The 2014 Everglades America the Beautiful Silver Uncirculated Coin is the last of five 2014-dated releases scheduled from the United States Mint as part of its America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin™ series. A design on the reverse of the coin will be emblematic of Everglades National Park located in the state of Florida.
In addition to being the fifth coin of the year to appear as part of the series, the Everglades Silver Uncirculated Coin will also mark the twenty-fifth in the program overall. Coins of the series first appeared with five 2010-dated strikes with five additional coins released annually as part of it.
The series will continue until 2021 when the last scheduled coin will appear. At that time, a total of fifty-six new coins will have been issued each featuring a different reverse design honoring sites of national interest. One site from each state, the District of Columbia and the five US territories have been chosen as part of the series.
Coins of the America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin series are struck by the US Mint as the numismatic versions of the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins™. Both series feature similar designs and specifications including a composition of five ounces of .999 fine silver and a diameter of three inches.
The only definitive way to tell the difference between the coins of the two series is to look for a mintmark. The uncirculated coins have a ‘P’ mintmark indicating they were struck at the US Mint’s facility in Philadelphia. The bullion coins are also struck in Philadelphia but contain no mintmark.
Both the uncirculated coins and the bullion coins have designs originally created for a third US Mint series – the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. Congress authorized the quarters and the bullion coins together in the America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008 and dictated their designs be the same. As these uncirculated coins are struck as the numismatic versions of the bullion coins, the designs are featured once again.
This includes an obverse portrait of the first President of the United States, George Washington. This portrait was originally designed by John Flanagan for use on the 1932 circulating quarter dollar. With minor variations, it has been used on the quarters ever since.
The reverse design emblematic of Everglades National Park will be unveiled sometime in late 2013. Design candidates for the coin should appear earlier that year for review.
Everglades National Park of Florida
Everglades National Park is located in the state of Florida. It is different from other national parks which were created to protect unique geographic features because Everglades was created to protect a fragile ecosystem.
The national park protects the lower twenty-percent of the Everglades – subtropical wetlands that are actually a slow-moving river. Hundreds of species of birds, fish, mammals and reptiles call the Everglades home.
The National Park Service describes the Everglades National Park with:
"The largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, boasts rare and endangered species. It has been designated a World Heritage Site, International Biosphere Reserve, and Wetland of International Importance, significant to all people of the world."