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Gold is great, but silver offers a beautiful way to show your affection without busting your budget. And at current silver prices, it’s a bargain, too. Here are some ways to make this holiday season memorable with a gift of silver. Old Silver Coins The US removed silver from its circulating coins in 1965 when rising silver prices made the coins to costly to produce. Many of the silver coins were melted down for their bullion value, while others were hoarded or kept as collectibles. Today 90% silver US coins are sold in heavily worn condition as “junk silver” and...

By the turn of the 20th century dissatisfaction with the 1892 Barber designs on dimes, quarters, and half dollars was building. Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber’s traditional-looking Franco-Roman bust seemed outdated and derivative when compared to coins like Saint-Gaudens’ beautiful $20 Doble Eagle gold coin. By 1905 other sculptors and even presidents got into the act. Victor David Brenner, designer of the new Lincoln cent went so far as to submit unsolicited designs for new coinage, and Theodore Roosevelt famously decried the state of US coinage design as being unworthy of a great nation. On the other hand, Philadelphia...

Some of us are old enough to remember how special it was to receive a shiny new silver dollar on our birthday or at holiday time. If we were lucky, we saved it, because it’s worth a lot more than a dollar today. And the memories it brings back are priceless. This year you can create special memories, too. The Great American Coin Company is thrilled to offer beautiful, uncirculated $1 American Silver Eagle bullion coins in holiday-themed holders designed by H E Harris, one of the world’s most respected manufacturers of coin collecting supplies. A Beautiful Keepsake Coin The...

US Mint coins and sets are great gifts that will be remembered long after the holidays. Plus, they grow in value and may even start the recipient on a life-long hobby with plenty of rewards. Proof Sets Each year the US Mint makes special proof coins of that year’s issues. Proof coins are specially struck with extra-sharp relief and a mirror-like background. The foreground is sculpted and frosted to give a cameo-like appearance. The 2018 Proof Set has 10 proof coins in two clear plastic cases in packaging that features a beautiful photo of the Washington Monument at sunset and...

The earliest coins were made by pouring molten metal into molds, a process known as casting. But as demand for coins increased and manufacturing techniques improved, most coin making switched to stamping premade coin blanks between two dies, a process known as coining. The first die-made coins were struck by hand, but machinery was developed to automate the process, and by the 18th century coin presses could turn out thousands of coins daily. Today, a single hardened steel die can stamp hundreds of thousands of coins before being retired from production. As a result, the dies used to make coins...