Obverse. Photo © United States Mint
  • 25 Cents 2016, KM# 648, United States of America (USA), America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins, Kentucky, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
  • 25 Cents 2016, KM# 648, United States of America (USA), America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins, Kentucky, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
  • 25 Cents 2016, KM# 648, United States of America (USA), America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins, Kentucky, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Plastic capsule and a box
  • 25 Cents 2016, KM# 648, United States of America (USA), America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins, Kentucky, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Edge
Description

The America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins comprise a series of silver bullion coins with a face value of a quarter dollar. The coins contain five troy ounces of silver, making them the largest silver bullion coins ever issued by the United States Mint. The design of the coins duplicates exactly—though enlarged—each of the America the Beautiful Quarters. They have been issued since 2010 and will continue to be issued until at least 2021.

There are three main differences between the uncirculated and bullion versions of the coin:
- The uncirculated coin comes with a certificate of authenticity from the Mint and is placed inside a plastic capsule and then in a box; the bullion version is shipped in tubes of 10 coins.
- Uncirculated coins are vapor blasted after minting, giving them a matte finish, while bullion coins have a shinier finish.
- Under the "In God We Trust" inscription, the uncirculated coins feature a "P" symbol representing the Philadelphia mint whereas the bullion coins do not have a mint mark.

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park is located at the border between Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. The Cumberland Gap is a sizable natural break in the Appalachian Mountains, carved by wind and water. The buffalo, the Native American, the lone hunter, the pioneer… they all traveled through Cumberland Gap, the first gateway to the West, into the wilderness of Kentucky. The natural beauty of Appalachian mountain country, lush with vegetation, supports diverse animal life including white-tailed deer, black bear and wild turkey.

Quarters are issued depicting designs of national parks and sites in the order of which that park or site was deemed a national site. Release date (national site date): April 4, 2016 (June 11, 1940).

Obverse

A head of George Washington, the first President of the United States, facing left.

Designer: John Flanagan (JF), 1932 version from a 1786 bust by Houdon / William Cousins.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
IN
GOD WE
TRUST
LIBERTY
P
JF
QUARTER DOLLAR

Reverse

Depicts a frontiersman gazing across the mountains to the West. Many pioneers used Cumberland Gap on their journey into the western frontiers of Kentucky and Tennessee.

The gap was long used by Native Americans, as many species of migratory animals passed through it from north to south each year. It was fertile hunting territory and the only easy cut through the mountains from the southern wintering grounds of wild deer and buffalo to their northern summer range. Starting around 1775, the Gap became the primary route of transit for American settlers moving west into Kentucky; between 1775 and 1810 as many as 300,000 settlers may have used the Gap.

Designer: Barbara Fox (BF)
Engraver: Joseph Menna (JFM)

CUMBERLAND GAP
FIRST DOORWAY TO THE WEST
BF JFM
KENTUCKY
2016 E PLURIBUS UNUM

Edge

.999 FINE SILVER 5.0 OUNCE

25 Cents

Washington Silver 5oz Bullion Quarter

America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins
Kentucky, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

Subscribe series
KM# 648
Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Non-circulating)
Material Silver
Fineness 0.999
Weight 155.5 g
Diameter 76.2 mm
Thickness 4.19 mm
Shape round
Alignment Coin
Mints
Philadelphia Mint (P)
Philadelphia Mint (no mintmark)

Related coins

Washington Silver 5oz Bullion Quarter, Illinois, Shawnee National Forest

America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins

Silver, 155.5 g, ⌀ 76.2 mm
Washington Silver 5oz Bullion Quarter, West Virginia, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins

Silver, 155.5 g, ⌀ 76.2 mm