The year’s first 2015 America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Coins are out. Sold by the United States Mint, they’re very similar, yet different. Sharing a design symbolic of Homestead National Monument of American in Nebraska, there’s the bullion version intended for investors that launched on Feb. 17 and the uncirculated edition for collectors that went on sale March 5. This article presents a photo overview of the two.
First, let’s discuss some similarities between the two coins. Common to both are their designs, three-inch diameters, and their edge-incused weight and purity of .999 FINE SILVER 5.0 OUNCE.
Now, let’s talk about their obvious visual differences. The bullion version has a brilliant finish while the collector edition has an uncirculated finish. (See how both five-ounce coins are made.)
Then there’s a less obvious difference. While the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia strikes both, only the collector version has a denoting “P” mint mark on its obverse.
Also, collector uncirculated coins ship in special U.S. Mint-branded packaging along with certificates of authenticity.
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The U.S. government guarantees the weight, content and purity of bullion coins but these coins don’t have certificates. They also don’t have special packaging. Instead, the U.S. Mint delivers them in 10-coin tubes held in 100-coin monster boxes.
Both versions share the Homestead quarter design, Ronald D. Sanders’ representation of the three fundamentals of survival common to all homesteaders: food, shelter, and water.
Bullion coins are sold through the U.S. Mint’s network of Authorized Purchasers. Coin and precious dealers sell them for around $3-$5 per ounce over the spot price of silver. The collector uncirculated silver coin is available directly from the U.S. Mint at www.usmint.gov/catalog for $149.95.
Here are two larger photos of both sides of the collectible Homestead uncirculated silver coin:
And finally, here are two bigger photos of both sides of the Homestead bullion silver coin:
