Vicksburg on sale; no Olympic sellout

When America the Beautiful 5-ounce silver coins first hit the market at the end of 2010, folks complained they couldn’t get their hands on them. Not so any more.

These days a new variation is hitting the market about every 10 days. Different images, different years, different finishes.

On June 20, the U.S. Mint began accepting offers for the 2011-dated 5-ounce silver bullion coin honoring Vicksburg National Military Park. They would be sold to Authorized Purchasers, who would in turn sell them to dealers and the public with no terms or conditions imposed by the Mint.

The total mintage is set at 126,700, the same as that set for the first three 2011 5-ounce silver bullion coins. All of the coins honoring Gettysburg National Military Park and Glacier National Park have be sold to the APs. As of June 12, 73,400 of the Olympic National Park bullion coins had been sold to the APs.

The Mint also created ATB uncirculated collector coins of the 2010 5-ounce bullion releases. Mintages were set at 27,000 each, with coins honoring Hot Springs National Park and Yellowstone National park each sold out.

The 2010 Yosemite National Park uncirculated collector coin was offered for sale by the Mint on June 9 and as of June 12, 20,511 of the 27,000 coins had been sold.

The collector coins are priced at $279.95 each, plus $4.95 for shipping and handling, and are available from the Mint.