Proof coins have always been a collectors favorite. As the highest standards are used while producing Proof coins (more about that here), they come out of the mint struck with designs in bold and sharp detail. But in 2006, the U.S. mint did something different to attract more collectors. It produced a brilliant variation of the Proof coin-the Reverse Proof coin!

What are Reverse Proofs?

As the name may wrongly suggest, Reverse Proofs are not coins with Proof-like finish only in the reverse of the coin! They are coins that have frosted fields and mirrored devices as opposed to frosted devices and mirrored fields found in regular Proof coins. The devices in a Reverse Proof coin look highly polished against a background of a frosted field and the effect is truly stunning!

Reverse Proof coins released by U.S. mint

The U.S. mint has released Reverse Proof coins from the year 2006, starting with the most popular coin, the American Silver Eagle. It was released as part of the 3 coin set for celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the American Silver Eagle. The set had a total mintage of 248, 875. The same year, the American Gold Eagle 3 coin set was released and the Reverse Proof $50 Gold Eagle was part of it. It had a mintage of 9996.

In 2007, the first ever Platinum Reverse Proof American Eagle coin was released. It was part of a special 2 coin set commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the Platinum coin program. It had a total mintage of 19,583. From 2011 to 2013, the American Silver Eagle Reverse Proof coins were released every year as part of special coin sets and had low mintages.

In 2013, for the first time the $50 American Buffalo was released as a Reverse Proof coin to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the original 1913 design of the Buffalo nickel by James Earle Fraser. This was the only time it was released as a stand-alone coin instead of a set with a mintage of 47,836.

In 2014, for its 50th Anniversary, the Kennedy Half-dollar was released as a Reverse proof coin along with three other coins, a proof coin, an enhanced uncirculated coin and an uncirculated coin. The Roosevelt Silver Dimes 75th Anniversary in 2015 was the next instance when a Reverse proof coin was released. It was again a part of a 3 coin set.

Reverse Proof in the 'Coins and Chronicles' set

As an extension of the Presidential series, the U.S. mint has been releasing Coin and Chronicles sets for some famous Presidents from 2005. Each set includes pertinent historical information about the President, and other collectibles like coins, stamps and medals. From 2015, these sets also contain a Reverse Proof coin.

In June 2015, the U.S. mint released the Harry S. Truman Presidential $1 Reverse Proof Coin as part of the 'Coin and Chronicles set'. Along with the first ever Reverse Proof coin it had a 99.9% fine Silver medal, a 1973 8c postage stamp and an information booklet detailing Truman's life. In August, Dwight Eisenhower's 'Coin and Chronicles set' was released. It had the Reverse Proof $1 Presidential coin, a 1969 6c postage stamp, the presidential Silver medal and an information booklet. Both the sets got sold within 15 minutes of them going on-line.

The John.F.Kennedy 'Coin and Chronicles set' was released in September 2015. The U.S. mint raised the mintage limitto 50,000, instead of 17,000 as was done for the earlier 2 sets. The set had the Reverse Proof $1 Presidential coin,1964 5c postage stamp and the presidential Silver medal. The final Reverse Proof coin released last year was theLyndon B. Johnson 'Coin and Chronicles set'. It had the Presidential $1 Reverse Proof coin, a 1973 8c postage stamp, the Presidential Silver Medal and an information booklet containing pictures and details of Lyndon B. Johnson's life and presidency.

Future Reverse Proof coins

The next most anticipated Reverse Proof would be the Ronald Reagan $1 Presidential Reverse Proof coin that is expected to come along with the Ronald Reagan 'Coin and Chronicles set' this year. In 2018, a Reverse Proof coin set is expected to be released by the U.S. mint.

The mint has made sure to release low mintages so thatthe Reverse Proofs do not become common. Also they are mostly part of a set rather than a stand-alone coin.Even though a part of their lure lies in their rarity, these coins would still hold their own because of their uniqueness and beauty!

Browse through some of our Commemorative coins here

This entry was posted in General on May 24, 2016 by lavanya kannan