Bullion Version Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, 33,000 Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, 24,400 Arches National Park in Utah, 22,000 Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado, 22,000 Everglades National Park in Florida, 34,000 http://www.coinnews.net/2015/01/24/gold-advances-week-us-mint-bullion-coin-sales-slower/
I picked up an Everglades at a coin show recently. I really like the Everglade design. I see maybe picking up some later dates especially the one for my state. The one that represents my state I may buy in a graded holder. Other than that I may buy some more in the future for bullion.
I went in for a few Arches coins. got a couple of MS69 pl and dmpl also. in a couple years I'll know if it was smart or dumb. I can always play air hockey with the raw coins. caution;it's hell on your fingers.
Thanks for posting the 2015 designs. None of them seem to be "must haves" for me. The Bombay Hook is nice, but very similar to the Everglades piece. The Blue Ridge Parkway design could look fairly decent on a puck, we'll have to wait and see. Other than those, I think my fancy puck expenditures will be pretty small this year.
Wow, it really is. At a quick glance you could actually think they were the same. Seems like a stumble for program design oversight. Worse, Saratoga is deeply disappointing to me, in that it completely breaks the original principle that "America the Beautiful" designs depict American places. Along with Perry's Victory, Fort McHenry, and Homestead (which respectively incorporate person, event, and emblem with their places), it seems that this series is devolving into the same kind of clip-art claptrap that ruined many of the state quarters.
I'm very disappointed with the direction this series is going too. For some reason, the Mint just could not stick with the concept past 5 years. When I look at the Saratoga coin, I don't think they were thinking it's a design people will really enjoy looking at. And it's not a beautiful scene from our country. I think they are trying to force some government ideal or a history lesson down our throats.
I remember a post on the choices for the Saratoga coin when they were under review last year and it seems they picked the worst one, way to go Mint. or CCAC.
Well the CCAC just make recommendations. The Mint might give information on how hard/easy it would be to move the design to a coin but it's the Sec of the Treasury that makes the final choice if I understand correctly. So you can blame him!!! Of course the lack of great designs is also to blame!!
What do they mean when they say this: "The bullion versions of the five ounce America the Beautiful coins, for example, have not received grades higher than MS69 from PCGS and NGC, but the collector versions have produced plenty of MS70 coins." I thought there was just 1 version, what are bullion vs. collector versions ? Any way to tell them apart ?
My above pic was the Bullion version. This pic is the Vapor-Blast "P" collector version from the US Mint
I'm still not sure what the difference is between a bullion and collector version....I heard of proof and regular uncirculated (business strike), but not bullion-collector versions.
The bullion version has a shiny surface and no mint mark. They are sold in tubes by the Mint to authorized distributors (not sold directly to the public). The collectors version has a satin finish and P mint mark. It is sold by the Mint to the public directly in a capsule with box and coa.
I disagree. The Surrender at Saratoga was the beginning of the end of the British war effort. The coin deserves its place of honor.
I also like the Saratoga puck but I'm a serious history buff. I must agree that the Bombay hook looks a lot like the Everglades puck, however one is sort of flying and the other is sort of standing.