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This 2020 American Silver Eagle bullion coin is in Gem Mint State condition, but your first reaction upon seeing it is likely, "Wow, what an ugly Silver Eagle!"
And it is ugly. But that is because it has a story to tell.
You see, this coin is a relic of a catastrophic natural disaster: Hurricane Helene.
Starting on September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene swept into Western North Carolina and caused widespread damage and historic flooding which was even worse than the Great Flood of 1916 that affected that area. Many people died and some riverside communities were essentially wiped out.
The story pertaining to this coin was related to me by my friend Jason Foster, an Asheville, NC coin dealer, who sold the coin to me.
The story went something like this (and I'm paraphrasing, from memory):
There was a man who owned property alongside one of the rivers; likely the Swannanoa River in Buncombe County. When his home was swept away by the floods, among his possessions there was at least one 500-count "monster box" of Silver Eagles, which was washed downriver with everything else. During the recovery phase after the storm, some volunteers were out doing search and rescue or recovery work and came upon the coins. Not only were these finders heroically lending assistance in the dangerous recovery work- they were also scrupulously honest. They found out who owned the coins, and eventually returned them all. But the recovered coins presented a dilemma. They had been contaminated by muddy floodwater. Eventually one of the Asheville coin dealers who bought them submitted a number of them to ICG, which encapsulated them in special custom slabs noting the hurricane pedigree.
Like the Silver Eagles recovered from vaults below the destroyed World Trade Center towers in New York after the 9/11 attacks, which were subsequently certified with special custom holders, this is an interesting piece of disaster history. Even if it's not very good looking. In fact, I chose one of the scuzzier-looking ones, since if you're going to buy a coin that was contaminated by floodwater, you might as well have one that shows it, and tells that story, right?
Ex-Jason Foster, at the 2025 FUN show.
Coleção : Giveaway Gallery