2017 US Mint Coin Program Releases

As we go through the closing weeks of the year, it seems like a good moment to look back at the US Mint’s releases in their on-going programs. Maybe you missed something along the way, and you can now play ‘catch-up’ and complete your collection.

The US Mint has several programs that release new coins each year, and here are this year’s contributions.

America the Beautiful Quarters Program

This popular series, which has been running since 2010, releases five new coins every year, each one featuring a National Park or National Site from each state, the federal district and major overseas territories. 2017 saw the release of:

• Effigy Mounds National Monument in February
• Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in April
• Ozark National Scenic Riverways in June
• Ellis Island in August
• George Rogers Clark National Historical Park in November

Each of these is made as a circulating quarter, as well as a five-ounce silver bullion version. Several variations of sets were also released.

Native American $1 Coin Program

This program sees one release a year, since it began in 2009. These are circulation coins, but they are never put into general release. Each one has on the obverse an image of Sacagawea carrying her infant son, Jean-Baptiste, a design first released on a gold coin in 2000. This woman travelled with the Lewis and Clarke expedition, from North Dakota to the Pacific. The reverse changes each year, and 2017 featured Sequoyah, the inventor of the Cherokee Syllabary, a written form of the Cherokee language. Around his image is a fascinating sample of his script.

Kennedy Half Dollar Program

First released in 1964, to commemorate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy the year before, these half dollars are only released for collectors, not into general circulation. Each year the original obverse design of Kennedy’s profile is carried on, with the date changing. The reverse is a heraldic eagle based on the Presidential Seal. Half dollars have been made by the mint since 1794. They were originally silver, but now are copper, with nickel added to produce a silver color. They are available in bags or rolls of 200 coins.

American Eagle Coin Program

This is the elite program of the Mint, released in proof and bullion coins since 1986. The proof coins are available in 91.67% gold, as $50 (One Ounce); $25 (One Half-Ounce); $10 (One Quarter-Ounce); and $5 (One Tenth-Ounce). The coins feature the original Augustus Saint-Gaudens Liberty design from 1907. These coins are produced in proof and bullion versions, with the One Ounce coin also made in silver, platinum and a first in 2017, palladium. Each year sees a dated production for the year, and 2017 was no exception.

American Buffalo Coin Program

This is another way to buy US Mint One Ounce gold coins. These are pure, .9999 fine 24-karat, and were first released in 2006. The design replicates the popular ‘Indian Head’ or ‘Buffalo Nickel’ design from 1913, with a buffalo on the reverse, and the head of a Native American warrior on the obverse.

 

If you didn’t complete your collections for this year, there is still time left. Take a moment from the festivities to round-out your 2017 coin collection.