American Silver Eagle coins are one of the most popular silver bullion coins for collectors and investors alike. But the U.S. Mint isn’t the only one producing collectible silver dollars.

The Royal Canadian Mint has been producing the extremely popular Canadian Silver Maple Leaf since 1988. And China, Mexico, and Great Britain also issue silver bullion coins.

Australia has the distinction of having two mints that create and produce investment-quality silver dollars. The Perth Mint, which issues the Kookaburra, the Koala, and the Lunar Chinese Year silver dollars, and the Royal Australian Mint, which issues the popular Australian Kangaroo silver dollar.

The Perth Mint dates from 1899, when it was opened to create coins from a lode of gold discovered in neighboring Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. Owned by the State Government of Western Australia, it was part of the British Royal Mint until 1970.

Today, the Perth Mint is recognized around the world for beautiful design and superb craftsmanship. They are the official issuer for the federal government of Australia’s gold and silver bullion coins. And the purity – 99.9% silver – and weight of the coins is guaranteed by the Australia government.

Australian Kookaburra silver dollars.

2010 Australian Kookaburra

In 1990, the Perth Mint produced the first Australian Kookaburra silver coins. Although the obverse, which features an image of Queen Elizabeth II designed by Ian Rank-Broadley, remains the same, the image of the kookaburra on the reverse changes each year.

Native to Australia, the kookaburra is a member of the kingfisher family that’s best known for it’s distinctive call, which sounds eerily like a human laughing. Because of that, he’s a favorite of Aussies and visitors alike who are enchanted by his infectious good spirits.

The 2010 design features a kookaburra on a large branch, facing right. One kilo, ten ounce, and one ounce versions of the coin are being produced with a face value of $30, $10, and $1. The one-ounce silver dollar is limited to a mintage of just 300,000.

Australian Koala silver dollars.

2010 Australian Koala

The Perth Mint issued the first Koala silver coin in 2007. Since then, it’s become a very collectible coin. Like the Kookaburra, the design of obverse features an unchanging Queen Elizabeth II, and the design of the koala on the reverse changes every year.

For 2010, one kilo, ten ounce, one ounce, and one-half coins are being issued. They have a face value of $30, $10, $1, and 50 cents, respectively. This year’s design depicts a koala sitting in a tree, eating eucalyptus leaves. It features a frosted background that makes the bright koala really pop.

Australian Lunar silver dollars.

2010 Lunar Year

First minted in 1999, Silver Lunar coins depict the twelve animals of the Chinese Calendar. The 2010 coin, the twelfth in the series, commemorates the Year of the Tiger. Previous issues show a rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, pig, mouse, and ox.

The 2010 design features a tiger in repose on the reserve with the inscription, “Year of the Tiger.” Queen Elizabeth II is on the obverse.

There are eight sizes available – ten kilo, one kilo, one-half kilo, ten ounce, five ounce, two ounce, one ounce, and one-half ounce. The ten-kilo coin has a mintage limit of 500, and the one-ounce coin is limited to 300,000.

The “P” mint mark appears on all Perth coins and they are available directly from the Perth Mint or from authorized dealers.

Read more about American Silver Eagle coins here.

Images courtesy of Perth Mint.

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The United States quit producing silver dollars back in 1935. But in 1986, the U.S. Mint introduced American Silver Eagle coins, which are the only official silver bullion coins produced by the United States. They are minted in West Point, New York, and bear the “W” mint mark.

You’ve probably heard of silver bullion but may not be exactly sure what it means. In a nutshell, bullion is valued for its mass and purity rather than for its face value as a coin. Silver bullion coins are never intended to be used as currency. And their face value is significantly less than the value of the silver they contain.

American Silver Eagle Reverse side

Both bullion and proof finishes of American Silver Eagles are produced. But since 2009, demand for the American Eagle silver bullion coins has been so great that all the available silver blanks have been used to produce silver bullion coins.

Because the cost of bullion coins is keyed to the market silver price — also called the spot silver price, they are available from authorized bullion and coin dealers. When they are available, proof versions of the coin are sold by the U.S. Mint. until the next year’s Silver Eagles are issued or until they are sold out.

