Yellowstone Commemorative Released to Fund Parks

For a limited time, and a limited time only, the US Mint is offering the 1999 Yellowstone National Park commemorative silver dollar (again).

According to an April 4 US Mint announcement, the coin will be offered until July 15. Of the purchase price, $5 will go to support Yellowstone National Park. Another $5 from the price tag will go to the National Park Foundation to support other national parks.

Yellowstone proceeds will be managed by the Yellowstone Park Foundation and will fund projects including maintenance of Great Fountain Geyser, campground improvements, increased accessibility to handicapped visitors, reconstruction and repair of heavily used hiking trails, wildlife research projects and archaeological excavation of prehistoric sites.

Thank you coin collectors for subsidizing all these things.

The coin sells for $37 in Proof, $32 in Uncirculated and $64.95 for a two-coin set of one of each. Take off $10 from this price tag and you've got the real price before the pork barrel projects are added.

The Yellowstone Park Foundation exists to help make up for the park's funding shortfall. It funds projects and programs that protect, preserve, and enhance Yellowstone National Park. It is the only private, non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to this purpose.

The Foundation supports projects ranging from wildlife and fisheries enhancement to trail restoration and historical and cultural resource protection and preservation. The Foundation receives no government funding. It relies solely on the generosity of private individuals, foundations, and corporations to fund projects and programs that are beyond the financial capacity of the National Park Service. Now it is also depending on coin collectors to fill its coffers.

This isn't the first US commemorative coin issued to finance somebody's pet project. The reason virtually all US commemoratives have been issued has been to finance something at collector expense. Congress mandates to the Mint what commemoratives it will make following backroom bargaining to ensure everybody who votes for the latest commemorative gets what he wants for his constituents.

The so-called classic commemorative series struck between 1892 and 1954 was finally abandoned, when sales finally dropped to rock bottom following the typical meddling of Congress.

The current series started with good intentions in 1982 and quickly went downhill for the same reasons. Several of the coins in the series were such failures that Congress had to pass further legislation to ensure the amounts the groups who were to profit from the sales of the coins were met and could be guaranteed--by the taxpayers.

In more recent history the commemorative coin series has been doing much better, but much of this has to do with the upswing in interest in coin collecting generated primarily by the Statehood quarter dollar series, rather than by any excitement generated by the commemorative coin series.

Many of the coins in the series beginning in 1982 are generally considered to be of inferior design to their earlier brethren. The earlier coins were criticized for having poor designs when they were first issued. Sounds like you can't win.

The US Mint press release did not reveal why at this late date the 1999 Yellowstone National Park commemorative silver dollar is now being offered. Maybe they're worried Congress can't pass a bill ensuring the recipients of sales profits will get what they want if sales fall short.