of this posting.
Like all coins of the series, the Great Basin National Park Silver Bullion Coin will be struck from five ounces of silver to a diameter of three inches. Both the obverse and reverse designs will be similar to those found on the Great Basin Quarter struck as part of the Mint’s America the Beautiful® Quarters.
The main difference between the silver bullion coin and the related quarter will be its much larger size (three inches versus 0.955 inches) and its composition of silver versus the quarter which is struck from clad. Also, the bullion coin will have an edge inscription of ".999 FINE SILVER 5.0 OUNCE" whereas the quarters have a reeded edge.
Finally, most of the quarters will be struck for commerce and shipped to local banks through the Federal Reserve System. In contrast, the bullion coins are intended for investors and are sold through the Mint’s network of authorized purchasers which buys the coins in bulk from the Mint then resells them in smaller quantities to metal and coin dealers as well as the general public.
Struck to resemble the quarter, the obverse of each silver bullion coin will contain the John Flanagan portrait of George Washington seen on quarters since 1932. The reverse of the Great Basin Silver Coin will contain the design emblematic of the park.
Great Basin National Park in Nevada
A portion of Great Basin National Park of Nevada was originally placed under direct federal control in 1922 as a national monument. That monument was known as Lehman Caves which became part of the larger national park when it was established in 1986.
Great Basin is located approximately 4 hours north of Las Vegas, Nevada. It consists of approximately 77,000 acres including the Lehman Caves and groves of ancient bristlecone pines.
