Introduced in 1986 as the official silver bullion coin of the United States, the American Silver Eagle has grown to become the single most popular silver coin in the world today. The Silver Eagle has gone from seemingly modest mintage levels around 6 million in its early years, to a whopping 47 million in 2015 alone. Today, the 1998-P Proof American Silver Eagle coin is available from JM Bullion.
Coin Highlights:
- Total proof mintage in 1998 was 450,000 coins!
- 13th annual American Silver Eagle coin.
- Ships in a commemorative box with a Certificate of Authenticity.
- Contains 1 oz of .999 pure silver.
- Face value of $1 (USD) is fully backed by the US government.
- Features a “P” mint mark from the Philadelphia Mint.
Throughout the history of the American Silver Eagle coin program, mintage levels for the bullion and proof coins have remained drastically different. The bullion version of the coin has always held a significant edge over the proof as a result of higher demand among investors than collectors.
This was evident as usual in the mintage numbers for 1998. As demand continued to increase for American Silver Eagle coins, production increased more significantly for the bullion coin than the proof. There were nearly 600,000 more bullion coins struck in 1998 than 1997, while proof production increased only slightly from 435,368 to 450,000.
On the obverse of every American Silver Eagle is the image of Walking Liberty. Designed to represent America’s drive for a brighter future, Adolph A. Weinman created an image of Liberty walking toward the setting sun, the preeminent source of bright light in the world. Weinman created this image in 1916, and it was used on the Walking Liberty Half Dollar until 1947.
The reverse features a modernized depiction of the heraldic eagle. Originally used on American currency dating as far back as 1794, the heraldic eagle on this coin is the creation of John Mercanti. Mercanti was the Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1986 to 2010. Since his retirement, the post of Chief Engraver has remained open.
If you have any questions, JM Bullion associates will be happy to help answer them. Please contact us on the phone at 800-276-6508, reach out to us online using our hosted live web chat, or submit your questions in writing via email.