In popular literature, we are led to believe that trading in gold and silver only happen when these metals are shaped into bars and ingots, but we forget about gold and silver eagle coins. While it is true that majority the world’s gold and silver are traded as bars, trade in investment of precious metals using a smaller form factor called bullion coins are gaining popularity. In the United States, silver eagle coins are the most common form of coinage for this commodity.
A silver eagle coin only comes in one size and that is the size that contains at least one troy ounce of silver. With up to 99.9 percent of silver in its content as guaranteed by the United States Mint, the value of one of these coins is only a US dollar. It was in November of 1986 that this particular coin was released to the public weighing roughly 31 grams, and with dimensions of almost 3 millimeters in thickness and 40.6 millimeters in diameter.
The silver eagle coins have two faces which are referred to as the revers and the obverse sides, or as we commonly know as, the tail and the head. Of the mints in the US, only three actually create the American silver eagle coin, namely, the mints in San Francisco, Philadelphia, and West Point.
The obverse face of the silver coins has the well known ‘Walking Liberty’ icon that was designed by Adolph Weinman in 1916. Even with the phasing out of the silver coin, the design was so popular that the US Mint continued to print the design on today’s silver coins. The reverse face of the coin is 13 stars with the heraldic eagle which was designed in 1986 by John Mercanti. Today, the reverse face shows the seal of the US in a different variation.
Then Secretary of the Treasury James Baker was present in the San Francisco Mint when the first silver American eagle coin was struck in 1986. While the silver eagle coin is legal tender, the West Point mint manufactures bullion silver coins and is distinguishable by the absence of mint marks.
One way to distinguish where silver coins were made is to look for a letter printed on the coin to indicate where they were manufactured. The marks “S”, “P”, and “W” will show the serious coin collector that the coins were made in either San Francisco, Philadelphia, or West Point Mint, respectively.
Today, silver coins are in such high demand that the government has had to make a distribution program to control its allocation within the US. Rationing has been done weekly in terms of the distribution of silver eagle coins as a means to counter inflation due to the the downturn that the economy is taking.
Eric McMillan is an ex real estate guy, who markets online and is a coin collecting fanatic. Visit his site for more information on the history and value of silver eagle coins. While you’re there, grab your free copy of his Guide to Gold and Silver Coins.