The America the Beautiful coin series is a new product offered by the US Mint, debuting in 2010. Each coin in the series weighs 5 troy ounces, and is composed of .999 fine silver. The most interesting facet of this coin program is that each year, five unique designs will be released, each featuring a different USA National Park. Read on to learn more about the coin series’ unique designs, mintage, and market demand.

History and Production

In 2008, the US Government approved the America the Beautiful Quarters program, which was intended to produce a series of 56 quarters honoring national parks in the USA. To complement the quarters, the US Mint will also be producing a series of 56 5 troy oz silver bullion coins.

As mentioned, the America the Beautiful program debuted in 2010, with the first coin featuring an image of Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas. Each year, five new designs will be released, culminating in the final scheduled design of the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site as the sole, final coin of 2021. Please see the full schedule below:

2010
Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Yosemite National Park, California
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Mount Hood National Forest, Oregon

2011
Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania
Glacier National Park, Montana
Olympic National Park, Washington
Vicksburg National Military Park, Mississippi
Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Oklahoma

2012
El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico
Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico
Acadia National Park, Maine
Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii
Denali National Park, Alaska

2013
White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire
Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial, Ohio
Great Basin National Park, Nevada
Fort McHenry National Monument and Historical Shrine, Maryland
Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota

2014
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
Arches National Park, Utah
Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado
Everglades National Park, Florida

2015
Homestead National Monument of America, Nebraska
Kisatchie National Forest, Louisiana
Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina
Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Delaware
Saratoga National Historical park, New York

2016
Shawnee National Forest, Illinois
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Kentucky
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, West Virginia
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
Fort Moultrie (Fort Sumter National Monument), South Carolina

2017
Effigy Mounds National Monument, Iowa
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, District of Columbia
Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Missouri
Ellis Island National Monument (Statue of Liberty), New Jersey
George Rogers Clark National Historic Park, Indiana

2018
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Wisconsin
Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota
Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia
Block Island National Wildlife Refuge, Rhode Island

2019
Lowell National Historical Park, Massachusetts
American Memorial Park, Northern Mariana Islands
War in the Pacific National Historical Park, Guam
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, Texas
Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, Idaho

2020
National Park of American Samoa, American Samoa
Weir Farm National Historic Site, Connecticut
Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve, U.S. Virgin Islands
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, Vermont
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Kansas

2021
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, Alabama

Design and Distribution

As most silver coins are one troy ounce, these five ounce offerings are much bigger than investors may expect. With a diameter of 3 inches, these coins are much larger than 1 oz American Silver Eagles, for instance. The larger face of the coin allowed the designers much more freedom and detail when crafting the images and intricacy, resulting in truly stunning coins.

Each coin depicts a unique aspect of the national park or preserve, making these products a bit of a collector’s item. The US Mint sells these coins directly to the public at USMint.gov, but the general public is usually best off buying from an online retailer, as retailers are able to buy from the Mint at discounted prices and then pass those discounts down to the retail consumer.

Value

Although the 5 oz ATB coins do carry a currency value of $0.25, their value based on silver content and collectibility far surpasses their standard currency worth. Most retailers will sell the coins for the spot price of silver, plus a premium of $3-$5 to account for the coin’s intricacy and value as a collectible.

A common way to purchase America the Beautiful coins is to purchase a five coin set, which often includes a nice display case to protect and store the coins. For a collector, this is perfect as you can buy the set each year and easily accumulate the entire 56-coin run once they have all been released.