Continuing from The Journey - Part IIThe Joint-Issue US-Iceland Lief Ericson Millennium Commemorative Coin program marked the last time a coin for a foreign nation was produced by the US Mint. (The US Mint had struck coins for foreign nations dating back to the mid-1800s.)
US Silver Dollar2000 Leif Ericson Silver Dollar
The obverse of the 2000 Leif Ericson Millennium Silver Dollar presents a right-facing portrait of Leif Ericson; he is shown wearing a traditional Nordic military/combat helmet. The design is the work of
John Mercanti.
The coin's reverse depicts a Viking ship under full sail; it is shown facing left, to symbolically represent a journey to the west and the New World.
James Ferrell was the designer.
The Silver Dollar had an authorized maximum mintage of 500,000. Sales were disappointing, however, with the Proof version totaling just 144,748 units (including 86,136 coins in the two-piece Set). Sales of the Uncirculated version were even lower, totaling just 28,150 coins. The total mintage of the US silver Dollar was 172,898.
Sales of the coins launched on June 21, 2000. The Proof version had a Pre-Issue price of $33 (thru August 4, 2000), $37 thereafter; the Uncirculated pricing was $30/$32, respectively. The Proof Silver Dollar was also available in a two-piece Set with the Iceland 1000 Kronur, the Set's pricing was $63.00/$68.00, respectively; the Set had sales of 86,136 units.
Iceland Silver 1000 Kronur
The obverse design of the Iceland 1000 Kronur proof is based on the statue of Leif Ericson presented to Iceland by the United States; the statue was authorized by the US Congress in 1929 and unveiled/dedicated in Reykjavík, Iceland in 1932. The statue was meant to commemorate the 1000th Anniversary of the Icelandic Parliament (the Althing).
Leif Ericson Statue in Iceland
The statue was sculpted by American Alexander Stirling Calder; the coin design was by Icelander Throstur Magnusson.
The coin's reverse design presents a stylized rendering of the Coat of Arms of Iceland. It features the "Four Guardians" of Iceland: the eagle, the dragon, the bull and a giant, which guard the north, west, east and south of Iceland, respectively.
The Pre-Issue price of the coin was $33 (thru August 4, 2000) and $37 thereafter. The Iceland silver coin was only available in a Proof version; its sales totaled 102,083 units between standalone, two-piece Sets and bulk purchases.
The Iceland coins were struck by the US Mint on planchets used for US Silver Dollars (0.900 Fine Silver, 38.1 millimeters in diameter, weight of 26.73 grams).
For a look at an earlier attempt at a US Leif Ericson coin, see:
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What If? 1939 Leif Erikson Half-DollarFor other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including other modern US commemorative coin stories, see: [b]
Commems Collection 
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