The United States Mint will be in its tenth year of the America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin™ series with the debut of the 2019 America the Beautiful Silver Uncirculated Coins. Reverse designs of each of the coins features an image emblematic of a selected site of national interest from around the United States and its territories.
The America the Beautiful Silver Uncirculated Coins scheduled to be issued in 2019 and the state or territory they represent are:
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Massachusetts – 2019 Lowell National Historical Park Silver Uncirculated Coin
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Northern Mariana Islands – 2019 American Memorial Park Silver Uncirculated Coin
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Guam – 2019 War in the Pacific National Historical Park Silver Uncirculated Coin
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Texas – 2019 San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Silver Uncirculated Coin
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Idaho – 2019 Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Silver Uncirculated Coin
These five coins represent the forty-sixth through fiftieth for the silver uncirculated coin series.
Coins of this series are struck as the numismatic versions of the US Mint’s America the Beautiful Bullion Coin™ Program. The authority to create the series was given to the Secretary of the Treasury who oversees the US Mint as part of 31 U.S.C. §5111(a) (3). This allows them to produce and sell items of numismatic interest.
The coins themselves feature the same basic specifications and designs as the related bullion coins. This includes a composition of five ounces of .999 fine silver and a diameter of three inches.
The only definitive way to tell coins of the two series apart is to look for the inclusion of a mintmark. The uncirculated coins are struck with a ‘P’ mintmark indicating they were produced at the US Mint’s facility in Philadelphia. Despite also being struck in Philadelphia, the bullion coins contain no mintmark which is standard practice for bullion products from the United States Mint.
Designs for both the bullion coins and these uncirculated coins are originally created for the US Mint’s America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. As part of the authorization for the quarters and bullion coins, Congress dictated that the obverse contain the John Flanagan portrait of George Washington seen on circulating quarters since 1932. The reverse contains the design emblematic of the selected sites of national interest.
Coins of all three America the Beautiful related series debuted with five 2010-dated strikes per program. An additional five is released per year, per program, until 2021 when the last of fifty-six per program has been issued.
Details on the chosen 2019 America the Beautiful Silver Uncirculated Coin sites are shown below:
Lowell National Historical Park of Massachusetts
Lowell National Historical Park is located in Lowell, Massachusetts. It was created to acknowledge the importance of the textile industry to the region and the country during the Industrial Revolution.
The national park service actually operates several different sites around the city of Lowell as part of the historical park. Most notable is likely the Boott Cotton Mill and Museum, however, the powerhouse, canal system and walkway all draw visitors.
In the 1850’s, Lowell was known as the largest industrial city in the nation.
American Memorial Park of the Northern Mariana Islands
American Memorial Park is located on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. The facility was created as a living memorial to the over 4,000 United States military personnel and local islanders who died during the Marianas Campaign of World War II.
As a living memorial, the park has facilities for biking, tennis, swimming and picnicking. There is also a World War II museum and flag monument at the site.
War in the Pacific National Historical Park of Guam
The War in the Pacific National Historical Park is located on several sites on the island of Guam. Making the site unique among other national parks is that is honors all who participated in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
This includes all of the American allies such as Great Britain and Australia, but it also acknowledges the enemy forces of Japan. The island of Guam was captured by Japanese forces in 1941 and would not be liberated until 1944.
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park of Texas
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is located in the state of Texas. The historical park is actually comprised of four different areas each preserving one of the Spanish frontier missions of the region.
These missions were constructed in the 17th and 18th centuries by members of the Catholic religious orders. Their purpose was to spread Christianity to the Native Americans of the region.
Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness of Idaho
The Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness is located along the Salmon River and protects the wildlife found in the region. The wilderness is 2,366,757 acres large and is considered the second largest wilderness area in the continental United States.
The wilderness takes its name from two places. Frank Church was the US Senator from Idaho who was instrumental in the preservation of the region. The River of No Return is the nickname for the Salmon River which features an extremely fast current making downstream travel fast and upstream travel almost impossible.