Buyers raced to purchase the latest annual proof American Silver Eagle coin from the United States Mint. The Mint reported six days sales of more than $22 million between their Thursday, June 30, release and Tuesday, July 5.
It was the best debut tally for a U.S. Mint numismatic coin this year. The unit total came in at 367,623 for a daily sales average of 61,271 coins. At the $59.95 per coin price, the exact sales total over the six days was $22,038,998.85.
The proof American Silver Eagle is the most popular collector coin the United States Mint offers. Last year’s issue opened with sales of over $12.5 million, or 273,212 units, during their first three days. The .999 fine silver proof coins were not issued in 2009 — which help lift 2010 sales, but the 2008 issue registered sales of $5.9 million, or 185,232 units, in four days. How the silver coins have performed since their introduction in 1986 is shown in the following table:
Historical Proof American Silver Eagle Sales
| Year | Final Sales | Year | Final Sales | |
| 1986-S | 1,446,778 | 1998-P | 450,728 | |
| 1987-S | 904,732 | 1999-P | 549,330 | |
| 1988-S | 557,370 | 2000-P | 600,743 | |
| 1989-S | 617,694 | 2001-W | 746,398 | |
| 1990-S | 695,510 | 2002-W | 647,342 | |
| 1991-S | 511,924 | 2003-W | 747,831 | |
| 1992-S | 498,543 | 2004-W | 801,602 | |
| 1993-P | 405,913 | 2005-W | 816,663 | |
| 1994-P | 372,168 | 2006-W | 843,602 | |
| 1995-P | 407,822 | 2007-W | 821,759 | |
| 1995-W | 30,102 | 2008-W | 700,979 | |
| 1996-P | 498,293 | 2009 | N/A | |
| 1997-P | 435,350 | 2010-W | 860,000 |
The Mint has not indicated what the maximum mintage for the 2011 issue will be. Traditionally, Silver Eagle mintage levels have been sufficient to support several months of demand.
Buyers may order the 2011 Proof American Silver Eagle directly from the United States Mint website at http://catalog.usmint.gov or by calling the bureau’s toll free number 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). The Mint has a 100 per household limit in place. Each domestic order will be assessed a $4.95 shipping and handling fee.
The Mint should create a special Silver Eagle Silver Anniversary set to celebrate that 2011 is the 25th edition of the Silver Eagle Proof Coin. A Reverse Proof with both the S and W mint marks would be very nice.
The Mint has 5 months to make this happen. Do you think that they will miss this special opportunity to celebrate the Silver Anniversary of the Silver Eagle?
Silver anniversary for a silver coin – sounds logical. The mint seems to recognize only anniversaries in multiples of 10, though, and the reverse proof has already been done. They’re very conservative, only rarely willing to try new ideas, and apparently the last good artists they employed were all back in the early 1900’s – look at the gold, silver, and palladium (when it comes out next year) eagles. The platinum eagle isn’t wining any awards and the current series doesn’t even have an eagle on it except for a tiny little “privy mark” (probably a 19th century remnant) put… Read more »
Silver Eagles have by far and away been our most popular coins. Followed by other American Silver coins and then Canadian Maple Leafs. When these coins sale out, combined with any major run in silver towards $45/$50, the wholesale value on these coins could easily be in the $89/$99 mark.