Striking The Big 4-O!

What a year was 1986! Halley’s Comet returned for the first time since 1910. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH had its first ceremony, inducting Elvis Presley and Ray Charles, among other musicians. The Statue of Liberty reopened after a two-year period of restoration, in time for her centenary.

And all the way across the country, in the San Francisco Assay Room*, the very first American Eagle silver dollar was officially struck! Treasury Secretary James A. Baker III, who presided over the October 29, 1986 ceremony, famously joked, “I don’t need a pick and shovel to start the San Francisco silver rush of 1986.”

Forty years later, the rush for these beautifully designed dollars hasn’t slowed. One of the leading reasons is the return of the original artistry of sculptor A.A. Weinman. Liberty Walking Towards the Dawn of a New Day was struck on the obverse of the half dollar from 1916 to 1947, and in 90% silver. Interest in this design with its elegant rendering of patriotic images never faded.

By comparison, the Silver Eagle dollar’s debut on one troy ounce of 99.9% pure silver put the new coin squarely in the middle of the bullion league with Mexico’s silver Libertad and China’s silver Panda, which bowed in 1982 and 1983, respectively, and Canada’s silver Maple Leaf in 1988. Thanks to improvements in American mint production for the bullion, Proof and Uncirculated issues, the visually spectacular Liberty Walking dollars are popular with collectors the world over. 

Liberty Walking

You can take a deep dive into how the Silver Eagle dollar almost didn’t come to be by reading this Heads & Tales blog. But it did, and bullion and Proof issues were officially released 40 years ago on November 24, 1986. But know this, too, they are hard to come by today. With that in mind, let’s look at some Uncirculated examples popular with collectors during this historical year!

Telescoped from John Trumball’s painting The Declaration of Independence, the Committee of Five stands behind Liberty Walking in this historical collectible. Appointed to their positions on June 11, 1776 by the Continental Congress, Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson, as lead writer, along with Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston made up the Committee of Five. What a memorable way to recall this document’s preamble that includes the word liberty:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Many of us here at Littleton Coin have been giving as gifts these souvenir American Silver Eagle Showpaks. The holders’ background includes symbols of our democracy. Gifting possibilities tied to this year also exist with these Lighthouse holders that include a photo of the Semiquincentennial President Donald J. Trump and this version of the president colorized on a 2026 Silver Eagle.

You can also get a 2026 Silver Eagle dollar personalized or add a selectively colorized Silver Eagle or a dramatic gold-plated dollar to your collection.

Mercanti’s Reverses

For the Silver Eagle’s 35th anniversary in 2021, we put together this special trio with labels signed by the Type 2 reverse designer Emily Damstra. The Landing Eagle reflected a change in design direction and drew on Damstra’s artistic talent as a science illustrator.

The stately Type 1 reverse was designed by John Mercanti, a career sculptor and engraver at the U.S. Mint. Before his 2006 promotion as 12th Chief Engraver, he had won the open competition for the new silver dollar reverse. His meticulous detailing of a heraldic eagle with a shield, shows our national symbol holding both an olive branch and arrows. There are 13 stars above the eagle to represent the original colonies. The Type 1 design graced the coin’s reverse from 1986 into 2021.

With over 36 years’ experience by the time he retired in 2010, Mercanti had designed more than 100 coin and medal designs, making him the mint’s most prolific designer to date. For those who collect type coins, you may want to consider these three silver commemorative motifs from his career:

• The richly detailed scene from the pivotal defense of Little Round Top honored the centenary of Gettysburg National Military Park in 1995.

• The reverse for this fundraising dollar for construction of the Capital Visitor Center in Washington, D.C.; it gives eagle-eyed collectors an opportunity to add an early Mercanti coin design of a heraldic shield.

• ICYMI in the nod to history in this blog’s opening paragraph, Mercanti’s third commemorative motif was, ironically, also struck 40 years ago as was the obverse for the Statue of Liberty coin issued in 1986.

Naturally, any baby born in 2026, any wedding that took place, retirement feted, birthday acknowledged during the USA’s Semiquincentennial can be remembered for all times with one Littleton’s exclusively themed backgrounds that complement a lustrous 2026 American Silver Eagle dollar. With or without Littleton’s custom holders, there’s a Silver Eagle for just about everyone this year. Click this link to find one you like!

*The San Francisco facility’s mint status was restored in 1988.