The third of five 2017 strikes of the US Mint’s America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin™ Program will be the 2017 Ozark America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin. A total of fifty-six new coins will be produced under the program with this Ozark strike being number thirty-eight.
The America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins will all be struck from five ounces of .999 fine silver to a massive diameter of three inches. This large size qualifies these coins to be the biggest bullion coins produced by the US Mint. An edge inscription showing the coins weight and fineness will be found on each piece.
George Washington, the first President of the United States will be found on the obverse (heads side) of all of the America the Beautiful coins including the companion circulating quarter dollar series issued at approximately the same time. Washington is no stranger to the quarter dollar as his likeness has been featured on that coin since 1932
An artistic representation of a portion of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways located in Missouri will be found on the reverse (tails side) of this particular strike. The final design, however, will probably be unknown until early in 2017 shortly before the first America the Beautiful strike is released that year. Design candidates for the Ozark coin should appear about a year sooner than that giving the public its first idea of what the coin might look like.
The completed program will consist of fifty-six new coins, released at a rate of five per year. Each coin showcases a different site of national interest, with one site chosen from each state, the District of Columbia and the five United States Territories.
A network of authorized purchasers will be the middle-man between the US Mint and those interested in buying these bullion coins. These purchasers buy the coins in bulk and then re-sell them for a small premium over the spot-price of the silver contained within them. This system is typical for all bullion coins from the Mint.
As the third coin in the series to appear in 2017, it will be preceded by two coins and followed by two coins. The two coming before it honor Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa and Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in Washington, D.C. The two coins following the Ozark strike showcase Ellis Island National Monument (Statue of Liberty) in New Jersey and George Rogers Clark National Historical Park in Indiana.
Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Missouri
The Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Missouri protect 80,000 acres of land and water for the continued public use. The Riverways was first established in 1964 and marked the first time a national park area was created for the protection of a wild river system.
Found on the banks of the Current and Jacks Forks Rivers, the Ozark sees an estimated 1.5 million visitors annually. Those who do come find a plethora of recreational activities at their fingertips.
Just a few of the things visitors can participate in include canoeing, hiking, boating, fishing, camping and hunting. Many consider the riverways the best float streams in the world owing to its source of springs making for a very consistent but extremely manageable flow.
Water activities are not the only past-time that draws visitors to the area. The park area also contains many caves including Round Spring Cave which offers ranger-led tours during the summer months.
Locals still think of the area as mostly a state park, which is not the case… anymore. Much of the land including the three largest campgrounds in the park (Alley Spring, Big Spring and Round Spring) were all once state owned, but turned over to the federal government in 1964 following the creation of the Riverways district.