CollecTons Keepers #3: 1986 American Eagle Silver Dollar

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We are excited to release the third coin in the CollecTons Keepers program, an exclusive series only offered by CollecTons.  The third coin we present, CollecTons Keepers #3 in Series, features the rare 1986 Uncirculated American Eagle Silver Dollar.

The American Silver Eagle is the official bullion of the United States and 1986 marks the inaugural year of the coin series.  It is therefore known as a key date coin and one that every serious collector should obtain for their collection.

The start of the American Silver Eagle bullion program originally came from plans in the 1970s and early 1980s to sell off silver from government stockpiles.  During that time, some sell-offs occurred and caused drastic declines in the price of silver.  In July of 1981, the U.S. government agreed to sell 75% of the stockpiled silver (105.1 million troy ounces) over a period of three years. In direct response to the announcement, the price of silver fell in September by 11%.  As a result, Senator James A. McClure proposed an amendment to a bill that would require the U.S. government to halt all sales of silver until it could be determined that "the silver authorized for disposal is excess to the requirements of the stockpile." The bill passed and the sale of stockpiled silver was discontinued.

Senator McClure went on to write several more bills proposing that the silver be used strategically to create coins that could be sold through the mint at a premium, therefore having little to no negative effect on the price of silver. The first two proposals were never accepted, but the third finally passed. When President Ronald Reagan signed the Liberty Coin Act into law on July 9th, 1985, the American Silver Eagle was born.

The design for the obverse of the coin was taken from Adolph A. Weinman's "Walking Liberty", a design that is widely thought of as one of the most beautiful in modern United States coinage. The reverse heraldic eagle design was specifically created for the coin by John Mercanti.

Today, the 1986 Uncirculated American Silver Eagle Dollar is highly sought after. It is the first of its series and represents the start of the American Eagle Bullion program.

• Year: 1986
• Mints: The coins were only on sale for a short period at the end of 1986. According to John Mercanti, San Francisco, Denver, and West Point all produced these coins (without a mintmark).
• Mintage: 5,393,005
• Designers: Adolph A. Weinman (obverse), John Mercanti (reverse)
• Composition: 99.93% silver, .07% copper
• Weight: 31.101 grams (1.000 troy ounce)
• Diameter: 40.6mm
• Thickness: 2.98mm
• Edge: Reeded
• Face Value: 1 Dollar
• Authorizing Law: Liberty Coin Act Public Law: 99-61

Here at CollecTons, we work hard researching coins that should be part of every collection. Our goal is to utilize our knowledge in the numismatic industry to select coins worthy of being in everyone's collection! Therefore, the CollecTons Keepers program will only feature those Coins Worth Keeping.

Each coin is hand selected and given to ANACS (America's Oldest Grading Service) for grading and authentication. The coins are then sealed in an ANACS certified proprietary slab holder for long-term storage, with our limited edition label marking it a CollecTons Keeper.