2012 Star Spangled Banner Silver Dollar - Uncirculated

The American Flag is one of the foremost symbols of freedom in the entire world, and it is a flag that many thousands have given their lives to defend. It is a symbol of liberty and justice that has inspired millions both at home and the world over!

Today, June 14th, is known as national Flag Day, a day in which we commemorate the adoption of our proud Stars and Stripes as the official national flag of the United States. It was on this same day in history in 1777 that the Second Continental Congress convened and voted on what would become our flag: Our now iconic red, white, and blue "Star-Spangled Banner." Then After having to wait for over 230 years, our nation’s iconic flag finally has a Silver Dollar all its own!

Today the "Star-Spangled Banner" is known as the National Anthem of the United States. Most can place Francis Scott Key as the author...but does anyone remember the how and why this came to be? Scott Key, a young attorney, was sent by President James Madison to negotiate the release of American hostages on British naval ships. He was chosen because one of them was his close friend, Dr. William Beanes, who had been arrested during the attack on Washington. The British agreed to release the hostages, but Key and the others were forced to remain with the fleet for the duration of the battle, as they had overheard the British attack plans during their negotiation.

The next day, when the smoke from the bombs cleared, Key saw the stars and stripes of the garrison flag. Right there, on September 14, 1814, he wrote the verses of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

"The Star-Spangled Banner" was first recognized for official use by the Navy in 1889. It received a big lift from the military in the 1890's, as Army and Navy regulations ordered the playing of the song at all ceremonial occasions. Col. Caleb Carton, commanding officer at Fort Meade was successful in moving President Woodrow Wilson through an executive order in 1914, to designate "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the national anthem. It was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 and signed by President Herbert Hoover.

Scott Key did coin one phrase that gave way to a motto so powerful that it still appears today on American currency, "In God We Trust" was inspired by a line in "The Star-Spangled Banner's" fourth verse: "Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'"

In 2012 for the 200th Anniversary of the start of the War of 1812 the U.S. Mint released a special 90% silver Dollar to commemorate the Star-Spangled Banner. In my opinion it is one of their best coins ever...the obverse depicts Lady Liberty waving the 15-star, 15-stripe Star-Spangled Banner flag with Fort McHenry in the background...the reverse depicts a waving modern American flag.

The secret to this coin...the population...has a combined mintage (both Proof and Uncirculated) of less than 160,000 coins...for comparison the 2014 Baseball Dollars with a mintage of more than double (400,000) sold out in the blink of an eye!