And You Thought National Park Quarters Were Bad...

I just read H.R. 6184 that deals with the National Park Quarters and stumbled upon this...

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TITLE II--BULLION INVESTMENT PRODUCTS

SEC. 201. SILVER BULLION COIN.

Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after subsection (t) (as added by title I of this Act) the following new subsection:

‘(u) Silver Bullion Investment Product-

‘(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall strike and make available for sale such number of bullion coins as the Secretary determines to be appropriate that are exact duplicates of the quarter dollars issued under subsection (t), each of which shall--

‘(A) have a diameter of 3.0 inches and weigh 5.0 ounces;

‘(B) contain .999 fine silver;

‘(C) have incused into the edge the fineness and weight of the bullion coin;

‘(D) bear an inscription of the denomination of such coin, which shall be ‘quarter dollar’; and

‘(E) not be minted or issued by the United States Mint as so-called ‘fractional’ bullion coins or in any size other than the size described in paragraph (A).
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So it appears not only will we get the quarters, but also 5 ounce silver bullion for each coin! Thoughts?

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Permalink Reply by Aidan Work on December 17, 2008 at 5:11pm: That's huge!

Personally,I'd rather buy 5 Canadian Silver $5 Maple Leaves (all different dates) in to add to my collection.

Aidan.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by jraytinkey on December 17, 2008 at 5:14pm: Here is the link if anybody wants to read the whole thing:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-6184

You would have to buy nearly 23 pounds of silver to complete the set...that's a lot of silver!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by coinnetwork on December 17, 2008 at 6:11pm: Another interesting part of the legislation:

‘(B) SECOND ROUND AT DISCRETION OF SECRETARY-

‘(i) DETERMINATION- The Secretary may make a determination before the end of the 9-year period beginning when the first quarter dollar is issued under this subsection to continue the period of issuance until a second national site in each State, the District of Columbia, and each territory referred to in this subsection has been honored with a design on a quarter dollar.

This could go on for the next 22 years...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by jraytinkey on December 17, 2008 at 6:31pm: Here is something interesting...if they were to run this series for the entire 22 years, it would end in 2031. The following year would be the 100th anniversary of the Washington Quarter.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by jraytinkey on December 17, 2008 at 6:32pm: Tom Parsons said:
Do I see a line-item veto in our future?

Let's hope!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jim on December 17, 2008 at 9:42pm: That's ridiculous, but because it's Silver and not some silly, clad monster, I'd buy it. I think the craziest part is a five ounce Silver coin with a face value of 25-cents.

Wouldn't surprise me if they run the series for 22 years, then bring back the original for the 100th anniversary.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Numisman on December 21, 2008 at 1:54pm: Honestly I think that is going overboard. The statehood quarters were a great success but the mint has to be careful not to create a monster.

A lot of people were questioning the viability of the National Parks series to begin with.................Time will tell
Would you actually buy all 5 ounce silver coins in conjunction with the normal quarters to complete the full set?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jim on December 21, 2008 at 10:42pm: You know, I never thought about the fact that there would be 5, 5-ounce silver "quarters" per year.

That might be too much even for me.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jackson on December 22, 2008 at 1:35am: I don't ind the National Park series idea...I've enjoyed finding the whole state quarter set in pocket change and filling an old "thumb album"...takes me back to my collecting roots and it's free !!..I won't be buying any of the 5 ouncers though...too many Walkers, SLQ's and Busties to be had first..; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by CraigL on December 22, 2008 at 12:04pm: I don't mind the new series at all. It keeps coin collecting fresh for new and younger collectors out there. The state quarter series is what got me back into coin collecting for the first time since my childhood. Hopefully there will be newer collectors out there who will become interested through the National Parks series.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by yawnmoth on December 22, 2008 at 4:01pm: The US Mint discontinues a lot of products because it feels it's offering too many and then they do this.

Of course, I suppose it isn't the US Mint that did this so much as it is Congress...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jim on December 22, 2008 at 4:34pm: It's done by act of Congress, but the bills are drafted and introduced by a member or members with ties to the mint. They either:

1. Love coins and collecting or
2. See it as an opportunity for the mint to produce revenue and offset the cost of production for the circulating money

My guess is #2.; ▶ Reply to This