2000 LEIF ERICSON MILLENNIUM COMMEMORATIVE COINS FACT SHEET
Ericson found farmland rich in timber and waters swimming with salmon. He first came upon what is now Labrador, then established a camp in Newfoundland, and finally, arrived in what could have been northern Newfoundland or even Cape Cod and gave it the name "Vinland."
The Native Americans fiercely resisted settlement by the Vikings and within a year of his momentous discovery, Ericson abandoned Vinland and returned to Greenland.
The U.S. and Iceland each authorized their own coin in this two-coin set to mark the millennium of Ericson's discovery of the New World. These are the first modern era legal tender silver commemorative coins released jointly by the United States and any other country.
The Leif Ericson Silver Dollar obverse, designed by John Mercanti, shows a profile portrait of Leif Ericson, portrayed in the style of traditional Icelandic coins. Mercanti designed the 2000 Library of Congress Bimetallic Ten Dollar obverse and Silver Dollar reverse, and the obverse designs for the George H. W. Bush and the Hubert Humphrey medals. He also designed the Bicentennial of the Congress Gold Five Dollar; the Eisenhower Silver Dollar obverse; the Mount Rushmore Gold Five Dollar obverse; the Korean War Silver Dollar obverse; the 1991 USO Anniversary Silver Dollar obverse; and two of the 1995 Atlanta Centennial Olympic Silver Dollar obverses (track & field and cycling).
The reverse, by T. James Ferrell, shows a Viking ship under full sail, coming toward the New World with Leif Ericson at the helm. Ferrell also designed the obverse and reverse of the Ruth and Billy Graham Congressional Gold Medal; the Mount Rushmore Clad Half Dollar reverse; the Christopher Columbus Gold Five Dollar obverse; the Thomas Jefferson Silver Dollar obverse; the 1995 Civil War Clad Half Dollar reverse; the Franklin D. Roosevelt Gold Five Dollar obverse; and the Jackie Robinson Silver Dollar reverse.
Icelandic Coin
The Leif Ericson Silver 1000 Kronur, designed by Icelander Throstur Magnusson, shows an interpretation of the
Stirling Calder statue of Leif Ericson on the obverse. The statue was given to the Icelandic government in
1930 by the United States to commemorate the millennium of the Iceland parliament. The reverse of the coin
shows a stylized drawing of the Icelandic Coat of Arms, representing the country's four guardians: the eagle,
the dragon, the bull and a giant. The guardians stand watch over the north, west, east, and south of Iceland.
This is one of several commemorative coins Throstur Magnusson has designed for the Central Bank of Iceland. Magnusson has designed about 180 stamps, and his stamp designs have won "The Most Beautiful Icelandic Stamp of the Year" every year from 1986 to 1992.
Silver 1000 Kronur: An image of Stirling Calder's famous sculpture of Ericson.
Silver 1000 Kronur: The eagle, the dragon, the bull and the giant from the Icelandic Coat of Arms
Silver 1000 Kronur: Throstur Magnusson
Silver 1000 Kronur: Philadelphia, PA (No Mint Mark)
Silver 1000 Kronur: 150,000
