Right now, the U.S. Mint is celebrating the thirtieth year of the American Eagle bullion coinage program. To do so, they are offering two special issue Silver Eagles. Instead of having their standard reeded edges, both the Proof and Uncirculated versions of the 2016 American Eagle one-ounce silver dollars sold to collectors have a lettered edge. Inscribed, fittingly and simply, are the words, â30th Anniversary.â Lest one think this is in any way self-congratulatory or puffery, consider this: the Silver Eagle, at 30 years of age, is the single most important coin being produced in the world today. That cannot be disputed.
In its first two months of issue in 1986, over five million one-ounce Silver Eagle coins were sold. It was a mind-numbing, dizzying pace. The Treasury Department knew there was demand for a silver bullion coin. Mexico had been selling over one million one-ounce Libertad coins since 1982, and reached a then record of two million units in 1985. The American Silver Eagle along with the companion American Gold Eagle program were designed as way for American investors to buy an American bullion products. It turned out that collector demand was just as extreme as investor demand. Over 1.4 million proof Silver Eagles were sold to collectors in the first year of issue.
Aspects of the programs were carefully mandated by Congress. There was interest in selling off silver from the Defense National Stockpile, which far surpassed strategic needs. Many feared releasing the metal would cause the price of silver to plummet. The Silver Eagle program was designed to be struck on demand. Rather than being purchased from the Mint, dealers and investor could buy coins only from a very small number of Authorized Purchasers who acquired the coins from the Mint for a predetermined premium to their metal value and then redistributed them. This was a unique distribution model that immediately created a sales infrastructure to support the bullion Silver Eagle marketplace.
From blockbuster beginnings, the Silver Eagle has never looked back. It is the darling of the silver bullion industry. Current demand frequently reaches one-million coins per week-week after week. It is a global demand and the highest production silver bullion coin in the world. Silver in the Defense National Stockpile was exhausted in 2002, and Congress modified legislation to allow explicitly for the purchase of silver to ensure the continuance of the program. Periodic sales stoppages and rationing of Silver Eagles are implemented when the Mint cannot secure enough planchets. Today, five percent of the total annual supply of silver worldwide goes towards the production of Silver Eagles.
Extreme demand and record-shattering production are proof of the Silver Eagle’s importance. This comes at a time when coinage more generally performs a declining role in daily commerce around the world. But this coin has played another part. It has been the standard bearer for innovation at the U.S. Mint, contributing to its role as an investor and collector staple. Even its composition of .999 fine silver was a novelty; the Silver is the first pure precious metal coin produced by the U.S. Mint.
The most visible innovations are seen in the numismatic, collector-oriented versions of the Silver Eagle. In 2006, to mark the twentieth anniversary of the series, a first-ever reverse proof Silver Eagle was sold as part of the three-coin set. It was a complete sellout. There was precedent for the reverse proof, which had a matte-like field and mirrored design elements, especially among NCLT issued by foreign mints, but the U.S. Mint had previously eschewed faddish or non-substantive design elements.
Reverse proofs have been re-issued on three additional occasions: in 2011 for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Silver Eagle, in 2012 to honor the 75th anniversary of the current San Francisco Mint building, and in 2013 for the 75th Anniversary of the West Point Mint. Included with the 2013 reverse proof was a Silver Eagle in enhanced uncirculated format. Used for the first time ever on a U.S. coin, it showed various parts of the coin in frosted, mirrored or satin finish.
It seemed to collectors that special edition Silver Eagles might be an annual event, but no offerings were forthcoming in 2014 and 2015. There is nuance and discontinuity among the collector-issue Silver Eagles, especially among coins released during the last few years. There are varying finishes, coins issued at with Mints marks. There are low mintage keys, including the âKingâ of the series, the proof 1995-W. There is even a fantastic hub variety, the uncirculated 2008-W Reverse of 2007. No proof Silver