The obverse depicts the San Jacinto Monument rising vertically at center, crowned by a five-pointed star. A laurel wreath surrounds the monument, symbolizing victory and honor. The inscription “San Jacinto” appears across the central field, with the dates “1836” and “1986” placed on either side, marking the sesquicentennial of the Battle of San Jacinto.
The reverse carries a circular legend reading “.999 FINE SILVER” and “ONE TROY OUNCE.” Within a recessed matte inner field appears the date "1985" or “1986” above a silhouette outline of the State of Texas. The outer ring is polished with raised lettering, contrasting with the textured central field.
1985-86 San Jacinto Monument Silver Round Overview
The 1985-86 San Jacinto Monument Silver Round, part of the Texas 150th Anniversary Collection, is a 1 oz .999 fine silver commemorative marking the 150th anniversary of Texas independence. The obverse depicts the San Jacinto Monument rising vertically at center, crowned by a five-pointed star and encircled by a laurel wreath, with “San Jacinto” across the central field and the dates “1836” and “1986” on either side. The reverse carries a Texas-silhouette device within a “.999 FINE SILVER · ONE TROY OUNCE” legend, struck in two separate dated variants — “1985” and “1986.”
1985-86 San Jacinto Monument Silver Round Attribution
Mint is attributed to World Wide Mint (Bloomington, MN) on the basis of reverse-die linkage shared across the full Texas 150th Anniversary Collection; see the mint page for the underlying reasoning. Distributor is John Grayson (San Benito / Harlingen, TX), confirmed through period Coin World and Texas Monthly advertisements and corroborated by a firsthand account naming Grayson as a wholesale source supplying multiple area dealers; see the collection page for full sourcing.
1985-86 San Jacinto Monument Silver Round Historical Significance
The structure on the obverse is not a relic of 1836 — the San Jacinto Monument itself wasn’t built until a full century later, constructed from 1936 to 1939 as a Texas Centennial project and dedicated on the monument’s own San Jacinto Day, April 21, 1939. At 567 feet, it stands taller than the Washington Monument, topped by a 220-ton star that gives the obverse design its crowning device. Like the Alamo’s rebuilt façade elsewhere in this collection, the image commemorates the 1836 battle through a 20th-century monument built to memorialize it, rather than depicting anything that existed at the time of the fighting itself.
The battle it commemorates was the one that actually won Texas independence. On April 21, 1836, General Sam Houston’s roughly 900 Texian soldiers launched a surprise afternoon assault on General Antonio López de Santa Anna’s larger force camped near the San Jacinto River. The fighting lasted only about 18 minutes before the Mexican lines collapsed; Santa Anna was captured the next day and forced to sign agreements leading to Mexican withdrawal from Texas. Where the Alamo and Goliad represented defeat and sacrifice, San Jacinto represented the actual military victory that secured the Republic of Texas — the laurel wreath on the obverse signals exactly that note of triumph, in contrast to the martial, defiant imagery used elsewhere in the collection.
1985-86 San Jacinto Monument Silver Round Notes
- Two struck date variants exist: “1985” and “1986” on the reverse, reflecting the original and reissue years noted in the period sales brochure for the full 8-coin set
- See the Texas 150th Anniversary Collection page for the complete set, pricing, and distributor background
1985-86 San Jacinto Monument Silver Round References
- World Wide Mint (Bloomington, MN), The Texas Stacker
- John Grayson (San Benito / Harlingen, TX), The Texas Stacker
- Texas 150th Anniversary Collection (1985–1986), The Texas Stacker
- Texas Stacker Archives
