I’m The one ounce proof silver Puffin had a final mintage of 7,500 and issued at $29.95 in 1995. This is a striking medallion, one of the most popular in the series.

"With their happy colorful face and clown-like personality, these little birds always inspire a smile!" Anchorage resident Debra Dubac, designer of the 1995 Official State Medallion, says this is why she chose the puffin.

Two species of puffins live in Alaskan waters, the Horned puffin (Fratercula corniculata) and the Tufted puffin (Fratercula cirrhata). They belong to the family Alcidae. Puffins are easily recognizable by their large colorful beak. Their beaks are larger and more colorful in the summer nesting season than in the winter season when they shed their bill's outer layer, which leaves a smaller drab-colored beak. Puffins are agile birds on land, but when they take to the air, they become a bit awkward.