2016-P Shawnee 5 Ounce Silver Coins for Collectors

Shawnee National Forest of Illinois is honored on a five ounce silver coin debuting Thursday, February 25, 2016, from the United States Mint.

The collector coin appears as the first 2016-dated release in the U.S. Mint’s program of America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins. It also marks the thirty-first in the series which features designs emblematic of sites of national interest from around the country on 3-inch, .999 fine silver coins.

Shawnee National Forest was established from mostly exhausted farmlands in August 1933, becoming an official national forest six years later. It is found in the Ozark and Shawnee Hills of southern Illinois. The federally managed land makes up approximately 280,000 acres and offers a variety of recreational opportunities.

Shawnee Silver Coin Design

Designed by Justin Kunz with engraving by Jim Licaretz, the reverse portrays the forest’s rock formation Camel Rock and further depicts a red-tailed hawk soaring in the sky overhead. Inscriptions around the image include SHAWNEE, ILLINOIS, 2016 and E PLURIBUS UNUM.

All coins of the program offer the same basic obverse portrait of George Washington as originally designed by John Flanagan. The effigy has appeared on U.S. quarter dollars in some form or another since 1932, including the latest Shawnee quarter issued under the program of America the Beautiful Quarters.

Inscriptions around the portrait include UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST and QUARTER DOLLAR.

An edge inscription identifies the composition and weight of each coin with ".999 FINE SILVER 5.0 OUNCE."

Silver Coin Specifications

 

As shown, each uncirculated coin has a ‘P’ mintmark indicating it was produced at the U.S. Mint’s facility in Philadelphia.

Ordering and Price

Released at noon ET on the 25th, the 2016-P Shawnee National Forest Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin is $149.95. Orders are accepted online using this U.S. Mint product page or by calling 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468).

A simple U.S. Mint display case accompanies each purchase that reads AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL FIVE OUNCE SILVER UNCIRCULATED COIN™.

Maximum potential mintage for the uncirculated coin has been announced as 30,000.

Bullion Version

Similar Shawnee National Forest Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins are also produced by the United States Mint. These silver coins share the same designs as the related uncirculated version for collectors but it does not carry a mintmark, although they are also produced in Philadelphia.

In addition, unlike the uncirculated coins which the Mint sells directly to the public, the bullion coins are sold through a network of authorized purchasers for a small premium above associated melt values.

Maximum combined mintage for the uncirculated and bullion Shawnee coins is 150,000. Released on February 1, the Mint has already sold 102,500 of the bullion.

2016 Five Ounce Silver Coins

Five America the Beautiful Coin designs are issued annually. For 2016, the five honored sites include:

• Shawnee National Forest of Illinois
• Cumberland Gap National Historical Park of Kentucky
• Harpers Ferry National Historical Park of West Virginia
• Theodore Roosevelt National Park of North Dakota
• Fort Moultrie at Fort Sumter National Monument of South Carolina

The remaining four 2016 coins will be released in intervals throughout the year.