How Are American Silver Eagle Coins Different Than Other Coins?

COIN WISDOM Facts & History of the American Silver Eagle Coin! During the 1970's and early 80's the U.S. had an abundance of silver held in reserve. The US also had an abundance of debt. There were several plans to sell this silver for use in various programs. Occasionally sales of some of the silver did occur. Invariably this would drive down the value of silver on the market and the results were never as successful as hoped. In 1981, looking to balance the budget, President Reagan got legislation approved for 75% of the silver in the stockpile to be sold over three years. A few months later, upon anticipation of the sale of the silver stockpile, the price of silver dropped dramatically. Due to the terrible effect of the upcoming sale of silver from the government reserve, the bill was stopped by further legislation late in 1981. In 1983, Senator Jim McClure of Idaho had a bright idea. His proposal was to sell stockpiled silver, but to do so in a way that wouldn't adversely affect the silver market. This was the birth of the American Silver Eagle Bullion Coin. It took some time, but in 1986 the first American Eagle Silver Bullion Coin was produced. Specifically, what is a bullion coin? 'Bullion' is a form of a precious metal such as gold, silver, or platinum, from which coin metal alloys are made. In its pure form it is usually sold and traded in the form of bars and ingots. American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins are 99.9% pure silver and have a weight of one troy ounce (31.103 grams). These coins are valued chiefly on their bullion content. Of course, they can have a numismatic value greater than their silver content. American Silver Eagles have a value of one dollar stamped on them. Regardless of the value of silver which comprises it, the coin will always be worth at least one dollar in the U.S.. However, the coin has never been worth that little.

Famous Coin Collections of All Time

Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. (1896-1976) was a Baltimore businessman who actively collected coins from the mid-1920s until the late 1970s. He made his reputation known in numismatics for being the only person ever to assemble a complete collection of circulating United States coins by date and mint mark. The Eliasberg Sets are registered with PCGS. Eliasberg did not differentiate between business strikes and Proof strikes, nor did he collect mint errors and die varieties. The goal of his coin collection was to collect one of every type of United States coin intended for general circulation by date and mint. He also collected subtypes such as the 1873 Liberty seated dime. One subtype head arrows next to the date and the other one did not. The only coin that he did not have in his famous coin collection was the 1849 Double Eagle. There is only one of these known, and it is in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. Since this unique specimen was produced in the year before the coin officially went into production in 1850, most numismatists consider this a pattern coin and not a coin that was ever intended to circulate in American commerce. Eliasberg spared no expense to obtain all the significant rarities. His collection included a 1913 Liberty Head nickel, the unique 1873-CC no-arrows Liberty Seated dime, an 1804 silver dollar, an 1870-S three dollar gold piece and a 1933 gold $20 Saint Gaudens Double Eagle. When he learned that the 1933 gold coin might have been obtained through illegal means, he voluntarily surrendered it to the government. Bowers & Ruddy auctioned the first part of Eliasberg's collection in 1982, the second set in 1996 and the remaining lots in 1997. The total realized across all three auctions was more than $57 million

The Meaning of 'E Pluribus Unum'

E Pluribus Unum is Latin for "out of many, one." Sometimes it is translated more loosely as "one from many." E Pluribus Unum was once the motto of the United States of America and references the fact that the cohesive single nation was formed as the result of the thirteen smaller colonies joining together. Usage on Coins The United States Mint first used E Pluribus Unum on coins in 1795, on the Half Eagle $5.00 gold piece. The reverse design motif is based on the Great Seal of the United States and depicts an eagle holding a banner in its beak bearing the motto. The motto was first used on a silver coin three years later and appeared on all U.S. gold and silver coinage shortly after that. However, the use of E Pluribus Unum on United States coinage wasn't uninterrupted. In 1834, E Pluribus Unum was removed from gold coins to mark a minor debasement in the fineness of the gold. Once again, the silver coins soon followed, and the motto didn't appear on any U.S. coins. In 1866 it returned to several coin types, including the Half Eagle, Eagle ($10 gold piece), Double Eagle ($20.00 gold piece), silver dollars, and quarter dollars. In 1873, a law was passed that required E Pluribus Unum to appear on all U.S. coins when new designs went into effect. However, research of official mint records indicated that mint officials did not consider this mandatory. Therefore, they used the motto at their discretion when designing new coinage. The same records indicate that Col. Read of Uxbridge, Massachusetts was instrumental in having the motto placed on United States coins. History The motto E Pluribus Unum was first proposed by the U.S. Continental Congress in 1782, for use on the Great Seal of the United States. The immediate inspiration for the use of this term is believed to be Gentlemen's Magazine, which was an important men's magazine published in England beginning in the early 18th century. It was a very influential magazine among the intellectual elite. Every year, Gentlemen's Magazine would do a special issue, comprised of the best of the year's articles, and the Latin term E Pluribus Unum appeared on the title page as a way of explaining that this issue of the magazine became "one issue from many previous issues." Pierre Eugene du Simitiere originally suggested this motto in 1776. Historically the phrase, or a variant of it, was used by several significant authors. Sources included a poem attributed to Virgil, Confessions by St Augustine, Cicero in his De Officiis and several others. Given its rich history, it is only appropriate that the founding fathers of the United States of America chose this to be our motto. Fun Facts Just as the U.S. has thirteen original colonies, E Pluribus Unum has thirteen letters in it. The phrase ex pluribus unum goes back to ancient times, and Saint Augustine used it in his c. 397-398 Confessions (Book IV.) It has been used by the Scoutspataljon, a professional infantry battalion of the Estonian Defence Forces, since 1918. E Pluribus Unum still appears on U.S. coins even though it is no longer the official national motto! The United States Congress gave that honor to In God We Trust in 1956 by an Act of Congress (36 U.S.C. § 302). In the 1939 film The Wizard Of Oz, the Wizard gives the Scarecrow a Diploma from The Society of E Pluribus Unum. E Pluribus Unum, was first used on the 1795 Liberty Cap-Heraldic Eagle gold $5 piece.

