America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins

To accompany the new America the Beautiful Quarters Program, the United States Mint will also release a unique series of silver bullion coins featuring the designs of the quarters. The new program will be innovative since it is the first time the US Mint has issued a precious metal bullion coins with a weight greater than one ounce. It will also represent only the second silver bullion coin program of the United States.

Each silver bullion coin will be an exact duplicate of the quarter, even including the denomination "quarter dollar." The coins will contain 5 ounces of .999 fine silver and have a diameter of 3 inches. The edges of the coins would be incused with lettering indicating the weight and fineness of the coin. The thickness of the coins would be greater than twice the standard one ounce bullion coin specifications.

In general, the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins would be available no sooner than the first day of the calendar year of the corresponding quarter's release. The silver coins would only be available for sale during the calendar year of issue.

The bullion coins will be distributed through the US Mint's network of authorized bullion dealers. This network is already responsible for the distribution of the US Mint's other precious metals bullion coins such as the American Gold, Silver, and Platinum Eagles and the American Gold Buffalo.

The Director of the National Park Service will also be allowed to purchase the coins directly from the United States Mint for resale to the public. These coins may also be repackaged prior to resale, potentially creating a unique class of collectibles.

The first America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins are expected to be released before the end of 2010. Further information on the series and individual releases will be posted once it is available.