John Dillinger – Public Enemy #1 1 Troy Ounce Silver Round

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A sharply dressed portrait on one side and a getaway scene on the other capture two parts of John Dillinger’s enduring image. This Intaglio Mint round looks back at the Depression-era bank robber whose brief period of national notoriety became one of American crime history’s most familiar stories. It contains one troy ounce of .999 fine silver in a 39mm format.

A Brief, Notorious Chapter

Dillinger’s rise to national infamy followed years in prison. Paroled on May 10, 1933, after serving eight and a half years, he soon became associated with the robberies and escapes that made his name a fixture in newspaper coverage. The major crime spree was concentrated in 1933 and 1934, rather than immediately following his earlier 1924 conviction.

The pursuit grew into a national case. His March 1934 escape from the jail at Crown Point, Indiana, brought federal investigators into the chase, and Chicago became an important center of the search. The case helped raise the public profile of federal law enforcement during the gangster era.

On July 22, 1934, agents killed Dillinger outside Chicago’s Biograph Theater after he had attended Manhattan Melodrama. The fact that his final evening included a gangster film added a striking detail to a story already shaped by headlines and public fascination.

Portrait and Getaway

The round pairs the recognizable public figure with an imagined episode from the bank-robbery era. The reverse is a fictional composition, not a claim to reproduce a particular documented heist. Together, the two sides evoke the period’s contrast between polished appearances and violent criminal activity.

Obverse Design

John Dillinger appears in coat and tie, with his signature in the lower-right field.

Reverse Design

Dillinger and his gang are shown in a getaway car outside a bank. The scene is an artist’s interpretation of the kind of robbery for which the gang became notorious.

Specifications

• Weight: 1.00 troy ounce
• Thickness: 3.10 mm
• Purity: .999 fine silver
• Edge: Reeded
• Diameter: 39 mm
• Finish: Brilliant Uncirculated