The designation Special Mint Set is used for coins that were distributed only in mint or commemorative sets by the US mint but are otherwise similar to the regular business strike coins. Most mint sets contain “Business Strike” coins that are exactly the same as the coins that go to the banks to be used in everyday commerce. SMS coins are only made for distribution to collectors in sets sold by the mint and are special in some fashion. SMS coins can be found for the years 1965, 1966 and 1967 and include the Lincoln Penny, Jefferson Nickel, Roosevelt Dime, Washington Quarter and Kennedy half-dollar. The half-dollar is a clad composition and contains 40% silver, the same as the business strike coins of those years. During these 3 years the mint suspended proof coin production but due to the demand of collectors, they made the SMS coins instead, which are made in slower coin presses using polished dies to give a superior finish. They are not up to the standards of the proof coin of other years, yet are better quality than the business strike coins. SMS coins can also be found with a Cameo finish on them, much like the Cameo finish on a proof coin. This is due to the additional care used in striking the SMS coins. And like Cameo proof coins, Cameo SMS coins command a higher price. You will find many of these coins being sold as singles and many of the coin albums have a slot for both the regular business strike and the SMS coins. In 2005, the mint started producing satin finish coins that are only available in mint sets. These are also SMS coins. Up to that point they used business strike coins to make up the mint sets. This makes 2 distinctly different coins in the P and D mint marked coins as the satin coins are made by superior processes and have the satin finish. As of this time I have not seen that the album companies are adding slots for these SMS coins but it will come due to collector demand. A fully complete set will contain the P mint business strike and P mint satin SMS coins and the same for the D mint coins. There are a few other SMS coins that have been minted through the years. In 1994 there was a matte finish Jefferson nickel that comes in the 1993 Thomas Jefferson 250th anniversary commemorative set and then another Jefferson nickel in 1997 again with a matte finish and issued in the Botanic Garden commemorative set of the same year, both of these coins bear the P mint mark. 1998 s matte finish silver Kennedy a half dollar is another SMS coin that was issued in the Robert F and John F Kennedy commemorative set of that year. There may be others but these are the ones I am familiar with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbKsIMnFATg Welcome back! In commemoration of the 225th anniversary of the Philadelphia mint, they have decided to make a bold move and offer a one year type Lincoln cent with a physical "P" mint mark. Watch on and find out the repercussions and benefits of having a single year coin that never had a P mint mark before.Check Your 2017 Lincoln Pennies For Rare Varieties - Mint To Feature "P" Mintmark for 2017 Only!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VkyL7u2d3c   INCREDIBLE 1976-D Bicentennial Quarter Struck on Copper Penny Blank - Wild Contrasting Error!

5 Things About Eisenhower Dollars Every Enthusiast Should Know

Modern coin collecting can be confusing sometimes with the wide selection of coins to choose from and almost as many opinions about those coins as coins themselves. One can rarely go wrong with a few Eisenhower dollar coins though, an affordable icon of not only American presidential history, but of American conquests to space too.                     The First Five Things Any Coin Collector Needs to Know about the Eisenhower Dollars 1. Why was the coin made? The year was 1969. Federal legislation at that time sought to create a circulating dollar coin which would commemorate Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower who had died earlier that year. Also, the coin was meant to commemorate the Apollo 11 space flight, which marked man’s first steps on the moon. The result? The Eisenhower dollar coin. A modified bill was eventually passed on December 31, 1970 and production of the coins began forthwith. 2. What did the coin look like and what was the significance of the coin? The Chief Engraver for the United States Mint, Mr. Frank Gasparro himself, designed both the obverse and the reverse of the Eisenhower dollar coin. The obverse side of the coin bore a profile bust of Eisenhower with inscriptions “Liberty”, and “In God We Trust”, and the date. The reverse side of the coin was actually based on the original mission insignia from the Apollo 11 space flight. The idea to commemorate these two events together was deemed particularly appropriate by Congress since the space program began under Eisenhower’s administration many years ago. The reverse design of the coin featured a bald eagle landing on the surface of the moon, carrying an olive branch, with the Earth visible in the background of the coin.  3. Was that the only style for the coin? No. Though the obverse side of the coin always stayed the same, a different reverse design was introduced for the 1976 Eisenhower Dollar to celebrate the bicentennial of the American Revolution. In fact, many American coins had special versions of their original style made in 1976 for this very reason, and the Ikes were no exception. The design was done by Dennis R. Williams and it featured an image of the Liberty Bell and the moon both. The second element paid tribute of course to Gasparro’s original design, while the bell was included as a symbol of the liberty and freedom that was fought for in 1776. 4. What was the coin made out of? Eisenhower Dollars were always struck for circulation (meaning they were meant to be used as actual currency) using the copper-nickel clad composition that was very common at that time. This was the same composition used for circulating dimes, quarters, and half dollars in fact. The composition itself consisted of an outer layer of 75% copper and 25% nickel, bonded to a core of pure copper metal. The resulting net composition was 91.67% copper and 8.33% nickel all said and done. 5. Was that the only composition? No. Actually, as provided by the authorizing legislation that was put in place when the coin was first approved, Eisenhower Silver Dollars were struck for collectors. To start with, a quantity of 150 million silver dollars was authorized for production over a four year period of time. These coins had an outer layer of 80% silver and 20% copper and an inner layer of 40% silver and 60% copper, a very common combination for collectible coins of that era. The resulting net composition was 40% silver and 60% copper, with a total silver content of 0.3161 troy ounces per coin.