American Coin Treasures Silver American Eagle Coin Collection

American Eagle:
The United States Mint began the American Eagle coin program in 1986. American Eagles are struck each year in silver, gold, and, since 1997, platinum bullion. The Silver Eagle is only available in a $1 denomination. As genuine legal tender, it is the only silver bullion coin whose weight and purity are guaranteed by the United States Government. Each silver coin contains a minimum of one troy ounce of 99.9% pure silver. The Gold Eagle comes in $5, $10, $25, and $50 denominations with the values representing 1/10, 1/4, 1/2, and 1 ounce of gold, respectively. The Platinum Eagle is struck in denominations of $10, $25, $50, and $100 with values representing 1/10, 1/4, 1/2, and 1 ounce of platinum, respectively. American Eagles are available in both Proof and Uncirculated strikes.

The Silver Eagle obverse features Adolph Weinman's classic "Liberty Walking" design which shows Lady Liberty mid-step, draped in the American flag with her right arm extended toward the sun and olive branches cradled in her left arm. The Gold Eagle obverse offers a design inspired by the 1907 $20 gold piece created by Augustus Saint-Gaudens with Lady Liberty standing at the center in front of the sun, holding a torch in her right hand and an olive branch in her left hand. The Platinum Eagle obverse shows the head and crown of the Statue of Liberty. The reverse design for regular strikes of the Platinum Eagle is a bald eagle flying in front of the sun. The reverse design for Proof strikes varies by year, but each includes a representation of an eagle somewhere in the image.

Washington Quarter:
The United States Treasury initially conceived of a limited issue commemorative coin to honor the bicentennial of George Washington's birth. However, after winning over the American public so convincingly upon its debut in 1932, the new coin was retained indefinitely. The obverse of the coin features the bust of George Washington, while the reverse shows an eagle with expanded wings clutching a bundle of arrows over an olive branch.

The design is the work of sculptor John Flanagan and came about as a result of an open competition held by the U.S. Treasury Department in 1931. A judging panel initially selected the submission of Laura Gardin Fraser (wife of Buffalo Nickel designer, James Earle Fraser) as the winner, but was overruled by Treasury Secretary Andrew W. Mellon, who declared Flanagan's design victorious. Though Mellon cited Flanagan's superior work as his reason for his decision, some believe the truth was that he simply could not bring himself to award first prize to a woman. In 1999, the United States Mint issued a five-dollar commemorative gold piece marking the 200th anniversary of Washington's death which featured Laura Gardin Fraser's design submission from the 1931 Washington Quarter contest.

For the Bicentennial of the United States in 1976, the U.S. Mint held another contest and requested design concepts for a reverse to be used on the Washington Quarter for the celebratory year. Similar competitions for the Bicentennial celebration were also held for the dollar and half-dollar coin designs. An image by Jack L. Ahr, featuring a regimental drummer in colonial army uniform adjacent to a torch surrounded by 13 stars, was chosen to appear on the quarter coin. The dual date of 1776-1976 was added to the obverse. John Flanagan's original design resumed production in 1977.

In 1999, the United States Mint celebrated the debut of the 50 State Quarters program. For every year in the subsequent decade, the Mint released five different reverse designs for the Washington quarter with each design honoring a different State in the Union. States were recognized by order of their entrance into the Union. The District of Columbia and United States Territories were honored in the same manner throughout the year in 2009. In 2010, the United States Mint began a 56-issue series for the Washington Quarter titled America the Beautiful Quarters program. Reverse designs in this series will feature national parks and sites in each of the 50 states, District of Columbia, and U.S. Territories.