2015 America the Beautiful Coins

2015 America the Beautiful Coins

America the Beautiful is a commemorative coin series honoring the national parks, national forests, and historic monuments found across the United States. The series is the successor of the state quarters program that first introduced unique designs representing each state on the reverse side of the American circulation quarter. Right now, the 2015 ATB Silver Coins are available on Silver.com.

Origin of the America the Beautiful Silver Coin

In 1999, the United States Mint introduced the state quarters program. These circulation coins featured a special designs representing a park, forest, or monument from each of the 50 US states. No changes were made to the standard quarter for this program which ran from 1999 to 2008. An additional program was launched in 2009 honoring Washington DC and the nation’s overseas territories.

America the Beautiful is a different series altogether. Each ATB Silver coin features 5 oz of .999 pure silver, and is five times the size of a standard quarter. While both state quarters and the ATB Silver coin have a face value of $.25 (USD), are considered legal tender, and share an obverse design, the ATB Silver Coin is not meant for release into circulation.

Overview of the ATB Silver Coin

Congress authorized the ATB Silver Coin with passage of the America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008. The 56-coin series is designed to represent all 50 US states, the five overseas territories of Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands, as well as the federal district of Washington DC.

Each year the United States Mint will release five new coin designs honoring different locations across the country. In order to set the ATB Silver Coin apart from state quarters in the minds of investors and collectors, the US Mint selected new sites for each of the jurisdictions in America. Only three states were represented by the same site, though the designs were new. The repeat representatives were the Grand Canyon (Arizona), Yosemite National Park (California), and Mount Rushmore (South Dakota).

The site-selection process was a collaborative effort between federal government agencies, state representatives, and civilian coin design groups. The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of the Interior, and the governor or chief executive of each jurisdiction partook in the selection process, with civilian coin designers providing additional insight into the design chosen for each state. In the end, the Secretary of the Treasury has the power to approve or deny the final design.

While the reverse side of each ATB silver Coin features a unique design, the obverse side is the same on every coin. The common image of President George Washington is featured in left-profile relief, surrounded by the engravings “United States of America,” “Liberty,” and “In God We Trust,” as well as the face value of the coin. John Flanagan designed the image of President Washington featured on US quarters in 1932 based upon a 1786 sculpture created by William Cousins.

2015 ATB Silver Coins on Silver.com

Silver.com is proud to offer each of the 2015 ATB Silver coins produced by the United States Mint. As with all other years, there are five new coin designs available in 2015, and the states represented include the following:

• Nebraska: America’s westward expansion was jumpstarted by President Abraham Lincoln with passage of the Homestead Act of 1862. Homestead National Monument of America is located in southeastern Nebraska, and it was here that the first plot of land claimed by an American under the Homestead Act was established. Only 35,000 of these coins were produced.
• Louisiana: Kisatchie National Forest is located across numerous parishes in north-central and eastern Louisiana. The forest is home to longleaf pine trees and some of the oldest rock formations found in the United States. The U.S. Mint only created 42,000 of the Kisatchie National Forest coins.
• North Carolina: Blue Ridge Parkway is the most unique representative in the ATB Silver Coin series. Although it is administered by the National Park Service, the Blue Ridge Parkway is actually a 469-mile highway connecting North Carolina and Virginia through the Blue Ridge Mountain range. The road is the most visited location within the National Park Service system each year. Only 35,000 of these coins were produced.
• Delaware: Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge is located along coastal Delaware and comprises thousands of acres of marshlands along Delaware Bay. The site is a critical location for a variety of waterfowl migrating along the Atlantic Flyway. Various bird species, from ducks and geese to herons and egrets use the site for breeding, stopovers, and migration. Production numbers have not yet been released.
• New York: Saratoga National Historic Park protects the lands upon which the Continental Army of the United States struck its first major blow against the British Army during the Revolutionary War. It was here that General Horatio Gates and American forces defeated British troops in a major engagement for the first time. General John Burgoyne was forced to surrender to General Gates in 1777. Production numbers have not yet been released.

Certified 2015 ATB Silver Coins

While Silver.com offers many 2015 ATB Silver Coins in Brilliant Uncirculated condition, there are also certified coins available. Each certified coin has been graded by either the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation or the Professional Coin Grading Service, the two most respected certification companies in the world. Common terms you’ll encounter in our product descriptions include:

• MS70: Mint State 70; a perfect coin with full, original luster, and no detracting flaws.
• MS69: Mint State 69; a near-perfect coin with full, original luster, and no more than two minor detracting flaws located outside the primary focal area of the coin.
• DM: Deeply-mirrored; describes the appearance of the coin’s background field.
• PL: Proof-like; describes the overall visual appeal of the coin.

Payment, Shipping, and Insurance with Silver.com

In order to facilitate transactions, Silver.com accepts a variety of payment methods for processing product payments. We accept credit/debit cards (except AMEX & Discover), PayPal, paper checks, and bank wires. PayPal and bank wire transactions process quickly, while credit/debit cards take one business day and paper checks take up to six days to process. All bank wire and paper check payments are eligible for a 4% discount.

Silver.com offers an affordable, tiered scale for shipping services. All packages are shipped in discreet packaging courtesy of the US Postal Service or UPS. Any purchase over $3,000 is eligible for free shipping and insurance. In the event that your products are lost or damaged during shipping, Silver.com can help. We’ll work with the carrier to recover your package, and if that fails we’ll start an insurance claim so that you can receive replacement products or a refund of your purchase price.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to a Silver.com associate. We’re available at 888-989-7223, online through our live chat, and via email.