1996 Silver Eagle Coins

By Chris Roth

For many collectors, the 1996 Silver Eagle coin is a must have due mainly to the fact that 1996 was a low mint year for the coin. All bullion Silver Eagles minted from 1986 until 1998 do not have mint marks but were done so at the San Francisco Mint. Between 1999 and 2000, they were minted in Philadelphia and at West Point though, from 2001 and forward, they were minted only at West Point.

Proof sets of the 1996 Silver Eagle were minted at the Philadelphia Mint and have the letter “P” engraved upon them. On the obverse side, is a design from Adolph Weinman and inscribed with the words “Liberty” and “In God We Trust”. The reverse side bears a design by John Mercanti and it is of an heraldic eagle standing behind a shield grasping an olive branch with his right talon and holding onto arrows with his left talon. Just above the eagle’s likeness are thirteen five point stars, representative of the thirteen colonies. Also on the reverse side, you will find the words “United States Of America” inscribed as well as words “E Pluribus Unum” which means “one of many” or “out of many”.

Many collectors use the bullion coins to fund retirement accounts as there are less than four million in circulation. There are about 400,000 proof coins which have never been circulated, in existence today. The 1996 Silver Eagle comes in a velvet lined box with a certificate of authentication. This is very important to note because the US Mint, in the past, has found fakes circulating around on the Internet.

The best bet in finding this coin would be to contact a local coin collector to get a rough idea of where to find them if he does not have any himself. Their costs can range anywhere from fifty dollars up to a few hundred dollars per coin and there again, there are lots of fakes still in circulation on some action websites so be very careful when placing bids with these venues. Question the proof and bullion amounts and from which Mint they came from, a true collector will know this information without having to look it up.

Chris enjoys writing about silver coins. Check out his site http://www.ussilvereagles.org to learn more about 1996 Silver Eagle.

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