The Gettysburg National Military Park Silver Uncirculated Coin, the first 2011-dated release in the U.S. Mint’s collectible five-ounce silver coin series, celebrates the historic military park in Pennsylvania. Set for release on September 22, 2011, the coin was initially priced at $279.95.
Coin Specifications and Mintage
This collectible coin has a maximum mintage of 35,000, a notable increase compared to the previous five coins in the series, each limited to 27,000. Although those earlier coins were released in 2011, they had been minted the year before.
Struck from five ounces of .999 fine silver, the uncirculated coin shares its composition with the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin™ Program. However, there are key differences: the uncirculated coins feature a refined uncirculated finish and bear a “P” mintmark, denoting their production at the Philadelphia Mint. In contrast, the bullion coins lack a mintmark and are designed with investors in mind, focusing on bullion quality. The uncirculated versions, on the other hand, cater to coin collectors.
Both programs are modeled after the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program, which highlights notable sites across the United States and its territories.
Design Features
The coin’s reverse showcases the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Monument, a prominent feature within Gettysburg National Military Park. Designed by Joel Iskowitz, a Master Designer in the U.S. Mint’s Artistic Infusion Program (AIP), and sculpted by Mint Sculptor-Engraver Phebe Hemphill, the design includes inscriptions such as GETTYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, 2011, and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
On the obverse, a portrait of George Washington—originally created by John Flanagan in 1932 for the circulating quarter—takes center stage. Surrounding the portrait are the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST, and QUARTER DOLLAR.
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Historical Significance of Gettysburg National Military Park
Gettysburg National Military Park preserves the site of the Battle of Gettysburg, the bloodiest engagement of the American Civil War, with over 7,000 soldiers killed in action. The battle was a turning point in favor of the Union forces.
The park’s origins trace back to the creation of the Soldier’s National Cemetery, privately funded to provide a proper burial site for Union soldiers who died during the battle. The cemetery became the setting for President Abraham Lincoln’s iconic Gettysburg Address, delivered at its dedication. Below is an excerpt from the famous speech:
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.”
Established on February 11, 1895, through legislation signed by President Grover Cleveland, the park was originally managed by the War Department before being transferred to the National Park Service in 1933. Today, it stands as a testament to one of the most pivotal moments in American history.