I remember stumbling across this one at a coin show about 15 years ago as I wandered the bourse looking for "unusual" items. I had already finished my core shopping, so it was time to explore and be open to interesting things!
At the time of the 2000 Millennium, the Silver Eagle was a popular coin for private companies to embellish and sell to souvenir hunters at a strong premium. Such pieces were not something I pursued, but I remember seeing ads for them. In the years that followed the 2000 Millennium, the premiums on these "enhanced" coins essentially disappeared and many were bought and sold based primarily on their bullion value.
This was the case for the custom-packaged piece shown here - it was offered to me for less than $10. It peaked my curiosity enough for me to take a closer look at it, and I recall being surprised by the quality of the colorization - very precise and vibrant (though the individual color dots are clearly evident - likely pad-printed). It was better than I expected!
I still would have passed on the piece had I not flipped it over and read the back of the slipcase - the colorization work was done at the
Perth Mint in Western Australia! Before looking closely at the piece and seeing the logo of The
Perth Mint on the slipcase and coin folder, I had figured the work had been done by some minor stateside private mint that knew how to create attractive packaging that would appeal to the mass market.
The novelty factor of a US Silver Eagle being manipulated by an established, well-known World Mint that had a long history of striking Australian coins turned the "Pass" into "Yes, please!" and it came home with me. I had my 2000 Millennium souvenir - just a few years after the fact! (Clearly, The
Perth Mint figured that they would do better in the American market with a colorized Silver Eagle vs. a colorized Silver Kookabura!)
2000 Silver Eagle with Colorization
2000 Silver Eagle with Colorization: Slipcase - Front
2000 Silver Eagle with Colorization: Slipcase - Back
2000 Silver Eagle with Colorization: Coin Folder - Front
2000 Silver Eagle with Colorization: Coin Folder - Inside - FRT
2000 Silver Eagle with Colorization: Coin Folder - Inside - BCK
2000 Silver Eagle with Colorization: Coin Folder - Back
Posted 09/23/2022 11:05 am
