BREAKING PROPHECY ALERT: Syria 500-1,300 Dead Chemical Weap/$5,340 FOR AN OUNCE OF SILVER BULLION? IMPOSSIBLE! 10 years ago I'd have called you crazy to make such a prediction. Yet today it's a fact. Now our deal with a $4 billion precious metals wholesaler nets you a great deal for America's hottest ounce of silver! Dear Reader, It wasn't more than 12 years ago that I was meeting in my office with former U.S. Mint Director Donna Pope. She was speaking with pride about what she considered to be her greatest achievement as Director under President Reagan: Creation of the American Eagle silver and gold bullion coin programs, the first of their kind in our nation's history. The purpose of these coins was to give people the opportunity to own physical silver and gold in a form certified for weight and purity by the U.S. Mint. Congress later authorized them to be used in IRA plans. While the bullion coin program was a signal success, there was one consequence neither Ms. Pope nor I foresaw back then. Nobody took into account the collector market and the profound impact it would have on these coins. It turned out that American Eagles—especially the silver dollars—became enormously popular with collectors, who are building sets of them by date, mintmark and condition. Silver Eagles = Today's Morgan Dollars In the 1800s and early 1900s, the U.S. Morgan Silver Dollar was struck year upon year at various mints and went into commerce at face value, which was then a small premium over their silver content. Like today's Silver Eagles, their core value was in their precious metal content. In modern times these coins have become the bedrock of the collecting world, coveted by millions. In top grades, Morgan Silver Dollars can sell for tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars each. Most of the highest-graded Morgan Dollars are beyond the reach of all but the wealthiest collectors. As today's collectors saw the Silver Eagle series unfold from its start in 1986, some realized there was a literal "ground floor" opportunity to acquire the top-grade coins as they were released. They started submitting Silver Eagles to one of the leading independent grading services, the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC). They prayed that the coins would come back with the highest-possible grade: MS70. (All Uncirculated coins are graded on a point system from a low of 60 to a high of 70, with 70 representing flawless perfection). Then the market began to take off.