Everglades National Park makes one of its final appearances on a collectible product from United States Mint with today’s release of a three-inch, five ounce silver coin bearing a reverse design emblematic of the site in Florida.
Just released is the 2014-P Everglades silver coin, the fifth and last issue of the year and the 25th overall from the Mint’s series of America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins.
Everglades National Park Silver Coin Design
Designs on the uncirculated coin are the same as on the Everglades National Park Quarter that launched on Monday.
The reverse or tails side, created by Joel Iskowitz and sculpted by Joseph Menna, shows an anhinga with outstretched wings on a willow tree with a roseate spoonbill visible in the mid-ground. Obverses of America the Beautiful coinage have the John Flanagan effigy of George Washington.
Edges of America the Beautiful Quarters and companion silver coins are different. Quarters have a reeded edge while those on the five ounce coins are flat and incused with ".999 FINE SILVER 5.0 OUNCE."
See how five ounce coins are made at the Philadelphia Mint.
Pricing and Premium
This latest coin is $154.95. While that is well lower than the first 2010 issues (they were $279.95 each), the price is giving some collectors pause. There are two major reasons.
First, the U.S. Mint discontinued its 10% subscriber discount. Those who signed up to automatically get series’ coins on release paid $139.45 for each of the four prior issues. That was a savings of $15.50 per coin.
Second, the intrinsic or melt value of the coins is now much lower because of diving silver prices. The $154.95 price feels more expensive as a result. America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Coins are struck in 99.9% fine silver and at Thursday’s London silver price of $15.28 an ounce each has a melt value of $76.40. That places the coin’s premium above melt at $78.55 ($15.71 per ounce). The previous four coins launched at premiums of $61.75, $58, $56.65 and $55.90.
Sales of 2013 – 2014 ATB 5 Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins
A sales advantage this release may have over the prior one and a number of others are how many people live in Florida where Everglades National Park is located. That makes for a larger pool of potential buyers. The first batch of sales figures for the coin will be published next week on CoinNews.net. They will show how it stacks up to others.
This year’s first coin and all of last year’s coins have sold out. The U.S. Mint did not produce them to the original stated mintages since early demand sets how many are actually made. Here is a table of 2013 and 2014 sales as of Sunday, Nov. 2:
| Sales | Stated Mintages | Notes | |
| 2014-P Great Sand Dunes Silver Uncirculated Coin | 22,089 | 30,000 | Released Sept 15 |
| 2014-P Arches Silver Uncirculated Coin | 27,294 | Released June 12 | |
| 2014-P Shenandoah Silver Uncirculated Coin | 27,280 | Released May 15 | |
| 2014-P Great Smoky Mountains Silver Uncirculated Coin | 24,722 | 25,000 | Sold Out |
| 2013-P White Mountain Silver Uncirculated Coin | 20,530 | ||
| 2013-P Perry’s Victory Silver Uncirculated Coin | 17,707 | ||
| 2013-P Great Basin Silver Uncirculated Coin | 17,792 | ||
| 2013-P Fort McHenry Silver Uncirculated Coin | 19,802 | ||
| 2013-P Mount Rushmore Silver Uncirculated Coin | 23,547 |
Ordering
2014-P Everglades National Park Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins may be purchased from the United States Mint website by visiting this product page, or by calling 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). No per household ordering limits are in place.
Coins arrive encapsulated, set inside a protective outer box and come with a United States Mint Certificate of Authenticity.
Bullion Version of Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Coin
The U.S. Mint also produces bullion five ounce America the Beautiful silver coins that are intended for investors, though collectors buy them as well. Everglades National Park Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins debuted along with the quarters on Monday, Nov. 3. It has sales of 22,000 as of Wednesday, well higher than the previous Great Sand Dunes bullion coin that launched on Aug. 25 and has sales of 16,800. The U.S. Mint sells bullion coins to authorized distributors who buy them in bulk and resell them in smaller quantities to dealers or straight to the public.
Bullion five ounce silver coins share the same designs and main specifications as companion uncirculated coins. In differences, they:
- have a brilliant instead of matte finish like the uncirculated coins,
- are also struck in Philadelphia but lack the "P" mint mark, and
- do not ship in special U.S. Mint packaging
Bullion coins are usually available from precious metals and coin dealers for a few dollars per ounce over spot.
