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The 2016 North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt National Park Five-Ounce Silver Quarter honors the landmark bearing the name of the popular two-term president and one of the most influential conservationists in United States history. Courtesy of PCGS TrueView. Click image to enlarge.

In 2010, the United States Mint began production of the America the Beautiful Five-Ounce Silver Quarters. These coins are virtually identical in design to the circulating America the Beautiful Quarters except for the addition of edge lettering stating the coin’s bullion content of “.999 FINE SILVER 5.0 OUNCE,” versus a reeded edge as seen on the regular quarters. The three-inch-diameter bullion pieces were struck in both bullion and burnished finishes at the Philadelphia Mint, though only the burnished examples, graded as “Specimens” (or “SP”), carry a “P” mintmark.

From 2010 through 2021, five different sites of historical or natural significance were being honored during each year these large silver coins were issued. Because they were made for collectors and initially distributed only through certain dealers, many people haven’t seen these substantial bullion pieces, let alone held one. Partly because of their large size and perhaps also their lofty price point, production figures for most issues, regardless of finish, are quite modest. For example, most of the burnished issues have a mintage of 25,000 or less.

The entire series can be collected in bullion finish or burnished / SP, though uncirculated bullion strikes, spending on strike quality, are graded Mint State (MS), Mint State Prooflike (MS PL), or Mint State Deep Mirror Prooflike (MS DMPL). Some of the burnished issues also have light satin strikings. Regardless, the rich variety of amazing and historical issues make these a great option for a challenging collection.

A Series of Landmark Proportions

Despite being an asthmatic child, Theodore Roosevelt not only grew into a vibrant athletic man, but served the United States as its 26th president. Roosevelt often credited his vitality and health to the regenerative qualities of the outdoors and nature itself.

In his childhood the New York City parks were his sanctuary, and young Theodore was naturally curious. His early interest in zoology, taxidermy, and entomology were quite advanced for his age, including a paper “The Natural History of Insects” he wrote at age nine!

When he realized, as he approached adolescence, that he would benefit from an active and vigorous lifestyle, he sought the outdoors for both solace and strength.

Quite simply, Roosevelt loved parks.

Let’s Go to the Park!

Indeed, Roosevelt was one of America’s greatest national park patrons. In an issue of The Outlook from February 3, 1912, Roosevelt was quoted from “Wilderness Writings, 142,” as stating, “The establishment of the National Park System is justified by considerations of good administration, of the value of natural beauty as a National asset, and of the effectiveness of outdoor life and recreation in the production of good citizenship.”

Roosevelt had advantages that most didn’t. A gifted taxidermist since childhood, he took a somewhat impromptu trip to the Dakotas in 1883 to hunt buffalo, returning to New York City with a bull bison head. Roosevelt was naturally curious and this somewhat “spontaneous” trip to the Dakotas would be life changing for Roosevelt. Ironically, Roosevelt’s trip to hunt buffalo was because the species were disappearing at an alarming rate. And yet, Roosevelt would prove to be one of nature’s biggest advocates!

In 1884, both Roosevelt’s wife and mother died within days of each other. Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt had just delivered their child Alice Lee, when she died from undiagnosed kidney failure. Mrs. Roosevelt had succumbed to typhoid fever less than a day before the birth.

Roosevelt served in the New York State Assembly from 1882 through 1884 and finished third in a New York mayoral race in 1886. Politics was in his blood. However, tragedy in his personal life and some political recalculation most probably led to Roosevelt retreating West to his ranch during the mid-1880s. Yet, Roosevelt’s ranch life was transformative. An exuberant outdoor lifestyle appealed to Roosevelt. His prior writings on mostly natural and naval history were supplanted by outdoor and nature articles during this period, including the publication of three books.

Not only was Roosevelt progressive in his conservation efforts for the time, but his efforts in later years would be crucial in the foundation of the United States National Park System. Roosevelt’s endeavors go far beyond just those achieved during his presidency from 1901 through 1909. During just those eight years, Roosevelt would be responsible for the creation of five new parks, 18 national monuments, a combined 55 bird and game refuges, and the designation of well over 100 million acres as national forest.

The legacy of Theodore Roosevelt lives on today, unsurprisingly given his unequivocal significance as one of the most important conservationists in United States history. It’s little wonder a national park in North Dakota’s Little Missouri River Badlands bears his name today. And it’s just one of the 56 such landmarks featured on the America The Beautiful Five-Ounce Silver Quarters, which offer modest mintages, fabulous production standards, and a built-in bullion advantage that make these large silver coins some lovingly refer to as “hockey pucks” rock. Simply put, they’re a true numismatic “twofer”!