Washington, D.C. — The United States Mint announced the sellout on March 14 of the final limited edition of 80,000 Prestige Sets containing the Proof Silver U.S. Botanic Garden Coin.
“Following so closely the sellout of the Coinage &Currency Set, the Prestige Set sellout confirms the popularity and value of our limited edition products among collectors,” said Mint Director Philip N. Diehl. “Our plans for the future include the creation of more limited edition products, offering our customers the coins they prize in new, unique and appealing formats.”
The Prestige Set, first sold in 1983, is comprised of proof versions of the five U.S. circulating coins, and one or two commemoratives from the year of issue. The Prestige Set registered its highest sales in 1986, at 599,317 sets, when the Statue of Liberty Clad Half Dollar and Silver Dollar were included. The 1996 Prestige Set containing the U.S. Olympic Atlanta Centennial Games Clad Half Dollar and Silver Dollar sold 55,000 sets, the lowest in the program’s history.
To order the Proof ($33) or Uncirculated ($30) U.S. Botanic Garden Silver Dollar at pre–issue prices, please call 1–800–MINT–USA by April 4. Thereafter regular prices for the Proof ($37) and Uncirculated ($32) silver dollar are in effect.
The coin’s obverse design, by U.S. Mint Sculptor/Engraver Edgar Z. Steever, depicts the French facade of the U.S. Botanic Garden, and the reverse design, by U.S. Mint Sculptor/Engraver William C. Cousins, features a rose, America’s national flower.
Public Law 103–328, signed by President Clinton, on September 29, 1994, calls for minting of not more than 500,000 ninety percent silver coins. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the coins will go to the National Fund for the United States Botanic Garden to fund the National Garden in Washington, D.C.