A brief history of the worlds most recognisable silver coin - The American Silver Eagle

In the 1970s, silver that had been stored in the United States’ Defense National Stockpile for years had accumulated to the point that it exceeded projected needs. The Nixon administration proposed selling some of these holdings, but silver miners opposed the move since selling a lot of silver would depress spot prices. Later, the Reagan administration proposed selling 75% of the stockpile, but that measure, which would have depleted the stockpile quickly, was blocked by Senator James McClure, whose district included silver miners.

Instead, McClure proposed that silver from the stockpile could only be sold if the silver miners were given a way to sell surplus silver to the U.S. government. Thus, once again the silver mining industry played a key role in shaping American silver coinage as it did in the 19th century, and the idea of an American silver bullion investment coin was born. The American Silver Eagle program was then authorized through an amendment to the 1985 legislation that created the Statue of Liberty commemorative coin program.

The American Silver Eagle

The eagle design is inspired by the 1945 version of the Great Seal of the United States. In 1945, the eagle on the Great Seal switched from looking toward the arrows of war to looking toward the olive branch of peace. The reverse features a sun shining on olive branches. The sun resembles the sun rising behind Liberty on the obverse of the 1945 World War II Victory Medal. The medal was issued to those who served in the U.S. Armed Forces from December 7, 1941, to December 31, 1946.

First issued in 1986 in both bullion and Proof versions, the American Silver Eagle is not only the United States Mint’s most successful non-circulating coin program of all time but it’s also one of the world’s most popular silver bullion coins, with almost 600 million coins struck in a market that today offers buyers more choices for such products than ever.

In 2002, when the silver from the stockpile had been depleted, the law was modified to continue issuing American Silver Eagles with silver purchased from U.S. silver mines at market prices.

Today, the Silver Eagle is at the heart of the modern U.S. coin and silver bullion markets as the silver coin that has the highest demand and premiums and the greatest liquidity because of those factors. It is also the most widely collected silver coin in the United States, with more people building various sets of the coin than of any other modern U.S. coinage.

Silver Eagle Coins
Silver eagles are issued in six versions of strike and finish, including Mint State, Proof, Burnished, Reverse Proof, Enhanced Uncirculated, and Enhanced Reverse Proof – with the latter three all issued in special sets. See this post for an explanation of those types of Silver Eagles and of the sets.

World War II Privy Eagle
This November, as part of the U.S. Mint’s numismatic tributes to the victorious end of World War II, the first-ever privy-marked American Silver Eagle will be issued. This is a nice touch to honor the over 400,000 Americans that died during the war, which formally ended on September 2, 1945, after the Japanese surrender that followed that of Nazi Germany in May of that year.

The coin will feature a small privy mark and limited to just 75,000 coins, which will immediately make it the fourth rarest coin of the series (after the 1995-W Proof, the 2019-S Enhanced Reverse Proof, and the 2008-W Reverse of 2007 Burnished Uncirculated coins), intense demand is expected for this new key coin.

The Mint is also issuing a $10, 24 karat gold coin and silver medal featuring an obverse that depicts an eagle in flight, facing the olive branch it grasps in its right talon. The olive branch symbolizes peace.

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