Effigy Mounds Silver Uncirculated Coins

The 2017 Effigy Mounds Silver Uncirculated Coins will mark the first 2017 release of the US Mint’s America the Beautiful Five Ounce Uncirculated Coin Program. Coins in this series are each struck from five ounces of .999 fine silver to a diameter of three inches and feature reverse designs emblematic of sites of national interest. The reverse of this specific coin will honor Effigy Mounds National Monument found in the state of Iowa.

Each Effigy Mounds Silver Uncirculated Coin will be struck by the US Mint as the collector-grade version of its Effigy Mounds Silver Bullion Coins. The bullion coins are produced by the US Mint for investors as a means of adding small amounts of precious metals to their portfolios.

However, knowing that collectors would also be interested in obtaining the strikes, the US Mint opted to also produce this series of uncirculated coins under the authority granted the Treasury Secretary in 31 U.S.C. §5111(a) (3) to design, produce and sell items of numismatic interest. This differs from the bullion strikes which were directly authorized by Congress along with a series of circulating quarter dollars in Public Law 110-456 (America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008).

All three series will contain the same basic designs on their obverses and reverses including a portrait of George Washington on their obverse. However, the five ounce coins will be quite discernable owing to their size which will be three inches in diameter. This compares to the quarter dollars which only have a diameter of 0.955 inches.

2017 Effigy Mounds Silver Uncirculated Coin Values

Each 2017 Effigy Mounds Silver Uncirculated Coin will have a legal tender face value of twenty five cents based on the quarter dollars they take their design from. This value, however, is relatively minor compared to two others associated with the strike.

First, as each uncirculated coin is struck from five ounces of silver, they will have an intrinsic melt value approximately equal to that amount of the precious metal on the open market. Thus, if silver is currently trading for $25 an ounce, these coins will have a melt value of about $25 – five ounces times $25 an ounce equals $125.

Likely improving on the melt value will be the strikes numismatic value. This is the amount a collector would be willing to pay to obtain the strike and generally carries a significant premium over and above the melt value of the coin.

The Mint Prices, Values & Sales Figures Page will offer current sales and melt value information once the US Mint releases the strikes.

Effigy Mounds Silver Uncirculated Coin Information

As previously mentioned, the obverse of each 2017 Effigy Mounds Silver Uncirculated Coin will contain a portrait of George Washington. This image of the first President of the United States was initially designed by John Flanagan for the 1932 circulating quarter dollar and has appeared on the quarters in one form or another ever since making it one of the most recognizable images on American coinage.

The reverse will contain a design emblematic of Effigy Mounds National Monument found in the state of Iowa. Several design candidates for the strike should be offered for review by the US Mint early in 2016 with the final selection chosen by the Treasury Secretary later that year.

Coin Specifications