The United States Mint plans to expand the number of numismatic product offerings for the American Silver Eagle in 2012. This will include an uncirculated version of the coin struck at the San Francisco Mint and potentially two other collector coins only available within a special set.
The American Silver Eagle was introduced in 1986, with the bullion version available through a network of authorized purchasers and collectible versions sold directly by the United States Mint. Initially, the Mint offered a single collectible proof version of the Silver Eagle as a recurring numismatic product. The standard proof coins carried the "S" mint mark from 1986 to 1992, the "P" mint mark from 1993 to 1999, and the "W" mint mark from 2000 to present.
An additional recurring numismatic version of the Silver Eagle was introduced in 2006. Referred to as collectible uncirculated versions, these coins were struck on specially burnished blanks and minted at the West Point Mint with the "W" mint mark. The coins have been sold individually and included in certain collector sets each year from 2006 to 2008, with the offering resumed in 2011.
Besides these two recurring numismatic products, the US Mint has periodically offered special anniversary sets to mark important milestones in the series. These sets have included one or more coins unique to the sets.
Within the US Mint's 2011 annual report, the Deputy Director of the United States Mint revealed the Mint's plans to offer a collectible uncirculated version of the Silver Eagle from the San Francisco Mint with the "S" mint mark for 2012. Last year, the US Mint had offered an uncirculated Silver Eagle with "S" mint mark only within the 25th Anniversary Set. The mention of the 2012-S Uncirculated Silver Eagle within the annual report seems to position the coin as a new recurring product offering, in addition to the collectible uncirculated version of the coin with the "W" mint mark and the proof version with the "W" mint mark.
Additional potential numismatic American Silver Eagles were revealed within a survey recently conducted on behalf of the United States Mint. The survey indicated that the Mint may consider offering a special 2012 American Silver Eagle Set, containing two coins only available within the set. According to information provided in the survey, the set would include a San Francisco proof coin with the "S" mint mark and a reverse proof coin with the "S" mint mark. The planned production level for the sets would be 200,000, with a household limit of two, and price of approximately $125. These sets would become another recurring annual offering with the next installment available in 2013.
The offering of the special two coin set still seems tentative, with subsequent survey questions asking preferences about other types of coins that could be included in the set. Options included uncirculated Silver Eagles with a special mint mark ("S" or "D"), proof Silver Eagles with a special mint mark ("S" or "D"), an ultra high relief version, reverse proof version, or proof and uncirculated versions carrying their customary mint marks.
Oh, so cool! A 21st Anniversary Silver Eagle set! What a novel idea!!! Sets should become available tomorrow on Ebay! Get ‘em now before they are all gone!!!
I took the survey. Not fond of these additional vanity sets that don’t celebrate any kind of anniversary, nor have much point to them except to recoup the missed opportunity by the mint to scalp their own customers. If they are authorized, the mintage ought to be minted to demand, to keep the A25 set as unique as possible and the prices from crashing to mint issue prices.
Gary,
These aren’t really intended to be true “anniversary sets.” The impression I had from the survey was that the Mint wants to do a unique silver eagle product offering every year. I imagine the plan is to do something a little different every year to keep collectors interested. There will still probably be true anniversary sets on occasion as well where they sell every silver eagle product offering in a nice case, like they did with the A25s.
Personally, I am very interested in an ultra-high relief coin in silver. I love the high relief coins I get from the Perth Mint from time to time, and would also like very much to see similar offerings from the US Mint. Perhaps survey responses will help us get one this year rather than later in 2013.
I LIKE IT!!
Hopefully they wont overproduce them and keep the mintages around 100k!!!
A UHR Silver Eagle would be totally cool!! Looking forward to the S Burnished Series and possibly a Reverse Proof Silver Eagle Series!!
A little side note to all the whiners who didnt get the 25th Anniversary Set!! If the US Mint made those with an unlimited mintage all they would ever be worth is a few dollars over spot!! So lets hope the US Mint keeps in mind the “COLLECTOR” and keep these series low mintage!! And for everybody who thinks these went to the flippers……you are wrong!! Great Job US MINT!! Keep it up!
Dumb, if they do reverse proofs every year then why would they be special? This is just the Mint trying to make everyone who didn’t get a A25 happy. They’ll kill the value for the rest of us that finally got a A25 set and I’d finally officially be off US Mint products going forward. I don’t know how the Mint can screw things up more but I’m sure they will find a way. Instead of messing with the SE’s why not fix the incredibly ugly coinage we have for everyday use. Let’s see some great designs with inspired symbols of what America stands for and drop the portraits already.
This is a ridiculous idea. This would totally take away from the 25th ann sets making the “S” and the reverse proof not so special. IF the mint follows through with this, I will stop collecting coins from them. Why would I want to buy something that is no longer unique. Let’s all pray that this doesn’t happen.
