American Silver Eagle
| United States | |
| Value | 1.00 U.S. dollar (face value) |
|---|---|
| Mass | 31.103 g (1.00 troy oz) |
| Diameter | 40.6 mm (1.598 in) |
| Thickness | 2.98 mm (0.1173 in) |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Composition | 99.9% Ag (balance Cu) |
| Years of minting | 1986–present (bullion) 1986–2008, 2010–present (proof) 2006–2008, 2011–present (uncirculated) |
| Obverse | |
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|
| Design | Walking Liberty |
| Designer | Adolph A. Weinman |
| Design date | 1916 |
| Reverse | |
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| Design | Heraldic eagle with shield and thirteen five-pointed stars |
| Designer | John Mercanti |
| Design date | 1986 |
The American Silver Eagle is the official silver bullion coin of the United States.
It was first released by the United States Mint on November 24, 1986. It is struck only in the one-troy ounce size, which has a nominal face value of one dollar and is guaranteed to contain one troy ounce of 99.9% pure silver. It is authorized by and codified as 31 U.S.C. § 5112(e)-(h). Its content, weight, and purity are certified by the United States Mint. In addition to the bullion version, the United States Mint has produced a proof version and an uncirculated version for coin collectors. The Silver Eagle has been produced at three mints: the Philadelphia Mint, the San Francisco Mint, and the West Point Mint. The American Silver Eagle bullion coin may be used to fund Individual Retirement Account investments.
The Silver Eagle coins were sold out in the first week of July 2015. The Mint said its facility in West Point, New York, continued to produce coins and it resumed sales at the end of July 2015. This was the second time the mint's silver coins had sold out in the past nine months. The Mint ran out of 2014-dated American Eagles in November 2014. In 2013, the historic drop in silver increased demand for silver coins, forcing the mint to ration silver coin sales for 18 months.
The design on the coin's obverse was taken from the "Walking Liberty" design by Adolph A. Weinman, which originally had been used on the Walking Liberty Half Dollar coin of the United States from 1916 to 1947. As this iconic design had been a public favorite—and one of the most beloved designs of any United States coinage of modern times, silver or otherwise—it was revived for the Silver Eagle decades later. The obverse is inscribed with the year of minting or issuance, the word LIBERTY, and the phrase IN GOD WE TRUST.
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