Chickasaw Five Ounce America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin Release

Buyers will soon be able to get their hands on the final 2011 America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin which honors the Chickasaw National Recreation Area located in the south central part of the great state of Oklahoma.

According to a memorandum sent out Tuesday by the United States Mint to its established network of silver Authorized Purchasers (AP’s), orders will be accepted for the new Chickasaw bullion coin on Monday, July 18, 2011. Only AP’s can order them, as the Mint does not offer bullion products directly to the public.

The memo indicated the coins will be allocated in a similar fashion as before, with an initial quantity of 126,700 divided equally among its participants. The AP’s who order must purchase a minimum of 500 ounces/100 coins and order in 500 ounces/100 coin increments. The United States Mint will charge a premium of $9.75 per coin above the silver price.

Earlier 2011 five ounce silver coins included:

• the Gettysburg National Military Park Silver Bullion Coin and the Glacier National Park Silver Bullion Coin which were both released on April 25,
• the Olympic National Park Silver Bullion Coin that launched on May 23, and most recently,
• the Vicksburg National Military Park Silver Bullion Coin that was issued on June 20.

The America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin series boasts the same but larger obverse and reverse designs as those seen on corresponding America the Beautiful Quarters®. Each bullion coin however, is composed of five ounces of .999 fine silver and has a 3.0 inch diameter. In addition, the five ounce coins have edge incused lettering stating ".999 FINE SILVER 5.0 OUNCE."

Donna Weaver designed Chickasaw’s reverse. It features the beautiful limestone "Lincoln Bridge" that was dedicated in the park in 1909 to celebrate the centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.

Each of the America the Beautiful Coins feature designs on their reverse that are emblematic of selected sites of national interest around the United States. They all share the same obverse portrait of the first president, George Washington. Fifty-six coin designs will be issued in all, one for each state, the District of Columbia and the five US territories.

The 2010 America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins debuted all on the same day, December 10, 2010. Only 33,000 of each design was produced. They all sold out. In contrast, this year’s releases have been set much higher to meet demand, at 126,700. To date, the first two issues have sold out.

The Chickasaw National Recreation Area Quarter will be released by the United States Mint into circulation via Federal Reserve Banks on November 14, 2011. The United States Mint also plans to offer a five ounce collector silver version sometime in the future.