The hugely popular American Silver Eagle coin is collected by numismatists, stockpiled by investors, and treasured by silver buyers throughout the United States and around the world. Now, no less an expert than John M. Mercanti-the designer of the coin's reverse-shares his unique insight and perspective on these beautiful pieces of Americana. To create this book, Mercanti has drawn on nearly 40 years of experience working in the U.S. Mint, starting in 1974 as a sculptor-engraver and culminating with his 2006 appointment as the Mint's 12th chief engraver (supervisor of design and master tooling development specialist). Mercanti is joined by Miles Standish, vice president and senior grader of the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), who has studied and graded the finest, rarest, and most valuable coins in the world. These two experts bring together diverse elements-technical and artistic, historical and current, market-driven and hobbyist-to make American Silver Eagles a valuable addition to any collector's or investor's bookshelf.