2011 America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin Design Candidates

With the inaugural 2010 America the Beautiful 5 ounce Silver Bullion Coins due to make their appearance at any moment, now is a good time to consider next year’s issues within the same program.

Known as the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin® Program, the new year’s lineup will continue the series that honors sites of national interest from around the United States and its territories.

Each America the Beautiful coin in the program will be struck from five ounces of .999 fine silver with current law requiring them to be three inches in diameter. The grand size of each piece makes them the largest bullion products of the US Mint.

The 2011 Silver Bullion Coins mark the sixth through the tenth strikes of the fifty-six coin series which will feature five annual releases. Those due in 2011 include coins honoring:

• Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania
• Glacier National Park in Montana
• Olympic National Park in Washington
• Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi
• Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Oklahoma

Silver coins in this series bear the same design elements as found on the circulating America the Beautiful Quarters, but feature enhanced details due to their size and the manufacturing process used in minting them. Obverse designs all contain a portrait of George Washington, the first President of the United States, as designed by John Flanagan and as first seen on the circulating 1932 quarter dollar. An edge inscription will signify the coin’s weight and fineness.

Reverse designs feature a design emblematic of the selected site. Final design information for the 2011 coins has not yet been released by the US Mint, but quarter design candidates have been reviewed by both the Citizen’s Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) which are charged with commenting on possible designs for upcoming American coinage.

Since the quarters and silver coins share designs, the CCAC and CFA comments about the quarters are applicable to the bullion coins as well. Their selections and reasons are given below along with images of the design candidates.

2011 Gettysburg National Military Park Silver Coin Design

Gettysburg Silver Coin Candidate PA-01	Gettysburg Silver Coin Candidate PA-02
Gettysburg Silver Coin Candidate PA-03	Gettysburg Silver Coin Candidate PA-04

Several members of the CCAC supported Gettysburg Silver Bullion Coin design candidate PA-01, depicting the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Monument. However, the CCAC requested that the US Mint "consider soliciting additional designs, perhaps more symbolic in nature, to convey the importance of Gettysburg National Military Park to our Nation."

The CFA chose PA-03 as it was the "simplest design and will therefore be the most legible at the scale of the coin."

2011 Glacier National Park Silver Coin Design

Glacier Silver Bullion Coin Candidate MT-01	Glacier Silver Bullion Coin Candidate MT-02
Glacier Silver Bullion Coin Candidate MT-03

For the Glacier Silver Bullion Coin, the CCAC chose MT-03 stating "the committee unanimously preferred design MT-03, which portrays a mountain goat over the rocky slopes of the park’s high country."

The CFA concurred, stating it "provides a desirable foreground feature that gives scale to the sweeping vista of the glaciated landscape."

2011 Olympic National Park Silver Coin Design

Olympic Silver Bullion Coin Candidate WA-01	Olympic Silver Bullion Coin Candidate WA-02
Olympic Silver Bullion Coin Candidate WA-03	Olympic Silver Bullion Coin Candidate WA-04

For the Olympic Silver Bullion Coin, both groups once again chose the same design, this time selecting WA-01. The CCAC "found the combination of the park’s wildlife and scenery to be especially compelling."

The CFA supported the "inclusion of an animal as an emblem of the larger landscape" and commented "favorably on the depiction of the Roosevelt elk."

2011 Vicksburg National Military Park Silver Coin Design

Vicksburg Silver Coin Candidate MS-01	Vicksburg Silver Coin Candidate MS-02
Vicksburg Silver Coin Candidate MS-03	Vicksburg Silver Coin Candidate MS-04

The Citizen’s Coinage Advisory Committee and the Commission of Fine Arts disagreed on the designs for the Vicksburg Silver Bullion Coin. The CCAC selected MS-02 showing an image of the USS Cairo. It stated that this design, "in addition to the quality of its composition, has the virtue of showcasing the historical significance of the Navy in the Civil War."

The CFA preferred MS-04 showcasing the entrance of the park but recommended the "development of a simplified design that emphasizes this iconic feature without the attempt to depict a realistic landscape setting."

2011 Chickasaw National Recreation Area Design

Chickasaw Silver Coin Candidate OK-01	Chickasaw Silver Coin Candidate OK-02
Chickasaw Silver Coin Candidate OK-03

Once again, the CFA and the CCAC disagreed on the candidates for the Chickasaw Silver Bullion Coin. The CCAC liked OK-01 which shows Buffalo Springs and spillway stating that the Committee "appreciated the perspective and composition of this design, particularly the foreground foliage."

The CFA rejected all designs as the "scale of the coin does not support detailed landscape depictions." However, it recommended a re-working of OK-02 to eliminate or simplify the surrounding landscape of the bridge to bring the structure into full prominence.

When released, the 2011 America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins will not be available directly from the US Mint. Instead, the Mint uses a network of authorized purchasers for all of its bullion products which obtains the coins in bulk from the Mint, then resells them in smaller quantities to the public for a small premium above the current spot price of the precious metals contained within them.