Five (5) Oz.
The 5oz Liberty Dollar was first minted in October 2003 to mark the fifth anniversary of the Liberty Dollar, carrying a $50 face value. In 2006, a second version was released with a 1998–2006 reverse and a $100 face value. Measuring 64mm in diameter, it is a substantial piece of silver that is comparable in size to a tennis ball. Both versions share the same obverse, featuring the familiar Lady Liberty design seen on other Liberty Dollars.
1998-2003 $50 5oz Liberty Dollar
1998-2006 $100 5oz Liberty Dollar
Encircling the outer rim is a micro-engraved, paraphrased excerpt from the U.S. Declaration of Independence:
ALL MEN AND WOMEN ARE CREATED EQUAL AND ENDOWED BY THEIR CREATOR WITH CERTAIN UNALIENABLE RIGHTS THAT AMONG THESE ARE LIFE LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS AND WHENEVER ANY FORM OF GOVERNMENT BECOMES DESTRUCTIVE OF THESE ENDS IT IS THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO ALTER OR TO ABOLISH IT AND INSTITUTE A NEW GOVERNMENT. October 1 1998-2003.
According to the Liberty Dollar Encyclopedia, the 5oz Liberty Dollar was part of a limited commemorative mintage initially set at 5,000 pieces. However, fewer than 4,000 were ultimately distributed before the FBI's seizure of undelivered pieces during the 2007 raid on the Liberty Dollar Fulfillment Center.
When I spoke with Bernard about this, he told me they didn’t produce thousands of these but closer to 500 of each. Given the raid, there’s no way to know if or how many were seized by the government. The truth is uncertain, but 500 seems more likely to me as these are rarely seen for sale and are recognized as scarce and desirable in the collector’s market.
The 2007 search and seizure operation targeting the Liberty Dollar organization resulted in the confiscation of a large amount of precious metals and currency from multiple locations, including Sunshine Minting and the Liberty Dollar Headquarters in Evansville, Indiana.
At Sunshine Minting, federal agents seized 168,599 one-ounce silver coins, 710 half-ounce silver coins, 147 one-ounce gold coins, 17 half-ounce gold coins, and 11 silver bars and scrap totaling 10,720.60 troy ounces. A second warrant led to the confiscation of an additional 16,000.05 troy ounces (~1300 lbs) of raw silver.
Meanwhile, the search of the Evansville headquarters yielded 5,930.32 troy ounces of silver coins, 3,039.375 pounds of copper coins, 63.24 troy ounces of gold coins, three platinum coins, and $254,424.09 in U.S. currency. Additionally, two separate shipments of silver coins recalled from Sunshine Minting were later seized, each containing 1,000 half (.5) troy ounce silver coins.
While the detailed inventory from the trial lists various sizes of silver and gold coins, no specific mention was made of 5oz Liberty Dollars.
However, given the volume of silver coins seized from both locations, it remains possible that some 5oz pieces were included within the broader confiscated inventory.
5oz Hallmarks
I've come across two different hallmarks on the 5oz piece - the arrest hallmark and the JK (Jeff Kotchounian) hallmark, both shown below. There may be others, but I haven’t seen them. If you have a picture of a 5oz hallmark not listed here, please email me at brian 'at' norfed 'dot' info.
2006 5oz Liberty Dollar with Arrest Hallmark
2003 5oz Liberty Dollar with JK Hallmark
