Silver of the Day #25

Most silver coins, rounds, and bars have some history tied to them. It could be the design stamped on it. It could be the location or time period in which it was manufactured. Or in some cases, like the round I'll show you today, the history is the metal from which the rounds were made.

In the 1960s, the US government had huge stockpiles of silver. Then they stopped using silver in the coinage in 1965. They eventually decided to dump a bunch of silver onto the open market which drove the prices down.

Some of this "Strategic Silver" was used specifically to mint rounds that advertised the origin of the contents.

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In this picture you can see it says "Minted from US Strategic Stockpile Silver."
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It may not be the most groundbreaking thing, but I still appreciate the significance of silver that was once used to help financially back our country. The USA is no longer on the gold standard, and it is debatable as to how much gold the government actually has in precious metals reserves, but at one time they had a lot... and this was a part of that.

Anyone else have some Strategic Silver?

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@themanwithnoname

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I've got some strategic silver and I love holding a little piece of history. Thanks for the post and congrats!

Glad to hear you have some as well. It's a cool talking point.

And thank you!

How many of these coins were minted and when? Is this the program the mint used just prior to the American Silver Eagle program?

These weren't minted by the US government. They were minted by private mints who decided they would try to add more significance to their rounds by stating that the silver had previously been part of the US Strategic silver supply.

That makes a lot more sense.

I didn't realize that the gap between the decision to liquidate the stockpile of silver and the minting the Silver Eagle. So the interesting thing about the rounds is not just the origin of the silver but the debate that would have been taking place at the time.

I don't know how many years it was before they decided they needed to release the silver, but it was a while. The government normally has waiting and debating periods. Things move slowly.... but normally surely.

I don't have any, but I would be happy to have some.:=)

They're not quite as unique as some of your pieces, but they're pretty cool. I'm glad you like them!

howdy there @themanwithnoname! this is a very cool piece, I wouldn't balk at all if someone were to give me one.

I'm with you there. I can't think of a piece that I would turn away... unless it was stolen or something. But if someone just wanted to hand out silver, I'd be all over that! :)

you take the silver, I'll take the gold!

Go for it! I look forward to seeing your posts on it. :)

lol! well I'd hate to make ya'll jealous!

That's ok. Please, make me jealous! :)

This silver was actually used in the Manhattan project before being sold onto the market. Making it even cooler, if you have heard some of the "conspiracies" behind the project. These are some of my favorite rounds and bars to collect.

I heard that there was a terrorist named Silverfinger who tried to detonate a dirty bomb in the strategic silver supply. The plot failed. It ended up being the inspiration for James Bond's Goldfinger. ;)

Never heard about that but it's a cool story. I still have more research to do on these. I have some rounds, a couple 1oz bars and a couple 10oz from the strategic stockpile.

I'd be surprised if you had heard it. I just told it to myself a minute ago. :P I stole that straight from Goldfinger.

I hadn't gotten around to realizing there were so many different types of bars and rounds that were made from the stockpile silver. I'll have to keep digging!

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That's really cool! I didn't know that bit of history. 1965. Interesting year...it also happens to be when I was born :)

It really is a nice looking piece!

I don't think they released it until the '70s, but this round was minted in 1981. I didn't know that's when you were born. That's cool. Glad you liked the round. I'll have to see if I can get more of them.

I actually have a few of these back home @themanwithnoname ; my grandfather bought us kids a few as we were growing up. I couldn't give you details though, but they are pretty 😅

That's awesome! I was wondering how long it would take until I landed on a coin/bar/round that you had! What a nice gift from your grandpa!

I've been waiting for the same @themanwithnoname! He also gave us some from the 1976 Montreal Olympics too :) He was a pretty awesome guy!!

He sounds like a pretty guy. I mean "pretty, awesome guy." I mean "pretty awesome guy." There it is. Sometimes it takes me a few tries. ;)

The USA is no longer on the gold standard, and it is debatable as to how much gold the government actually has

They shifted from gold and silver to black gold AKA oil

They eventually decided to dump a bunch of silver onto the open market which drove the prices down.

That wasn't a smart move... unless they really needed the money they should have sold throughout a longer time...

The US government can get all the money it wants, so I don't think profit was the goal.

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