2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins Debut at 33,000

On Monday, June 7, the United States Mint started selling 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Ounce Silver Bullion Coins to its network of authorized purchasers. This latest silver coin is the third of five America the Beautiful 5 Ounce Silver Coin designs for 2016. It commemorates West Virginia’s Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

First-day sales of the bullion coin hit 33,000 pieces for a total of 165,000 ounces in .999 fine silver. The start is 31.3% lower than the previous issue commemorating Cumberland Gap National Historical Park in Kentucky, which opened at 48,000 coins, and it is 21.1% lower than the first 2016 release depicting Shawnee National Forest in Illinois, which posted opening day sales of 41,800 coins.

Demand for 5-ounce bullion coins has fallen in the last few months even as sales of bullion 1-ounce American Silver Eagles continue at a record pace. The Shawnee 5-ounce piece quickly climbed to sales of 105,000 coins, the highest since the second 2011-dated coin commemorating Glacier National Park in Montana. In spite of the promising start for the Cumberland Gap 5-ounce coin, however, its sales total is well lower at 75,000. That said, year-to-date sales for the first three 2016-dated issues at 213,000 coins are already the highest for the year since sales of 465,100 coins in 2011. Last year’s coins reached a total of 212,000 pieces.

Five-ounce silver coins are struck at the Philadelphia Mint to a diameter of 3 inches. The U.S. Mint’s network of bullion distributors order them in bulk, a minimum of 500 at a time, at their melt value plus a $9.75 premium per coin. They are then sold to investors, dealers, and consumers. New coins are usually available to the consumer for about $22-$28 over the spot value of their five ounces of silver.

America the Beautiful 5 Ounce Silver Bullion Coins have a brilliant finish. Sometime next month — an exact date has not yet been published, the U.S. Mint will release a collector version to the public for $149.95. It is identical in designs and specifications to the bullion coin except it has a vapor-blasted uncirculated finish and a ‘P’ mint mark.

Also on Monday, the U.S. Mint started selling numismatic rolls and bags of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park quarters. They are available directly from usmint.gov/catalog.

Five-ounce silver coins and quarters have common designs, including their inscriptions of "QUARTER DOLLAR." Reverses of the new Harpers Ferry issues feature John Brown Fort, the site of John Brown’s last stand during his raid on the Harpers Ferry Armory. Thomas Hipschen created the design and Phebe Hemphill sculpted it.

Quarters and 5-ounce silver coins do have different edges. Quarters have reeded edges. The larger silver coins have flat edges with incused lettering of ".999 FINE SILVER 5.0 OUNCE."