Shawnee 5-ounce silver bullion quarter sales begin

By Paul Gilkes

Published: Feb 2, 2016, 9 AM

The 5-ounce silver bullion 2016 Shawnee National Forest quarter dollar is the precious metals version of the copper-nickel quarter dollar illustrated. As of Feb. 2, the U.S. Mint did not have images available of the actual 5-ounce silver bullion coin.

Original images courtesy of U.S. Mint.

The first day of sales Feb. 1 by the U.S. Mint for the 2016 Shawnee National Forest 5-ounce silver bullion quarter dollars to authorized purchasers reached nearly 35 percent of the initial allocation of 120,000 coins.

Mint spokesman Michael White said 41,800 of the .999 fine silver bullion quarter dollars were recorded sold.

White said via email Feb. 2 that the current authorized mintage limit combined for the bullion and Uncirculated Shawnee National Forest 5-ounce silver bullion coins is 150,000. Although both versions are struck at the Philadelphia Mint, the bullion version carries no Mint mark, while the Uncirculated version bears the production facility's P Mint mark.

Connect with Coin World:

"An announced mintage limit of 30,000 coins has been set for the America the Beautiful Five-Ounce Shawnee National Forest Uncirculated Coin," White said. "However, based on demand, the United States Mint may mint and issue more than the minimum of 120,000 America the Beautiful Five-Ounce Shawnee National Forest Silver Bullion Coins so long as the United States Mint does not exceed the 150,000 coin limit."

The Uncirculated 2016-P Shawnee National Forest 5-ounce silver quarter dollar is scheduled to go on sale Feb. 25.

The Uncirculated and bullion versions of each year's 5-ounce silver coins bear the same designs that appear on the copper-nickel clad quarter dollars struck for circulation and collector sets as well as the .900 fine silver collector versions. The copper-nickel clad and .900 fine quarter dollars measure 24.26 millimeters in diameter, with the 5-ounce coins measuring 3 inches in diameter.

All five of the 2015 5-ounce silver bullion quarter dollars sold out of their maximum authorizations, with 35,000 for the Homestead National Monument of America coin; 42,000 for the Kisatchie National Forest coin; and 45,000 coins each for the Blue Ridge Parkway, Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge and Saratoga National Historical Park issues.

Bullion sales for all of the 5-ounce silver bullion coins, starting with the 2010 coins, can be found here.