Great Basin Silver Bullion Coins

The 2013 Great Basin Silver Bullion Coins honor Great Basin National Park of Nevada and marked the third 2013-dated release of the US Mint’s America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin® Program. The Great Basin Coins were released for sale on June 24, 2013. Like all coins in the silver bullion coin series, these strikes are minted from five ounces of .999 fine silver to a diameter of three inches.

2013 Great Basin Silver Coin

This series was created by Congress as a bullion investment coin option based on the National Park Quarters, also from the US Mint. Both series of strikes, in fact, were authorized by the same legislation and feature essentially the same obverse and reverse design images – a point which was and is required by that authorizing legislation. As such, the obverse of each strike contains a portrait of George Washington while the reverse contains a design emblematic of the selected site of national interest, such as Great Basin National Park which is featured on the reverse of this silver bullion coin.

2013 Great Basin Silver Coin Values

Each of these Great Basin Silver Bullion Coins feature a face value of just twenty-five cents based on the quarter dollars which they are created to resemble. However, that face value is relatively small compared to two other values that may be associated with each of these strikes.

The first of these other values is the coin’s melt value. As each of these silver bullion coins are struck from five ounces of the precious metal, they will always be worth approximately that amount of silver on the open market.

As for the second value, some of these coin’s may have a numismatic value associated with them. If collector’s believe the coins to be relatively rare, or if a certain coin is considered to be of such good condition that it is nearly "mint state," then some collectors may be willing to pay a premium to obtain them. This is referred to as the coin’s numismatic value, the price at which a collector would be interested in purchasing the coin at.

Once issued, current sales information along with the coin’s melt value may be obtained on the US Mint Coin Sales Figures Page.

Great Basin Silver Bullion Coin Information

As previously mentioned, the obverse of these Great Basin Silver Bullion Coins contain a portrait of George Washington, the first President of the United States. This image was first seen on the circulating 1932 quarter dollar and was originally completed by John Flanagan.

The reverse of the Great Basin Silver Bullion Coins contain a design emblematic of Great Basin National Park of Nevada. Several design candidates for the strike were created and reviewed for this and the related America the Beautiful Quarter before a final design was selected by the Secretary of the Treasury. The related quarter design was described by the United States Mint with this:

"The reverse design depicts the beauty and unique qualities of a single Bristlecone Pine tree and the rocky glacial moraines where the trees grow.  These trees grow at higher elevation in the park and are some of the world’s oldest.  The park contains numerous Bristlecone Pine groves with trees older than 4,000 years.  Inscriptions are GREAT BASIN, NEVADA, 2013, and E PLURIBUS UNUM.  The reverse was designed by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program Associate Designer Ronald D. Sanders and executed by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Renata Gordon."

Great Basin Silver Coin Specifications