Emily Damstra Signed American Silver Eagles:

The new era of the iconic silver eagle has landed! In 2021 the US mint changed the Reverse design of the beloved American Silver Eagle after 35 years with John Mercanti's iconic Heraldic Eagle design. These coins are Hand Signed by Emily Damstra and sculpted by Michael Gaudioso.

The new Type-2 reverse depicts a beautifully detailed eagle in flight preparing to land, with a branch of oak clutched in its talons. 

The American Silver Eagle is the official silver bullion coin of the United States first released November 24, 1986. American Silver eagles are only struck in the one-troy ounce size, which has a face value of one dollar and is guaranteed to contain one troy ounce of 99.9% pure silver. The Silver American Eagle coins were minted at the San Francisco Mint from 1986 – 1992. From 1993 – 2000 the coins were minted in the Philadelphia Mint. In 2001 the Silver Eagle production moved to West Point where the minting is still done today. Adolph A. Weinman designed the obverse known as The Walking Liberty and Emily Damstra designed the reverse.

Emily Damstra

Emily Damstra earned an M.F.A. in science illustration from the University of Michigan and embarked on a career as a freelance illustrator. She creates zoological, botanical, anthropological, ecological and paleontological illustrations for diverse clients.

She notes that working on the reverse for the American Silver Eagle was a unique opportunity to leave a lasting impression on a beloved coin. “It was with great care and consideration that I undertook the assignment to design the reverse side of the American Eagle one ounce silver coin, aware that many coin collectors revere the classic Walking Liberty design by Adolph A. Weinman on the obverse. I knew that it would be a challenge to follow the lead of John Mercanti, the United States Mint sculptor and engraver (and later United States Mint chief engraver) who created the original reverse design — a superb rendering of a heraldic eagle.”

Michael Gaudioso

Michael Gaudioso is a graduate of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He earned his Master of Fine Arts from the New York Academy Graduate School of Figurative Art in New York City.

From 1995 to 1999, he studied sculpture at the prestigious Repin Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is a classically trained draftsman and sculptor and taught figure drawing at Villanova University.

Prior to joining the United States Mint’s sculpting-engraving department in 2009, Gaudioso worked as a master painter and designer for America’s oldest and largest stained glass studio, Willet Hauser.

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