Gatescrash,
They’re doing this because it’s an obvious cash cow, not an attempt at PR. If you read the survey, they are clearly planning to do one annual silver eagle “special” set per year. It should not weaken the value of the coins in the A25, much like the A25 (from what I can tell) did not weaken the value of the coins in the 20th anniversary set. Should they start releasing “S” mintmarked eagles regularly, the one in the A25 should still be value because of the relatively low mintage (100K), the difficulty collectors had in getting the product, and the fact that it is a first-year issue.
If you guys are really that worried about A25 and its coins losing value, then just sell any extra sets you have now before the price drops.
First year mint issues don’t do that well unless they are low mintage and popular (the S-SAE is fortunately both). The 1986 bullion & proof coins only carry a slight premium over following years because they were produced in large volumes.
I agree that a new unique coin each year is a cool way to satisfy both the mint and collectors. This will give more people the opportunity to buy and keep values up and coins popular (which may be the reason that they included D mint coins in their questions, to keep from running out of new types too fast). The mint never gouges us, they keep profits fairly low compared to what they could charge. I don’t think you can fault them when things they sell double in value in a month. They will need, however, to put programmed buying blockers in place, or once the new system comes on line the big buyers will only need a few seconds to snap up 100K units, even one at a time.
In addition to the UHRSAE I told the mint that I would like to see a fully brilliant proof and a set honoring proof finishes of the past and present (cameo, satin/Roman, brilliant, reverse cameo, …). Too bad they did not make the 2011-S a satin proof instead of an uncirculated (would only have required a second strike), that would have made it absolutely unique even if they do start minting S mint uncirculated coins this year.
It looks like they are planning on using SF for a lot of these offerings, which is great since it has a long history of producing high quality coins, especially silver proofs. I don’t like the notion of any Denver coins for sort of the same reason. It’s history is that of a volume production house where quality is clearly a secondary concern. I personally don’t see the need for an uncirculated S coin in 2012 and think that if they want to move production from WP to SF they should wait until 2013, letting a 2012 WP coin be a farewell year by itself. I don’t like the idea of two identical coins from different mints in any given year, I think that is too much to do on any regular basis and just a different mint mark is not all that unique. They should also explore using a different reverse each year, starting with the best eagles of the past from all circulation denominations.
I also told them that they should either stop using the laser and go exclusively to the vapor sandblasting or tune the laser to the level used on the 2003 NWR medals (where it was first used) so that it achieves the same quality and detail of sandblasting. The laser as it is used today kills details. It works on the reverse proof because it is only used on flat surfaces, which have no detail to harm.
It has become so obvious here that the US Mint Is Laughing all the way to the bank. We as collectors have allowed the Mint to get into our head and now they own us. We have now become puppets on a string that tethers to and fro with every new gimmick that the Mint decides to throw at us. In my opinion, unless we coin collectors get a handle on the tactics being perpetrated on us and stop succumbing to this madness; our hobby is going to go to the Doggs. I hope all of you can see that the US Mint can care less about preserving the validity of coin collecting. All they are really interested in is how they can keep their coffers filled at our expense. We have to stop buying into this mess, or years from now all we are going to have will be a handful of nothing. Lets not forget that unregulated and the reckless proliferation of “junk bonds” has brought down the stock market, the housing market and our whole economy. This same principle will whole true with the present value that is attributed to the coins we collect. If we continue to allow our ranks to be infiltrated with this insidious greed that MORE is better then all is for not. I can foresee that if we as coin collectors do not pull in the reins, then the bubble that we are about to create will most definitely burst. Words to the wise, the true value and integrity of our collector coins are being taken over by GREED and unless we act wisely, we stand to lose it all. I hate to say it, but we need some type of regulation on this industry. Coin proliferation has to our detriment, gotten out of control and from what I can see, it is only getting worst.
Not once has the US Mint ever made me buy a coin from them!! If i like it i buy it if i dont like it i dont buy it!! People….come on!! Its really that simple!!
The eagle reverse of the Morgan dollar would be a nice start, as would the revere of the Franklin half dollar.
Actually, repeating the Reverse Proof design or using different mintmarks (S, W, D, or even X, Y, Z) are not very special. They belong in the “been there, done that” category.
The Ultra High Relief concept, on the hand, is something to get excited about. It would be unprecedented for the Silver Eagle $1, and the Walking Liberty design would really pop.
Instead of going forward with rehashed versions of previous Silver Eagles, I suggest that the Mint sells yearly UHR Silver Eagle $1 coins as follows:
2012 – UHR 1 oz.
2013 – UHR 2 oz.
2014 – UHR 3 oz.
2015 – UHR 4 oz.
2016 – UHR 5 oz. (just in time for the 30th Anniversary)
Perhaps with each succeeding year, the Mint can change the denomination from $1 for the 1-oz. coin in 2012 to $2 for the 2-oz. coin in 2013, and so on. (That would probably take an act of Congress to realize.)
