We’ve seen a lot of chatter on coin forums and on social media about the quality of the America the Beautiful coins. YouTube alone has hundreds of unboxing videos, each featuring analysis and, sometimes, complaints.
The America the Beautiful silver bullion series will run from 2010 to 2021 and highlights national parks and historical sites in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands).
Five coins are released per year, comprised of 5 ounces of .999 fine silver and measuring a massive 3 inches. Additionally, rather than having reeded edges, the silver bullion ATBs are flat with incuse edge lettering detailing the fineness and weight.
While the designs of the 20 coins currently released have all been praised for their detail and beauty, they haven’t been without problems.
The 3-inch size meant the U.S. mint had to find a specialized coin press to create the coins. The Congressionally mandated width, edge and silver content made initial production a struggle, as the metal was too thin, so it required an entirely new press.
Production times and numbers wavered at first (check the mintage figures here), but now seem to largely be resolved, and the 2013 ATB 5 oz bullion coins came out on time.
But customers lately have been complaining of scratches or marks on the faces of their coins. We’ve seen some of the unboxing videos; they are nasty blemishes, likely caused by polished dies or the way the mint creates and moves the coins.
Watch the video produced by the U.S. Mint below:
Provident Metals receives the Monster Boxes from the U.S. Mint, and any tubes purchased are packed immediately — unopened — into the boxes to be shipped out. When a customer purchases a single ATB coin, our experienced shippers open the tube, remove the coin while wearing gloves, put it immediately into a capsule and secure it. The capsule is then packaged and shipped out. We do this to ensure each coin remains “mint fresh” when our customers receive them.
We hope the 2014 coins — featuring Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park, Utah’s Arches National Park, Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Park, and Florida’s Everglades National Park — see improved quality with the new designs, and that all production remains on schedule.
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