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For the currency in Rapture, see Dollar.
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Coins

Close-up of Silver Eagles.

Silver Eagles (previously known as Dollars) are the primary currency of Columbia. Silver Eagles are used to purchase a variety of items from vending machines. Elizabeth will also randomly find Silver Eagles and throw them over to Booker DeWitt if he accepts them.

Though Silver Eagles are mostly found in coin form, they can also be collected by picking up wallets, purses, and cash bags as well as silver and gold bars. Locked safes contain several hundred of these coins inside. Though most commodities can be bought with just a few Silver Eagles, permanent upgrades to weapons and Vigors through the Minuteman's Armory and Veni! Vidi! Vigor! vending machines respectively are far more expensive.

BioShock Infinite[]

The Silver Eagle counter.
Main article: BioShock Infinite

In BioShock Infinite, though Booker DeWitt can be revived after taking fatal damage, death has a price, and will cost the player a certain amount of Silver Eagles upon every revival. On Easy Mode, death costs five Silver Eagles, on Normal Mode, the price rises to twenty-five, on Hard Mode, the cost rises again to fifty, and on 1999 Mode, every death costs the player a whopping one-hundred Silver Eagles. Moreover, if the player doesn't have enough money to respawn in the latter difficulty, death will result in a permanent game over.

Description[]

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The obverse and reverse of a Silver Eagle.

Each Silver Eagle has two designs. On the heads (obverse) of the Silver Eagle is the Scroll, Sword, and Key, the three symbols associated with the Founding Fathers, the Scroll representing Father Thomas Jefferson, the Sword representing Father George Washington, and the Key representing Father Benjamin Franklin, respectively. On the tails (reverse) of the Silver Eagle is the Monument Island Tower of the angel Columbia carrying each of the three gifts, "Columbia" inscribed on the top of the monument's figure and the year of the Silver Eagle's minting "1900" below. In some levels such as Downtown Emporia gold Silver Eagles can be found. These gold coins are smaller than the silver versions, but have the same designs on the front and back.

Gallery[]

Bugs/Glitches[]

  •  Icon pc Icon xbox Icon ps3 Though not specifically a bug, a design oversight within the game allows the player to obtain a potentially infinite amount of money, along with thirty lockpicks (the maximum amount one can carry at a time) and almost every Gear item in the game. When returning to Soldier's Field, re-entering and exiting the Hall of Heroes will cause most of the level to reset, allowing the player to loot certain areas ad infinitum. The portions that respawn are the following:
Walkthrough
  • The Dollar Bill vending machine on the left wall upon exiting the Hall of Heroes, which can be possessed for a moderate amount of money.
  • The upper deck to the right of the Hall of Heroes blocked by a closed gate, which can be opened by using Shock Jockey on the machine next to it. Upstairs, there is the corpse of a sniper at one end and three crates at the other which can be searched for random loot. Two Silver Eagles can always be found on the table next to the crates.
  • An island reachable by Sky-Line will be populated with two Beasts and five non-armored Flying Squad members. On the lower portion, there is a lockpick lying on a crate on one side and a wallet and toolbox on the other, near the flying gondola.
  • The ticketing area will hold a Fireman and six more gun-toting enemies. The Fireman himself will always drop a lockpick upon death, along with a health kit and Salts. Several other items lie around the area:
    • A small wallet lies on the table between the shops, between two photos of Cornelius Slate.
    • A Dollar Bill machine behind The Fellow Traveller can be possessed for more money.
    • Inside the Fellow Traveller, there will be a wallet in the kitchen's left corner, nearest the door. The wallet itself is hard to see due to the dim lighting. The dead man in the bathroom will hold a single Silver Eagle under his hand and the secret area will have four more under the safe, along with four lootable crates.
    • Inside the ticketing office, a Minuteman's Armory on the lower level can be possessed for money. The cash register next to it will also hold money. Two more cash registers and two desks can be looted in the area past the locked door. Upstairs, a small pile of Silver Eagles can be found under a Dimwit & Duke propaganda machine. The candy in the shop will also respawn.
    • In the area behind the ticketing office, a small phial of Salts will respawn.
  • To the left of the corridor now blocked by a Motorized Patriot, two soldiers can be found in the men's restroom. In the cubicle closest to the door lies a wallet. In the women's restroom, a lockpick can be found in the farthest cubicle on the left. The two trash cans on the corridor's left hand side can also be looted for random loot.
  • Past the elevator, a Veni! Vidi! Vigor! and Dollar Bill can be Possessed for money. A crate immediately to the right of the elevator can also be looted, along with a trash can beside the book shop.
  • The bookshop on the right wall has a gate which needs to be lifted. Inside, there will be a bottle of Shock Jockey, a lootable cash register and two coin purses behind the counter.
  • The shop next to the carousel also has a gate which needs to be lifted, along with a small Medical Kit right in front of it. Inside, a pair of doors can be opened via Shock Jockey, revealing a room with three lootable pieces of furniture, a respawning Sniper Rifle and a piece of Gear, which will also respawn upon every run.
  • Right in front of the ice cream shop at the entrance to Soldier's Field are three Silver Eagles on the floor. Lifting the gate will allow the player to loot the cash register and two coin purses within. Another phial of Salts can be found on the ledge in front of the shop, though the player can refill at the Salts machine at the Hall of Heroes' entrance.
  • It is worth noting that at no moment must the player call for the gondola to The First Lady, as this will shut the gate leading to the Hall of Heroes. Each run will yield between 400 and 600 Silver Eagles, lasts between five and ten minutes depending on how the player approaches the respawning enemies, and can be repeated indefinitely.
  • In Finkton Proper, if one takes the elevator down to Shantytown, spends a short while in the area, and then takes the elevator back up again, the Minuteman's Armory, Dollar Bill and Veni! Vidi! Vigor! vending machines on the short path leading to the elevator can be possessed continuously.
    • The bottle of Charge (as well as any other Vigor bottles lying around) will also respawn.
    • The lootable containers (toolboxes, cabinets, and desks) will also reset to their undisturbed state, giving the player a chance to loot them at their leisure.
  • Once the player re-enters the Gunsmith Shop and investigates the corpses of Chen Lin and Mrs. Lin, the doorway to Shantytown will seal, and the player will be unable to go back. Be absolutely sure you're ready to move on before doing so.
  • The corpses in Memorial Gardens can be looted numerous times -- assuming the player doesn't attempt to open the gate leading to Comstock House. The player can step just outside the cemetery gates, and then just head back inside.


Behind the Scenes[]

  • Silver Eagles are likely based on American gold coinage called Eagles, which had been a circulating denomination until it was halted in 1933 when gold was confiscated from American citizens during the Great Depression.[1] In 1986, the American Silver Eagle was introduced, which currently serves as the official silver bullion coin of the United States.[2]
  • Compared to the first two games, the money counter has five digits. Booker can carry as many Silver Eagles as the digits will allow.
Hats with coin and bill tips
  • The real life replica of the Columbian Silver Eagle has the scroll in the likeness of the Preamble, with the famous "We the People" quote on the coin.
  • The total cost to upgrade all weapons and Vigors to their full capabilities is $36,465.
  • Paper bills are rarely found in Columbia and cannot be interacted with. However, they can be found scattered amongst coin tips in hats. The bills bear a likeness of Henry Saltonstall.

References[]

  1. Eagle on Wikipedia.
  2. American Silver Eagle on Wikipedia
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