Each bullion Silver Eagle is 99.9% silver and weighs 31.103 grams. The U.S. government guarantees their weight, composition, and purity. Interestingly, they are the only silver coins that can be used to fund an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).

The obverse features Adolphe A. Weinman’s Walking Liberty, which was first used on the 1916 half dollar. She strides confidently wrapped in Old Glory with branches of laurel and olive in her left hand.

The reverse, which was designed by John Mercanti, show an eagle with arrows in his left talons, and an olive branch is his right.

In 2006, the U.S. Mint introduced a platinum American Eagle.

American Silver Eagle Reverse side

To make the proof coins, specially burnished silver coin blanks are manually fed into a coin press that’s fitted with special dies. The coins are struck several times, resulting in a frosted image that seems to float above the highly polished background.

Inspectors wearing white gloves check the coins and then place them in a protective plastic case. The coins are sold with a Certificate of Authenticity.

Like all silver bullion coins, American Eagles are popular with investors because they are an affordable way to add precious metals to your portfolio. They are the only investment-grade U.S. silver coins. And today, they are also the world’s most best-selling silver coins, with more than 130 million sold.

Investors are attracted to precious metals because as a rule, they move independently of stocks and bonds. They are portable, extremely liquid — most coin dealer will be cash for them — and easy to store and care for.

Although the coins are mostly of value due to the silver they contain, three Silver American Eagles are more valuable because fewer were produced. The 1995-W Proof Silver Eagle was part of the Gold Eagle Proof Set with a mintage of just 30,125. The 2006-W Reverse Proof was part of a mintage of 250,000 sets. And the 2008-W Silver Eagle was struck with the 2007 reverse die.

If you’re interested in collecting silver dollars, consider investing in some silver bullion American Eagle coins. You can get started for a modest price, and the coins are beautiful.

Read more about collecting coins here.

Images: U.S. Mint

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Although the Massachusetts Bay Colony began issuing paper money in 1690, the British Currency Act of 1764 made it illegal for any of the colonies to print their own money.

As a result, many foreign currencies were circulated in America prior to the Revolutionary War.   Coins from Europe, especially the Spanish silver dollars known as “pieces of eight,”  were relatively common.   And these coins, minted in Mexico from Central and South American silver, were legal tender in the United States until 1857.

The British Currency Act also required colonists to pay their taxes to Britain in gold or silver, a hardship which contributed to the unrest that led to the war.   By 1774, the colonists were dumping tea in Boston harbor.  And by 1775, the Continental Congress began issuing paper money — the Continental — in order to finance the war.

Because of public and political mistrust of paper money — even Jefferson went on record against it — and the absence of solid financial backing, the Continental was never widely adopted.  The French promised to send silver bullion for the production of American coins, and printing of the one-dollar notes ceased.

But the bullion never arrived from France.   And in 1776, the Continental Congress authorized production of the first silver coin.  The financial strain of the war sidelined the initiative and a circulating silver coin was not produced at that time.

During the 1780s, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, New Jersey, and Connecticut were all producing copper coins.   By 1792, the currency situation in the newly formed states was a disaster.  So one of Congress’s first orders of business was tackling it.

The Coinage Act of 1792 authorized a salary for the Director of the Mint and established standards for new coins, such as inclusion of the words “United States of America” and the year of the coinage.  The first stone was laid for the first American mint that summer in Philadelphia.

Without a steady supply of bullion, coin production and circulation was spotty.   But on October 15, 1794, the Mint released the first 1,758 U.S. silver dollars.   The silver dollars minted between 1794 and 1795 are known as the Flowing Hair variety.  Those produced between 1795 and 1804 are the Draped Bust variety.

They were produced in varying quantities until 1806 when President Thomas Jefferson suspended production.

Since 1794, the United States has produced five other silver dollars: The 1804 Silver Dollar — one of the rarest coins in the world, the Seated Liberty Silver Dollar, the Trade Dollar, the Morgan Silver Dollar, and the Peace Dollar.

Read more about U.S. Trade silver dollars here.

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