The American Silver Eagle is the official silver bullion coin of the United States of America. The United States Mint first released it in November 1986. It struck only in the one-troy ounce size, which has a face value of 1 dollar and guaranteed to contain one troy ounce of 99.9% pure silver. The United States Mint certifies its content, purity, and weight. Silver Eagle bullion coins, along with American Gold Eagle bullion coins are viable investment alternatives to the gold and silver bullion coins produced by other countries. To ensure wide distribution of the coins, the United States Mint awarded a contract to Grey Advertising to assist in marketing and publicizing the coins domestically and internationally. The design on the coin's obverse taken from the "Walking Liberty" design by Adolph A. Weinman, which originally had been used on the Walking Liberty Half Dollar coin of the United States from 1916 to 1947. As this iconic design had been a public favorite—and indeed one of the most beloved designs of any United States coinage of modern times, silver or otherwise—it revived for the Silver Eagle decades later. The obverse inscribed with the year of minting or issuance, the word LIBERTY, and the phrase IN GOD WE TRUST. The reverse is by John Mercanti and portrays a heraldic eagle behind a shield; the eagle grasps an olive branch in its right talon and arrows in its left talon, echoing the Great Seal of the United States; above the eagle are thirteen five-pointed stars representing the Thirteen Colonies. The reverse inscribed with the phrases UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 1 OZ. FINE SILVER ONE DOLLAR, and E PLURIBUS UNUM as well as the applicable mintmark. Like the American Gold Eagle and American Platinum Eagle bullion coins, the United States Mint does not sell Silver Eagle bullion coins directly to the public. In order to provide "effective and efficient distribution, which maximizes the availability of the coins in retail markets as well as major investment markets" the Mint utilizes a network of authorized purchasers to distribute the coins. The coins sold in bulk at a premium over the spot price of silver. The coins sold to banks, brokerage companies, coin dealers, precious metal firms, and wholesalers that meet the following requirements. Be an experienced and established market maker in silver bullion coins. Provide a liquid two-way market for the coins. Be audited annually by an internationally accepted accounting firm. Have an established broad base of retail customers to which to distribute the coins. Have a tangible net worth of $5 million. Authorized purchasers must order a minimum of 25,000 coins, which they sell to secondary retailers that sell them, in turn, to the public.

Emeralds

Emeralds, like all colored gemstones, are graded using four basic parameters – the four Cs of Gemstones: Color, Cut, Clarity and Crystal. The last C, crystal is a synonym that begins with C for transparency or what gemologists call diaphaneity. Before the 20th century, jewelers used the term water as in a gem of the finest water to express the combination of two qualities, color and crystal. Normally, in the grading of colored gemstones, color is by far the most important criterion. However, in the grading of emerald, crystal considered a close second. Both are necessary conditions. A fine emerald must possess not only a pure verdant green hue as described below, but also a high degree of transparency considered a top gem. In the 1960s, the American jewelry industry changed the definition of emerald to include the green vanadium-bearing beryl as emerald. As a result, vanadium emeralds purchased as emeralds in the United States recognized as such in the UK and Europe. In America, the distinction between traditional emeralds and the new vanadium kind reflected in the use of terms such as Colombian Emerald. Scientifically speaking, color divided into three components: hue, saturation and tone. Yellow and blue, the hues found adjacent to green on the spectral color wheel, are the normal secondary hues found in emerald. Emeralds occur in hues ranging from yellow-green to blue-green. The primary hue must be green. Only gems that are medium to dark in tone considered emerald. Light-toned gems known by the species name, green beryl. In addition, the hue must be bright (vivid). Gray is the normal saturation modifier or mask found in emerald. A grayish green hue is a dull green. Emerald tends to have numerous inclusions and surface breaking fissures. Emerald graded by eye. Thus, if an emerald has no visible inclusions to the eye it considered flawless. Stones that lack surface breaking fissures are extremely rare and therefore almost all emeralds are treated, oiled, to enhance the apparent clarity. Eye-clean stones of a vivid primary green hue with no more than 15% of any secondary hue or combination of a medium-dark tone command the highest prices.6 This relative crystal non-uniformity makes emeralds more likely than other gemstones to be cut into cabochons, rather than faceted shapes.