American Silver Eagle (1986–present)

Specifications

Denomination: 1 dollar
Series: American Silver Eagle
Designer: Adolph A. Weinman (obverse); John Mercanti (reverse 1986–2021); Emily Damstra (reverse 2021–present)
Engraver: John Mercanti
Years of issue: 1986–present
Composition: 99.9% Silver, 0.1% Copper
Weight: 31.103 g
Diameter: 40.6 mm
Edge: Reeded
KM: KM-273

Melt value: $64.34silver $64.40/ozt · prices as of Sep 16, 2026

Public domain; U.S. Mint design. Obverse of a 2006-W proof American Silver Eagle.

The world's best-selling silver bullion coin — a full troy ounce of .999 silver with a 2021 redesign split between two reverses.

History

Authorized by the Liberty Coin Act of 1985; first issued November 1986 as America’s first official silver bullion coin, with weight, content, and purity guaranteed by the U.S. government (CoinMintages.com, accessed 2026-09-16).
The obverse adapts Adolph Weinman’s Walking Liberty half dollar design; the original reverse was John Mercanti’s heraldic eagle with shield, used 1986 through mid-2021 — collectors call these Type 1 (Wikipedia, American Silver Eagle, accessed 2026-09-16).
In mid-2021 the reverse was redesigned by Emily Damstra (sculpted by Michael Gaudioso) to show an eagle landing with an oak branch — Type 2; it carries ESD/MG initials and a notched reeded-edge variation as an anti-counterfeiting feature (LibertyCoin, Muntstuk, accessed 2026-09-16).
Issued in bullion, proof, and burnished finishes; bullion coins carry no mint mark while collector versions bear P, S, or W marks from West Point, Philadelphia, and San Francisco (Wikipedia, Muntstuk, accessed 2026-09-16).
Proof production paused in 2009 when silver-blank shortages forced the Mint to prioritize bullion during the financial crisis (Newman Numismatic Portal, accessed 2026-09-16).
Total mintage across all issues passed 673 million coins by end of 2024 (CoinMintages.com, accessed 2026-09-16).

1995-W proof — only 30,125 struck, the lowest-mintage proof Silver Eagle ever (CoinMintages.com, accessed 2026-09-16).
2011-S burnished — mintage of 99,882, the lowest-mintage Mint State Silver Eagle (CoinMintages.com, accessed 2026-09-16).
2008-W burnished ‘reverse of 2007’ — the only recognized die variety of the Type 1 series, struck from mismatched 2007-reverse dies (CoinMintages.com; Greysheet GSID 197930, accessed 2026-09-16).
2020-W V75 privy proof — maximum mintage 75,000, struck for the 75th anniversary of WWII’s end (GovMint, accessed 2026-09-16).
2015-(P) ’emergency issue’ bullion — about 79,640 struck at Philadelphia when West Point couldn’t meet demand (GovMint, accessed 2026-09-16).

Weight: 31.103 grams (1.00 troy oz) (Wikipedia, American Silver Eagle, accessed 2026-09-16).
Composition: .999 fine silver (.9993 silver, .0007 copper per LibertyCoin dealer data, accessed 2026-09-16).
Diameter: 40.6 mm (Wikipedia, American Silver Eagle, accessed 2026-09-16).
Edge: Reeded; Type 2 carries a notched reeded-edge variation as a security feature (Wikipedia; Muntstuk, accessed 2026-09-16).
Designers: Adolph A. Weinman (obverse); John Mercanti (Type 1 reverse, 1986–2021); Emily Damstra / Michael Gaudioso (Type 2 reverse, 2021–present) (Wikipedia; LibertyCoin, accessed 2026-09-16).
Face value: $1 (Wikipedia, American Silver Eagle, accessed 2026-09-16).

Bullion Eagles are a stacking play — buy at the smallest premium over spot from a reputable dealer; collector finishes (proofs, burnished W issues) are a numismatic play and carry large premiums (GovMint, accessed 2026-09-16).
Type 1 vs Type 2: look for the heraldic eagle with shield and ‘JM’ initials (Type 1, 1986–2021) versus the eagle landing with ‘ESD’/’MG’ initials (Type 2, mid-2021 onward) — 2021 exists in both types (Online Coin Club, accessed 2026-09-16).
Authentication: as the most popular silver bullion coin in the world, it is the most counterfeited; verify weight (31.103 g), diameter (40.6 mm), and reeding against a known-genuine coin, and buy sealed tubes from established dealers.
Burnished (‘W’ mint mark) collector issues have much lower mintages than proofs of the same year and often outperform them (Greysheet, accessed 2026-09-16).
The 1995-W proof — the undisputed series key at 30,125 — trades for thousands; anything offered cheap is a fake (JM Bullion, accessed 2026-09-16).