American Silver Eagles: A Guide to the U.S. Bullion Coin Program

American Silver Eagles are hugely popular coins — a third of a billion have been sold since 1986. They're collected by numismatists, stockpiled by investors, and treasured by silver buyers throughout the United States and around the world. Until now, there has been no encyclopedic book-length study made on our nation's cornerstone bullion program. In "American Silver Eagles, " no less an expert than John M. Mercanti — 12th chief engraver of the U.S. Mint, and the designer of the coin's reverse — shares his unique insight and perspective on these beautiful pieces of Americana.

A foreword by Michael Reagan (whose father, President Ronald Reagan, signed the legislation authorizing these historic coins) presents the book and its distinguished authors. In the introduction, Mercanti offers an insightful overview of his own career within the Mint, especially as it relates to the American Silver Eagle. Chapter 1 discusses the "why " and " how " of the United States entrance into the modern bullion market. Chapter 2 is Mercanti's behind-the-scenes history of the American Silver Eagle, its design development, the minting process, and other elements of the coinage series.

Chapter 3 presents a detailed date-by-date study of each American Silver Eagle, plus varieties and sets, with high-resolution photographs, rarity information, values, certified-coin populations, surface and strike characteristics, market details, and move. In chapter 4, you get an illustrated overview of other coins in our nation's bullion program, setting the American Silver Eagle in the context of a larger constellation of silver, gold, platinum, and palladium coins.

Several appendices compile the book's data in convenient chart format for easy coin-by-coin comparisons; a glossary of numismatic terms offers guidance to the beginning and intermediate collector and a refresher for the advanced numismatist; and the index provides a convenient resource for looking up information. These diverse elements — technical and artistic, historical and current, market-driven and hobbyist — combine to make "American Silver Eagles" a valuable addition to any collector's or investor's bookshelf.

The hugely popular American Silver Eagle coin is collected by numismatists, stockpiled by investors, and treasured by silver buyers throughout the United States and around the world. Now, no less an expert than John M. Mercantithe designer of the coin's reverseshares his unique insight and perspective on these beautiful pieces of Americana. To create this book, Mercanti has drawn on nearly 40 years of experience working in the U.S. Mint, starting in 1974 as a sculptor-engraver and culminating with his 2006 appointment as the Mint's 12th chief engraver (supervisor of design and master tooling development specialist). American Silver Eagles brings together diverse elementstechnical and artistic, historical and current, market-driven and hobbyistand is a valuable addition to any collector's or investor's bookshelf. The 3rd edition is expanded to include new information on the U.S. Mint's individual coins and sets of 2013, 2014, and 2015. Additional research and more photographs expand the coverage of earlier issues, as well. Certified coin populations are updated, as are the valuations seen in today's sometimes volatile marketplace.