The 2017 George Rogers Clark America the Beautiful Silver Uncirculated Coin will be issued by the United States Mint as the last of five 2017-dated strikes of the America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin™ series. Showcased on the reverse of the coin will be a design emblematic of George Rogers Clark National Historical Park of Indiana.
Strikes of the America the Beautiful Silver Uncirculated Coin series are issued by the United States Mint as the numismatic versions of its America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins™ Program. As such, both series of coins feature the same basic specifications and designs.
The designs themselves are taken originally from a third US Mint series, the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. This includes an obverse portrait of George Washington, by John Flanagan, which has been seen, with minor variations, on circulating quarters since 1932.
Shown on the reverse of coins in the series are the designs emblematic of the selected sites of national interest, in this case George Rogers Clark National Historical Park of Indiana. A total of fifty-six different reverse designs will be featured in each America the Beautiful series with one representing a location from each state, the District of Columbia and the five US territories.
Coins in all three series are released at a rate of five per year with the first five bearing 2010 dates. The final strike of each series will be issued in 2021.
The US Mint strikes each America the Beautiful Silver Uncirculated Coin from five ounces of .999 fine silver to a diameter of three inches. As previously mentioned, these are the same specifications used for the related bullion coins.
In order to differentiate between the uncirculated and bullion coins, the US Mint places a ‘P’ mintmark on each uncirculated coin. This indicates the coin was struck at the US Mint’s facility in Philadelphia.
George Rogers Clark National Historical Park in Indiana
George Rogers Clark National Historical Park is located along the edge of the Wabash River near Vincennes, Indiana. It was officially established on July 23, 1966.
The park is built on what is believed to be the site of Fort Sackville, a Revolutionary War era military fort. The fort was taken by colonial forces under the command of George Rogers Clark, only to be re-taken by British forces shortly thereafter.
George Rogers Clark and his units advanced again on the fort and defeated the British. The fort then remained in the control of the colonies through the duration of the rest of the war.
The National Park Services used the following paragraph to describe the national historical park:
"One of the greatest feats of the American Revolution"
"The British flag would not be raised above Fort Sackville Feb. 25, 1779. At 10 a.m., the garrison surrendered to American Colonel George Rogers Clark. His American army, aided by French residents of the Illinois country, had marched through freezing floodwaters to gain this victory. The fort’s capture assured United States claims to the frontier, an area nearly as large as the original 13 states."