Coins - Botanic Garden Coin and Currency Set

In 1997, the US Mint introduced the second Coin and Currency Set in an elaborately colorful package to recognize the United States Botanic Garden. Per a Mint press release dated March 4, 1997, the Botanic Garden Coin and Currency Set's limited edition of 25,000 copies sold out in the first week of pre-release.

The Botanic Garden commemorative silver dollar had an overall limit of 500,000, some of which would be in the last Prestige Set the Mint would offer to collectors.

The beautiful coin and currency set includes the uncirculated Botanic Garden commemorative silver dollar along with the Jefferson Nickel and the Washington one dollar Federal Reserve Note. Both the Jefferson nickel and the one dollar Washington note recognize two gentlemen who helped found the national garden. The accompanying Botanic Garden Coin and Currency Booklet provides the history the initial idea and subsequent efforts to make the Botanic Garden a reality. 

The greens, reds and creams of a beautiful garden decorate the outer package of The United States Botanic Garden Coinage and Currency Set and show artistic botanical drawings of our national flower, the rose.

The Botanic Garden Coin and Currency Set consists of the outer sleeve, the coin and currency holder and the ten page booklet providing more details about the Botanic Garden.

Click on the picture at left to access the purchase information for the Botanic Garden Coin and Currency set

Green marbling covers most of the front cover of the coin and currency holder with the artist's rose highlighted in the center. 

The coin holder first opens from right to left with text on the left and the obverse of the coins on the right. 

The left interior begins with a quote from Thomas Jefferson, "The greatest service which can be rendered any country is to add a useful plant to its culture."  The document adds comments about the Founding Fathers and what the garden means today.

The right side holds two coins, the Botanic Garden commemorative silver dollar and the Jefferson nickel, and shows their obverse views.  

The Botanic Garden silver dollar commemorates the 175th anniversary of the garden. The obverse shows the French facade entrance of the garden's conservatory. 

Recognizing the importance Jefferson played in making the garden a reality, the set includes the Jefferson nickel in a frosted matte finish. The frosted matte finish used a combination of aluminum oxide and silver dioxide sprayed under high pressure. At the time, only one other five cent coin - the Jefferson nickel in the Thomas Jefferson Coin and Currency Set - had used this process.

Click on the picture at left to access the purchase information for the Botanic Garden Coin and Currency set

The coin holder flips up to show the reverse of the coins and to reveal the dollar note (scroll down to see the dollar note below). The description for the dollar note shows just below the coins. 

The reverse of the Botanic Garden commemorative silver dollar shows a rose unfurling from the bud stage but not yet in full bloom. Around top of the coin, a rose garland frames the rose beginning to bloom. 

The reverse of the nickel shows Jefferson's Monticello which Jefferson built. Some think the Botanic Garden's conservatory has components reminiscent of Jefferson's Monticello.

The Washington one dollar Federal Reserve Note is a Series 1995 printed in 1997. The black seal to the left of Washington's portrait shows the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Virginia in recognition of the birth state for both Jefferson and Washington.

Closing the coin holder and turning it over, the back of the one dollar Federal Reserve Note shows through the protective plastic cover and is surrounded by the green marbling prominent to the packaging. 

Coin sets minted and packaged by the US Mint contain Certificates of Authenticity. Rather than include a separate piece of paper which could easily be misplaced, the certificates of authenticity for the two coins and the one dollar Federal Reserve Note were printed on the back of the outer sleeve.

The signatures of the 1997 treasury directors authenticate the package: Philip N. Diehl - Director, US Mint and Larry E. Roluf - Director, Bureau of Engraving and Printing along with the appropriate seals for each of their offices.

The limited edition, the coins and the attractive packaging make this coin and currency set a rare and difficult set to find. Of the coin and currency sets, this set remains one of the most valuable.

Click on the picture at left to access the purchase information for the Botanic Garden Coin and Currency set