Hon. Michael G. Oxley: “I rise to support H.R. 4846, the Silver Eagle Coin Continuation Act of 2002. The American Silver Eagle coin is truly a…”

“I rise to support H.R. 4846, the Silver Eagle Coin Continuation Act of 2002. The American Silver Eagle coin is truly a coin for the bullion market. It was authorized by Congress in 1983, spurred partly by the success of the Canadian Maple Leaf $1 investment grade coin. The American Silver Eagle has gone on to become the most popular investment coin in the entire world. More than 100 million have been sold, and the Maple Leaf dollar has been pretty much displaced from the market. The Mint sells the coins for an amount that includes the actual silver cost, plus manufacturing, distribution and marketing costs. Right now, the coin sells for about $6.75 in uncirculated form. When Congress authorized the Silver Eagle coin program, the United States maintained a number of strategic materials stockpiles, and Congress quite naturally mandated that the silver for the new coin come from the strategic silver stockpile. In the last decade, however, recognizing that there was no longer a real need for most of the strategic materials stockpiles, Congress ordered a drawdown of those reserves. We now have come to the end of the strategic silver stockpile, but to continue the Silver Eagle coin program we must allow the Secretary of the Treasury, through the Mint, to acquire silver from another source.”