The American Silver Eagle

The American Silver Eagle, the US silver bullion coin, came out in 1986 in order to compete with coins like the Canadian Maple Leaf and the South African Krugerrand. The American Silver Eagle has a face value of $1. However, its bullion coin value, tied into its metal value is much higher than its actual face value. John Mercanti created the eagle design on the reverse side. The obverse side carries the Adolphe A. Weinman design from the 1916-1947 Half Dollars. The American Silver Eagle carries exactly one ounce of pure silver and is an alloy metal with 99.93% silver and .07% copper.