1 oz Get Your Kicks on Route 66 Silver Round

Description

• Contains 1 oz of .999 fine Silver.
• Obverse: Iconic Route 66 road sign with the abbreviations of the states the highway traveled through to the left. The dots around the perimeter of the shield and within the numbers are representative of the glass cateye reflectors used to illuminate the original signs during nighttime driving.
• Reverse: Route 66 road sign with the traditional phrase “Get Your Kicks” and the weight and fineness surrounding. Segmented lines around the edge represent the road dividing lines used to separate lanes on the highway.

Route 66

Route 66 is quite literally the framework of America. Formalized on November 11, 1926, the two-lane highway system connected Chicago with Los Angeles, facilitating massive amounts of westward travel that spurred economic growth all along its route.

Dubbed the Mother Road by John Steinbeck in his novel, “The Grapes of Wrath”, the legendary Route 66, one of the first all-weather roads to the west, helped people affected by the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression migrate toward better opportunities in California.

During World War II, Route 66 was crucial to the U.S. military, moving equipment from one industrial center to the next and ultimately overseas. Not long after, the lanes filled with families embarking on road trip vacations. With more than 2,400 diagonal miles to drive through, kicks were abundant for all kinds of travelers.

Unfortunately, the passage of the Interstate Highway Act of 1956 meant that Route 66’s days were as numbered as its mile markers. Within 20 years, the historic and landmark-laden highway was replaced with bigger interstates, like 55, 44, 40, 15 and 10.

With the celebration of Route 66’s 90^th birthday in 2016, motorists experienced a renewed interest in the original highway. More than 80 percent of Route 66 remains drivable in the eight states it crosses, accessible as county or service roads, state highways and historic trails. Regardless of modern-day progress, this “Main Street of America” will always be a travel trendsetter.