The Forgotten Eagle
There has been a tremendous amount of excitement associated with the West Point Mint in recent months due to the release of the FIRST EVER W Mint Lincoln Cents and the release, into the general economy, of 10 Million W ATB Quarters. But there is a largely forgotten W mint product that has been slowly dwindling in mintage.
Back in 2006, the 20th anniversary year of the silver eagle, the mint started producing, what they describe on their website as the American Silver Eagle One Ounce Uncirculated Coin. This rather generic title implies the coin is no different than the silver eagles you can by in bulk at your local coin dealer. Why would someone pay a premium for something they can get, in bulk, for spot plus a small %?
What makes these Silver Eagles so special is their Burnished finish. Burnished coins have a soft matte finish that harkens back to the Matte Proofs of yesteryear but without the double strike. To produce a burnished finish, the silver blanks are cleaned then polished in a drum, similar to a rock tumbler. By doing this, the planchets are smoothed and all surface scratches, blemishes, etc. are removed. This process also gives each planchet the trademark soft matte finish, which remains true after the coins are struck. The 2019 Burnished Eagles have been released. I think this special issue deserves attention for both its beautiful appearance as well as its increasing rarity. Consider buying one for your collection before the coin community catches on.
In 2006 the mint sold 468,000 of these Uncirculated Eagles and mintage peaked the following year but has been in decline since:
2007- 621,333
2008- 533,757
2009 - None Produced
2010- None Produced
2011- 409,776
2012- 226,120
2013- 222,091
2014- 253,169
2015- 223,879
2016- 216,501
2017-176,739
2018- 131,935
2019 - Still Lower??
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