2015-P Kisatchie 5 oz Silver ATB — NGC SP70 First Day of Issue

Perfect-grade 2015-P Kisatchie National Forest five-ounce .999 silver America the Beautiful coin, NGC SP70 with the First Day of Issue pedigree, cert 4265398-279. A single example, photographed in hand.

SP70 is the ceiling. On a three-inch, five-ounce silver planchet, a perfect grade means no post-production flaw visible at 5x anywhere on either side — no bag mark, no rub, no planchet fleck. Very few of these coins survive the Mint's own handling and shipping in that condition, which is why perfect-grade America the Beautiful pieces trade at a clear step above MS69 examples of the same issue.

Add the First Day of Issue pedigree — earned only by coins received within the first day of the Mint's release window, and impossible to add to a label later — and you have the top of the Kisatchie market rather than the middle of it.

The reverse, a wild turkey lifting out of the Louisiana longleaf pines, is one of the most sought designs in the whole 56-coin series. Five ounces of .999 silver carry $346.95 at today's $69.39 spot; the rest of the price is the perfect grade, the pedigree, the sealed NGC holder and the fact that there is exactly one on the shelf.

The America the Beautiful five-ounce silver series was authorised by the Quarter Dollar Coin Redesign Act of 2008 — three-inch, five-ounce .999 fine silver coins, the largest the United States Mint has ever struck, produced on purpose-built presses in Philadelphia.

The 2015 Kisatchie issue honours Louisiana's only national forest, established in 1930 across more than 600,000 acres of longleaf pine. Justin Kunz designed the reverse and Michael Gaudioso sculpted it; John Flanagan's 1932 Washington portrait appears on the obverse.

In the secondary market this issue is graded on surfaces. NGC's Auction Central records an MS69 Deep Prooflike Kisatchie at $141.00 in a Heritage internet session in May 2017, with silver near $17 an ounce. Perfect SP70 First Day of Issue examples carried retail asking prices of $399 and above while silver sat near $30. Both data points were set in far cheaper silver markets than today's.

Highest recorded sale: $399.00 · Top-grade First Day of Issue retail offering (now sold out) · Recorded with silver near $30/oz

The jump from MS/SP69 to 70 is the largest value step in modern certified coins. A 70 has no flaw visible at 5x magnification on a three-inch surface — a standard most five-ounce coins fail simply from Mint packaging. Population data for perfect Kisatchies is a small fraction of the 69 population, and unlike bullion the supply cannot grow.

The pedigree is awarded only to coins submitted from the first day of the Mint's release window, verified by the grading service at intake. It can never be added afterwards, so the pool of First Day of Issue Kisatchies is permanently fixed at what was submitted in 2015.

Certified numismatic coins are sold non-refundable. Because a graded coin can be swapped, cracked out of its holder or substituted once it leaves our hands, we do not accept returns or exchanges on metals of any kind, and a change of mind is not grounds for a return. Every piece is photographed in hand before it ships and insured in transit, so you see exactly what you are buying before you confirm.

Certified semi-numismatic coins are not IRA-eligible the way plain bullion is. If you are funding a retirement account we will show you which products qualify with Preferred Trust Company or GoldStar Trust Company and keep pieces like this one on the personal-ownership side of the plan.