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Hot Springs 5 Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin Release Date
April 4, 2011 by Silver Coins Today · 2 Comments
The United Mint has scheduled the release date for the collector Hot Springs 5 Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin, the debuting issue from the numismatic America the Beautiful 5 Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins series.
The newly updated US Mint 2011 product schedule has the Hot Springs coin set to launch on April 28, 2011.
The US Mint has yet to publish a price, but given silver just hit a fresh 31-year high on Monday of over $38.50 an ounce and the uncirculated coin contains 5 ounces of the precious metal, buyers should expect a minimum range of between $200-$250.
The US Mint has already indicated that it has produced 27,000 of each 2010 America the Beautiful 5 Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin, which is 6,000 less than the mintages for each of the investment grade 2010 America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins that were sold in December.
The 2010-dated bullion coins have enjoyed significant collector interest due to their limited mintages and availability. The collector versions are sure to be just as, if not more popular.
Unlike the bullion issues, the uncirculated coins feature a "P" mint mark denoting their production at the US Mint facility in Philadelphia. Aside from that and the uncirculated finish, the coins share the same designs, 5 ounce weight and 3 inch diameters. It is assumed that the uncirculated coins will have edge inscriptions of ".999 FINE SILVER 5.0 OUNCE."
"The coin is encapsulated in plastic, accompanied by a presentation case and Certificate of Authenticity signed by the Director of the United States Mint," states the Mint.
The uncirculated coin designs are identical to those on the circulating America the Beautiful Quarters® and the bullion coins. All three series honor national parks and other national sites located within the U.S. and its territories. By law, the quarters will run at a rate of five issues per year until the final release in 2021. That makes for 56 unique reverse designs.
Hot Springs 5 Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin features a reverse that depicts the facade of the Hot Springs National Park headquarters building with a fountain in the foreground. Inscriptions include HOT SPRINGS, ARKANSAS, 2010 and E PLURIBUS UNUM. It was designed by Don Everhart and engraved by Joseph Menna.
The obverse features a restored portrait of George Washington created by John Flanagan in 1932.
When it is released, presumably at noon ET on the 28th, the US Mint will offer the Hot Springs Silver Uncirculated Coin directly to the public via its website (http://www.usmint.gov/) and toll free number 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). A limit of one per household is expected.
The four other 2010-dated 5 ounce uncirculated coins that will be available this year include releases honoring:
- Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming
- Yosemite National Park in California
- Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona
- Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon
The 2011-dated 5 ounce silver coins — bullion and uncirculated — are expected to be released in staggered intervals this year. The Mint has indicated a "late April" release date for the first 2011 bullion coin.
The mint has made every mistake it could so far with the 5 oz coins. You can be sure they will price these just as high as they can get away with. I am going to be disappointed if they do NOT shut down the government.
So, if I am to understand correctly, the ‘collector versions’ of these ‘P’ mintmarked 5 ounce coins have a 27,000 mintage maximum? Does the mint, by law, have to adhere to this maximum figure, or can they at any time, decide to mint more. I ask because one of the main reasons I ordered the first 5 coins in this series (thus far this year) is because of the low mintage numbers. Low mintage numbers like these go far in helping to insure that the coin will increase in value over time.