Struck from five ounces of .999 fine silver, the 2010 Yellowstone National Park Silver Bullion Coin was the second of five bullion coins to appear in 2010 as part of the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin™ Program. Shown on the reverse of the strike was a design emblematic of Yellowstone National Park located mostly in the state of Wyoming.
It also marked the second strike for the series in general which debuted that same year of 2010. A total of fifty-six of the silver coins are scheduled to be released by the United States Mint through 2021 as part of the program. Each will feature a reverse design honoring parks and sites of national interest from around the country as well as the District of Columbia and the five territories of the United States.
2010 Yellowstone Silver Coin Values
Bullion America the Beautiful Silver Coins will not be sold directly to the public by the U.S. Mint. Instead, the Mint sells all its bullion products through a network of authorized purchasers which resells the strikes to the public for a small premium above the current spot price of the precious metal contained in them.
Since each bullion Yellowstone coin contains five ounces of .999 fine silver, the price they sell for from the Mint’s network will be equal to five times the current spot price of an ounce of silver, plus that small premium. However, as a bullion product, a reverse process similar to that is also true. As the coins will always contain that five ounces of silver, they will always at least be worth an intrinsic melt value approximately equal to that amount of the precious metal. So, if silver reaches $30 an ounce, the melt value of the coin would be approximately $150 — 5 ounces times $30 an ounce equals $150.
These coins are also of interest to collectors, especially those that are graded by an independent third party grading service and earn the upper grades. Typically, strikes which have been slabbed and graded by such a grading service will have the most collector value with better grades attaining higher prices.
Yellowstone Silver Bullion Coin Information
The US Mint issued a total of 33,000 of the Yellowstone Silver Bullion Coins with an initial availability date of December 10, 2010 to its network of authorized purchasers. On that date, the network could place their initial orders for the strikes, and by the end of that month, the entire mintage had been accounted for. Information on sales levels for current strikes (as well as melt values) can be found on the silver coins sales figures page.
Shown on the reverse of the Yellowstone coin is an image emblematic of Yellowstone National Park found mostly within the borders of the state of Wyoming. The design features two bison, with one in front of and one in back of perhaps Yellowstone’s most famous icon, Old Faithful Geyser. It was designed and sculpted by Don Everhart.
The obverse of all of the America the Beautiful Coins (bullion and quarters) feature a portrait of the first President of the United States, George Washington. This portrait was originally designed by John Flanagan and first featured on the 1932 circulating quarter dollar. It has been used on the quarter in one fashion or another ever since.
Yellowstone Silver Coin Specifications
| Face Value: | $.25 |
| Composition: | 999 Fine Silver |
| Mintage Cap: | 33,000 |
| Diameter: | 3 Inches |
| Weight: | 5 Ounces |
| Edge: | Incused Lettering |
| Minting Facility: | Philadelphia (no mintmark present) |
| Obverse Design: | George Washington Portrait |
| Obverse Designer: | John Flanagan |
| Reverse Design: | Image of two buffalo and Old Faithful Geyser |
| Reverse Designer: | Don Everhart |
