2006 United States Mint Legacy Proof Set - OGP

Great Britain had been at war with France for over a hundred years by the time Benjamin Franklin walked the colonies. In an attempt to recoup their monumental financial losses from this fighting, the British crown passed several pieces of legislation, like the “Stamp Act”, that over time came to be collectively known as the “Intolerable Acts”. As their name suggests, these acts were not kind to the thirteen small colonies across the Atlantic...in fact, these acts plunged the Massachusetts colony itself into outright chaos!

Tomorrow is the 256th anniversary of the day the “Stamp Act” was officially put into effect and the Colonies decided that the time was right to begin the fight for their Freedom!

In Honor of this anniversary, we are bringing back a special U.S. Mint collection honoring the founder who led the charge in responding to these Intolerable Acts of exploitation: the 2006 Legacy Collection Proof Set!

Benjamin Franklin, one of the most influential individuals involved in the founding of our great nation, wrote a scathing satirical response to the Intolerable Acts titled: “An Act to Enforce Obedience”. The massive 4-page response points out that these pieces of Legislation were nothing more than the British government showing how clearly they feared the ever growing strength of the 13 colonies they had exploited so dearly.

It is often argued that Benjamin Franklin was the true lynchpin of the revolution; without his efforts in obtaining the support of our biggest ally, Britain’s arch-nemesis France, the United States of America would probably not exists as we know it today! He was so influential and vital to our nation’s success that when they commissioned the Franklin Half Dollar to be minted in 1948, he held the esteemed distinction of being the only Non-President to ever be featured on a circulating U.S. Mint coin!

But, the iconic Franklin Half Dollars were not the only coins to feature this revolutionary war hero… in 2006 the United States Mint produced two special Silver Dollars to honor him: the Scientist and Founding Father!

From 1983 all the way to 1997, the United States Mint produced a limited-edition proof set known as the ‘Prestige Proof Sets’. The only problem was that collectors LOVED these high-quality collections so much so that after an 8-year hiatus these iconic collections re-emerged as the new “American Legacy Collections”.

Luckily for the U.S. Mint, they struck gold twice! These new sets were not only loved by collectors for their high-quality strikes, multiple 90% Silver coins, and wonderful packaging, but their rarity as well! These sets typically had a mintage of less than 50,000... a number so small that it automatically makes them some of the rarest collections ever made by the United States Mint!

But that is not all! This special 2006 American Legacy Collection not only has the special Founding Father silver dollar honoring Ben Franklin, but it also the collector-favorite ‘Half-Morgan’ Silver Dollar honoring the San Francisco Mint!

These special coin were struck to honor the 100th anniversary of the fabled 1906 Earthquake, after which the San Francisco Mint was among the few buildings stills standing! The coin itself featured the Old San Francisco Mint on one side and an exact recreation of the stunning Morgan Dollar Reverse on the other!