2001 American Silver Eagle

2001 American silver eagles are bullion coins that contain one ounce of .999-fine silver, which is essentially pure silver. The coin’s high silver content is just one reason, however, that American silver eagles are so popular with both bullion investors and coin collectors. Another reason is its beautiful design. The obverse design, featuring Miss Liberty striding toward the rising sun, is actually a faithful revival of the obverse design from the Walking Liberty half dollar, which was designed by Adolph A. Weinman and struck from 1916 through 1947.

Starting in 2001, all American silver eagles were struck at the West Point mint in New York. This is a change from years earlier, when the Philadelphia and also the San Francisco mint, at one point, shared the duties of striking each year’s offering of American silver eagles.

The change in mints did not much affect mintage numbers, which had been in the 8-10 million mark for uncirculated specimens during in 2000 and throughout the first half of the decade. 9,001,711 uncirculated specimens were made and 746,398 proof examples were made in 2001. Values for uncirculated specimens are generally a few dollars above the prevailing spot price, while the proof specimen can be bought for about $20 over spot.