The 2018 Pictured Rocks Silver Uncirculated Coins will be struck by the US Mint as its forty-first release of the America the Beautiful Five Ounce Uncirculated Coin Program. Coins in this series are each composed of five ounces of .999 fine silver with a diameter of three inches and feature a reverse emblematic of a selected site of national interest. Shown on the reverse of this specific strike will be a design honoring of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore of Michigan.
The US Mint strikes this series as collector-grade versions of its America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin® Program under the authority granted the Treasury Secretary in 31 U.S.C. §5111(a) (3) giving them the discretion to produce and sell items of numismatic interest. This authority differs from the bullion coins they are struck to resemble.
Those bullion coins were authorized directly by Congress along with a series of circulating quarter dollars under Public Law 110-456 (America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008). President George W. Bush signed the Act into law on December 22, 2008 with the first strikes in all three America the Beautiful related series appearing with 2010-dated coins.
Differentiating the uncirculated coins from the related bullion strikes are two physical factors – finish and mintmark. The collector grade coins have an uncirculated finish and a ‘P’ mintmark indicating they were struck at the US Mint’s facility in Philadelphia. The investment grade strikes only have a bullion finish and contain no mintmark.
2018 Pictured Rocks Silver Uncirculated Coin Values
The 2018 Pictured Rocks Silver Uncirculated Coins will have three values associated with it – face, melt and numismatic. The least of these should be the face value which is only twenty-five cents taken from the quarter dollars they are struck to resemble.
Each coin will have a melt value approximately equal to what five ounces of silver is currently trading for since each coin is struck from that much of the precious metal. Thus, if silver is trading for $30 an ounce, these coins would have a melt value of about $150.
Finally, since these coins are struck for collectors, many will likely be interested in obtaining them. Typically, they will be willing to pay a premium above the melt value of the coin. This premium generally increases based on the condition and rarity of the strike.
The Coin Values Page will offer current melt value and sales figures for the strikes once they are released for sale to the public.
Pictured Rocks Silver Uncirculated Coin Information
Created to resemble the associated America the Beautiful Quarter Dollar, the obverse of each of these coins will contain a portrait of George Washington on their obverse. John Flanagan originally created this image for the 1932 circulating quarter dollar.
The reverse will feature a design honoring Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore of Michigan. The Secretary of the Treasury will be given the honor and task of selecting the final design from several design candidates presented by the US Mint.
Coin Specifications
| Face Value: | $.25 |
| Composition: | 999 Fine Silver |
| Mintage Cap: | TBA |
| Diameter: | 3 Inches |
| Weight | 5 Ounces |
| Edge: | Incused Lettering |
| Minting Facility: | Philadelphia (P) |
| Obverse Design: | Portrait of George Washington |
| Obverse Designer: | John Flanagan |
| Reverse Design: | tbd |
| Reverse Designer: | tbd |