Then in 2017, they can start all over again, but this time with UHR in Reverse Proof, culminating in the 35th Anniversary year.
At the very least, the Mint can create a single-year 5-oz. Silver Eagle $1 in brilliant-finish bullion and vapor-finish Unc. like the ATB coins. The collector version could be in either UHR or regular relief.
There are major capital expenditures involved in making totally different coins like new coin presses. Look at all the trouble to make the ATB five ouncers. That is probably a major reason why the Mint is proposing to build on existing coins. If you don’t want them, don’t buy them. No one is being tricked or forced or hypnotized into doing anything. Silver eagles are not the only coins worth collecting. The possibilities are almost endless. Collect what you enjoy!
A major part of the difficulty that delayed the introduction of the 5oz AtBs was the mandated three inch diameter which caused the coin to be very thin compared to its diameter. Had congress stated 2 or even 2.5 inches (or let the mint decide), much of the time and cost of introduction could have been avoided. The mint routinely turns out three inch medals, just not thin ones. Two Cents, I agree that doing things like varying the mint (and mark) that produces a given finish Eagle is nothing special and a bit contrived. As you say, a UHR or my favorite fully brilliant proof (by that I mean 100% mirror finish) or even a true satin proof would all be something not done before in the series and would be genuinely collectible. I suppose that a UHR would have to be either smaller (how about the 32.7mm of the gold Buffalo) or heavier (1.5 or 2oz) to accommodate the depth. A silver UHR coin would also probably require three of four strikes to produce a good looking result without eating up die sets.
Michael:
You wrote, “The planned production level for the sets would be 200,000, with a household limit of two, and price of approximately $125.”
The survey I received from National Analysts Worldwide stated there would be 300,000 and a household limit of 5.
Here is the quote from the survey, which I saved as I took the survey:
“The U.S. Mint may consider offering a special American Eagle Silver Coin Set in 2012. This would be a special set containing the following 1-ounce silver coins:
• American Eagle Silver “San Francisco Proof” Coin bearing a “S” mint mark, only available in this special set
• American Eagle Silver “San Francisco Reverse Proof” Coin bearing a “S” mint mark, only available in this special set
This set will only be produced in 2012; no additional American Eagle sets of this type are planned in the near future.
The U.S. Mint plans to manufacture 300,000 of these sets. Once these are sold, no additional sets will be available. There will be a purchase limit of 5 sets per household.
The price of this set will be approximately $125″
I didn’t take this to mean this would become a recurring product offering.
After the A25 offering of the special set and only 2 years after they couldn’t produce the Eagle proof coin, I think I will sell off ALL my Eagles. I feel taken in this rich boy game. I really don’t stand a chance of getting these coins and keeping up with all program offerings anymore. I do have the 95W and 06and 08 offerings and 2011 coin were hard ot buy because they were 2x’s the mint price. I’m done!
I think with all the offerings in the next few years with the ASE, they will have to do something dramatically different for the 30 year anniversary set, perhaps a design change for the reverse for the one year or just for the sets like the proof platinum coins. I for one would like to see them go all the way and use the reverse of the original Walking Liberty half. I agree about the laser treatment, most of the modern proof coins look like glitter(with less detail)under a loop instead of that satin frost of the past coins.
The U.S. Mint is unquestionably the largest coin dealer in the U.S., if not world! To those collectors who complain about “having to buy” this coin or that…reality check!…YOU DON’T HAVE TO! The Mint is like an ice cream maker… flavors and sizes offered to different tastes. The only reason someone might feel that the Mint has a captive customer base is perhaps those collectors who feel that a “complete” set of anything means they have to have every kind of proof, reversed-proof and burnished finished AND the obsessive & redundant collecting by date and every mint mark. If this does not prove expensive enough on it’s own, you can also get these modern Mint products, guaranteed by the U.S. Mint, AUTHENTICATED and GRADED through a grading service so you could sleep well with the warm fuzzy feeling of having a PERFECT 70 SET!
Obviously there seems to be more than one version of the survey. Michael had one version (200,000 sets with a household limit of 2 sets) and ^_^ had a second version of the survey (300,000 sets with a household limit of 5 sets). The survey which I took stated that the special two-coin set would be available this summer and that the mint planned on issuing a second two-coin set with different ASE combinations in the winter of 2012. In addition, there would be two more ASE two-coin sets in 2013. This version of the survey asked what would be an appropriate household limit and asked what would be an appropriate mintage (75,000 or 100,000 or 150,000 or 200,000 or 250,000 or 500,000). It seems that based on a person’s answers to previous questions (eg. how much you spend on coins annually, what types of products you bought from the mint during the past two years, if you bought any coins from foreign mints) the survey generated specific scenarios.
Thanks plmark!
That does sound to be the case, that there were multiple surveys or variants to the survey depending upon how respondents answered previous parts of the survey, thus generating different lines of questioning about mintages, product timing, etc.