2016 NPS 100th Anniversary Silver Dollars Release

The second and also last United States Mint commemorative coin program for 2016 launches this Thursday, March 24, at 12:00 noon ET. Available for sale at that time are seven new products featuring 2016 National Park Service 100th Anniversary Commemorative Coins.

These coins for collectors celebrate the centennial of the National Park Service (NPS), an agency created on August 25, 1916 to protect around three dozen national sites. It now safeguards more than 400 of them throughout the U.S. and its territories. Issued as part of the program are proof and uncirculated $5 gold coins, silver dollars and clad half-dollars.

Introductory Pricing, Mintage and Specifications

Introductory pricing is $45.95 for the proof silver coin and $44.95 for the uncirculated silver coin. Both silver dollars will climb by $5 when their regular pricing goes into effect on April 25 after 3:00 p.m. ET. The same proof silver dollar, along with proofs of the $5 gold and clad half-dollar, is included within a three-coin proof set. Its opening price is $461.45 but that can change weekly depending on the gold market.

Mintages of the silver dollars are restricted by law to a combined 500,000. This amount is spread across all product options with the actual proof to uncirculated ratio determined by demand. The three-coin proof set has its own product limit of 15,000 units.

Coin Specifications for National Park Service Silver Dollars

 

Designs on NPS Silver Coins

Featuring Yellowstone National Park’s Old Faithful geyser and a bison, the obverse of the NPS silver dollar was designed and sculpted by Joseph Menna. Inscriptions around the image include "LIBERTY," "NATIONAL PARK SERVICE CENTENNIAL," "IN GOD WE TRUST," "1916" and "2016."

Silver dollar reverses show a Latina Folklórico dancer and the National Park Service logo, representing the multi-faceted cultural experience found in America’s national parks.

Inscriptions around the reverse include "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "E PLURIBUS UNUM," "$1" "HERITAGE," "CULTURE" and "PRIDE." Chris Costello is credited with the design. Jim Licaretz sculpted it.

Ordering

When released, 2016-P National Park Service 100th Anniversary Silver Dollars are available from the United States Mint website, located here, or by calling 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). The link goes directly to the Mint’s page of commemorative coins, which also offers information about the gold and clad editions.

All coin types include surcharge amounts in their prices — $35 for each gold coin, $10 for every silver dollar, and $5 for each clad half-dollar. These are mandated by law with the collected funds paid to the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut; the University of California, Berkeley; Elmira College, New York; and the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, Missouri.

In January, the U.S. Mint’s first commemorative program of the year debuted with the release of silver dollars and $5 gold coins that celebrate of Mark Twain’s literary and educational contributions.