This silver coin is part of America the Beautiful, which is a series of bullion coins designed to highlight the stunning natural landscapes that can be found throughout the North American continent.

Origins

Each coin has the quarter dollar face value. It contains 5 troy ounces worth of silver, which makes them the biggest silver coins that the U.S. Mint has ever issued. The designs featured on these coins are identical to America the Beautiful quarters, with the difference being that they are larger. They were issued between 2010 and 2021 and were distributed via bullion dealers who were authorized.

This particular coin is named in honor of Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, which can be found near San Luis Valley and Sangre de Cristo Range within the state of Colorado. U.S. President Herbert Hoover designated the park a National Monument in 1932, to protect it from concrete manufacturing and gold mining. The original boundaries were approximately 35,528 acres or about 55.5 square miles. However, the park has been enlarged over the last 70 years and now covers more than 107,000 acres. 

This park is named after the sand dunes it contains, which are North America’s tallest. They cover a distance of approximately thirty square miles and hold about five billion cubic meters worth of sand, which formed over thousands of years from the surrounding mountains that filled up the valley. Today the park is a popular spot for sand sledding, sand boarding and hiking within the surrounding region. However, visitors are recommended to arrive in the morning during summer, as temperatures can reach as high one hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit. 

Features

This coin was issued in 2014. Its mintage was limited at just 22,000 units in total. Its silver content is exceptionally high at .999, and when shipped the individual coins will arrive in special plastic capsules, while groups of coins will be sold in multiples of ten. Buyers also have the option of the Monster Box, which is a container holding multiples of one hundred. This silver coin is also advantageous to investors as it can be used for IRAs (Individual Retirement Accounts).

The coin’s obverse side displays a side profile of President George Washington’s face, which is the exact same image used on the American quarter. The words “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” can be seen above him with a face value that says “QUARTER DOLLAR” which is inscribed below. On the left side is the word “LIBERTY” while the inscription “IN GOD WE TRUST” can be seen on the right.

The coin’s reverse side depicts a scene of Great Sand Dunes National Park, where a boy and his father are playing along the sandy shores near Medano Creek. The backdrop displays mountains and sand dunes that overlook them. Above this scene is the inscription “GREAT SAND DUNES” and below the inscription year is visible, which says “2014.” On the left is a Colorado state inscription while the right displays the Latin phrase “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”