1 oz Don’t Tread on Me Eternal Vigilance Silver Round

Historic quotes are hard to accurately attribute to figures from the past. President Thomas Jefferson is often given credit for the quotation “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” Whether he said it or not, this alleged Jefferson quote rings true to early Americans who understood the need to remain on guard as the young nation got on its feet.

Round Highlights:

• Combined designs represent the American revolutionary spirit!
• Contains 1 Troy oz of .999 pure silver.
• Obverse field includes the coiled snake from the Gadsden flag.
• Reverse side features an American bald eagle on duty in eternal vigilance.
• Design from Thomas D. Rogers.

Don’t Tread on Me was a popular phrase during the late colonial era in North America. As the American colonists became more enraged by their treatment at the hands of the ruling British, a sense of independence began to grow. As the calls for independent governance and a free nation in the British Colonies grew, Don’t Tread on Me became a rallying cry.

While the phrase Don’t Tread on Me became popular in the 1770s and 1780s as the American colonies fought for independence from Great Britain, the coiled snake that is often featured alongside the phrase actually arose in the colonies during the French and Indian War of the 1750s. Benjamin Franklin created the coiled snake design for a political cartoon in which it appeared alongside the phrase “Join or Die,” encouraging American colonies to join together with the British in the French and Indian War.

On the obverse of the 1 oz Don’t Tread On Me Eternal Vigilance Silver Round is the image of the coiled snake that Franklin designed. The snake was eventually used on the Gadsden flag of the South Carolina militia that fought against the British during the American Revolution. Inscriptions on this side include “Don’t Tread On Me” and “Established 1754,” the year in which Franklin’s cartoon appeared.

The reverse of Don’t Tread on Me Eternal Vigilance Silver Rounds includes the image of American bald eagle resting on a sheaf of arrows with an olive branch in one talon. It includes portions of the popular quote with “The Price of Liberty” above and “Eternal Vigilance” below the eagle. Thomas D. Rogers, a former US Mint artist and engraver, created this design for this silver round.