Struck to resemble the Great Sand Dunes Quarter, the Great Sand Dunes National Park Silver Bullion Coin will be issued by the United States Mint as the fourth release in 2014 of the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin™ Program. The coin will honor Great Sand Dunes National Park of Colorado with a design showcased on its reverse. No release date was known at the time of this posting.
Aside from being the fourth 2014 strike of the series, the Great Sand Dunes Silver Bullion Coin also marks the 24th of the program which debuted in 2010 and features reverse designs emblematic of sites of national interest. The bullion program was authorized by Congress as a low-cost investment grade bullion coin for investors featuring designs originally created for the associated America the Beautiful Quarters® Program.
The US Mint will strike a total of fifty-six unique coins in both the quarters and this bullion coin series. One strike from each series will honor a specific site of national interest found in each state as well as the District of Columbia and the five US territories.
These fifty-six coins per series are scheduled to appear at a rate of five per year from 2010 until the last strike is issued in 2021. However, the series may actually be extended through the actions of the Secretary of the Treasury, as allowed by law.
The reverse of the Great Sand Dunes Silver Bullion Coin will feature the design emblematic of the national park. Surrounding that image will be the inscriptions of GREAT SAND DUNES, COLORADO, 2014 and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
Shown on the obverse will be a portrait of George Washington. This image of Washington was originally designed by John Flanagan and will appear on all of the America the Beautiful related coins. The obverse will also include the inscriptions of UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST and QUARTER DOLLAR.
Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve was only officially established on September 13, 2004. A large section of the park, however, had actually been protected and established years before in 1932 as a national monument.
Today, the entire park and preserve encompasses an area of 84,670 acres. In the park are the largest sand dunes of North America which can rise as high as 750 feet above the valley below.
