American Silver Eagles

During President Reagan's administration, in December 1985, Congress passed a law authorizing the U.S. Mint to once again produce legal tender gold and silver coins. After more than fifty years without a general circulation, legal tender silver dollar in production, in 1986 the United States Mint began production on the Silver American Eagles.

Having recently marked their 20th Anniversary, the Silver Eagles are now in their third decade of production and by total mintage and cumulative sales, have proven themselves to be the most popular silver dollar coin in U.S. history. Since their inception, the obverse of the Silver Eagles has featured the splendid Walking Liberty design originally prepared by Adolph A. Weinman to adorn the nation's first circulating half-dollar coin minted from 1916-1947. Weinman also designed the equally famous Mercury Dime. Given the Walking Liberty design's massive popularity, it proved the perfect choice to adorn the Silver Eagle's obverse. The Silver Eagle reverse design features a traditional heraldic eagle designed by famed U.S. Mint sculptor-engraver John Mercanti. For several years around 1830, an American Bald Eagle named Peter lived inside the first U.S. Mint until he was killed in a mint press accident. He served as a model for many early coin designs and Mercanti may have used him as well. Together, the two designs combine to create one of the most beautiful and memorable coins ever created by the United States Mint.

The Silver American Eagles are the largest legal tender, silver dollar ever produced by the United States Mint and contain one full Troy ounce of pure .999 fine silver. The U.S. government guarantees the coin's weight and pure silver content, which makes the coins exceedingly popular among collectors everywhere. Given the coin's silver content and the price of silver in today's markets, the legal tender denomination of One Dollar is basically ceremonial as the coin itself is much more valuable than one dollar, another of the many reasons the Silver Eagles are so popular with collectors.

Featuring the popular Adolph A. Weinman Walking Liberty design on the obverse and a heraldic eagle design created by modern day Mint engraver/sculptor John Mercanti on the reverse, the Silver American Eagles are widely regarded as one of the most beautiful and archetypic United States coin designs in history.

ASE Specs:
Weight: 31.103g / 1 troy oz
Diameter: 40.66 mm
Thickness: 2.98 mm
Edge Type: reeded
Metal: Silver
Denomination: US $1

Im posting this as a way to introduce the coin series to my site I have posted 21 Eagles from 1986 to 2008 (with a few more in the mail) including the 2006 Reverse Proof - an absolutely gorgeous coin!

So please, if you like the ASE series as much as i do .. take a look here

As always, Thank you for looking!

 

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Great site Daggar! Thanks for posting it :thumb:.

 

Cool ASEs!

Thanks for sharing that information Daggar! I really like the ASE's and just recently starting buying them, started with 2009 and working backwards. I enjoy learning more about the history of them now that they are becomig part of my small but much loved coin collection! :thumb:

 

Thanks for the comments its great to hear folks like my site and all ... even better to hear folks like the coins

The history around the ASE is pretty cool. The designers and the designs they created... how they were used and selected... Its all fun stuff IMHO With millions of ASE made every yeard ... its hard to imagine its not the most selected bullion coin. But not knowing the other countrys coins minatges, i cant say for sure.

Either way - thank you for looking

 

Great site..Love the Silver Eagle Proofs. Finally completed my set (minus the 1995-W) just a few weeks ago.

 

Great psoting Dagger.. Yeah I love all the ASE's. I have them from 86 till current. Missed out on a couple of those WestPoint mintages though.. Keep those great post coming

 

Thanks guys Its great to hear some of you compelted your sets! I have maybe 1/2, but i slowly keep adding to them its a secret passion lol

as for the 1995W coin.. forget that what a gimmick thats my story and im sticking to it lol

 

ASE's are the backbone of my bullion stash. They're terrific. As an aside what's up with the apostrophe's in your origional post?

 

the appostrephes are what happens when a text style or font from one source is not recognized on another. I cant recall the text style used, but it shows wrong on my site as well..... very weird lol

i shall fix

 

Just got in 3 more ASE's. a 1992 Unc, 2007 P Unc, and a 2009 P Unc.

to view, just click the link

 

do you now if you buy each year of these american eagle one ounce proof silver dollars. you will not be losing any money at all. what about bullion american eagle one ounce unc silver dollars. these too. you will not lose any. because the silver price is way above the low's for so many years.

 

Thanks for sharing bud, nice site!

-LTB

 

You have a nice website.

Also, I think that 100 years from now folks will look upon ASEs in much the same way we look at morgan dollars. It's a wonderful design and a remarkable coin series. When beginners ask me what they should collect first [beyond pocket change], I always tell them to start with the uncirculated ASEs.

 

When did West Point begin issuing the "W" uncirculateds?

 

2006 was the first time the unciculated eagle carried the W mint mark. I dont know off hand, but i beleive West Point minted Eagles in the past with a different mint mark.

 

I like these coins a lot as well. So far I've bought four: 1987, 1988, 1989, and 2002. I'm kind of in the mode of buying one per month until I have them all. I buy based upon whatever has a good eBay price at the time I'm ready to purchase one.

 

This sounds like a good way to do it.

 

Coincidentaly I just received a 1995, 2003, 04, 05 today. Very nice. Checked my inventory and can't believe I dont have an '06? How did I miss that!? Back to the hunt.

 

West Point minted ASE have always had either no mint mark or a W mint mark. ASE's minted by other mints have had no mint mark for the Uncs, and the proofs issued by Philadelphia or San Francisco have had a P or S mintmark respectively.

 

In a related matter I have found a few American Bald Eagle Dollars on Ebay. What do you think about these coins vs the more conventional American Eagle coin? I have seen 2008 Bald Eagles going for about $50. Is that a fair price?