The National Park of American Samoa Silver Bullion Coin will be the first of five 2020 dated releases of the US Mint’s America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin™ Program. Shown on the reverse of the silver bullion coin will be a design emblematic of the National Park found in the United States Territory of American Samoa. A release date for the coin was not known at the time of this posting.
These coins are each struck from five ounces of .999 fine silver to a diameter of three inches and were authorized by Congress as part of the America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008 which became Public Law 110-456. Under that act, these silver bullion coins are required to feature obverse and reverse imagery similar to those found on a related series of quarters known as the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program.
Accordingly, the obverse of each will contain the same portrait of George Washington which has been in use in one form or another on quarter dollars since 1932. The portrait of the first President of the United States was originally completed by artist John Flanagan. Obverse inscriptions will include UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST and QUARTER DOLLAR.
The reverse of the coin will contain the design emblematic of the national park. Final design information should appear sometime in 2019 after it has been selected by the Secretary of the Treasury. Design candidates should appear earlier that year for review. Surrounding the chosen design will be the inscriptions of NATIONAL PARK OF AMERICAN SAMOA, AMERICAN SAMOA, 2020 and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
When first released, the silver bullion coins will be sold through the Mint’s network of authorized purchasers. This network obtains the coins in bulk from the Mint, then resells them in smaller lots to the public and coin and precious metal dealers for a small premium above the current spot price of the silver they contain.
National Park of American Samoa
The National Park of American Samoa is spread across 10,500 acres on three separate islands of the US territory -Tutuila, Ofu-Olosega, and Ta‘ū. The park was established to protect some of the natural resources of the islands but also offer some excellent recreational opportunities.
Some of those opportunities include hiking, snorkeling and scuba diving in addition to the outstanding sightseeing offered.
