Us Mints decision to not offer the 2009 Proof Silver Eagle is the biggest self destructive attack to the SAE program, and coin collecting programs in the US market.

You see the US Mint had very little passion following their market in the early 80?s. Then someone in their marketing programs came up with great ideas. They decided to promote the sales of gold and silver when they initiated the sales of Gold American Eagle and Silver American Eagles, thank you Ronald Reagan. Then they decided to offer the greatest idea ever, the state quarter program. It put the desire back into colleting that they will probably never match.

The US Mint had their greatest year ever (2006) they managed to produce the State quarters, Platinum was offer in a 4 piece set in both proof and Mint State as well as the burnished edition. Gold was offered in 4 piece versions in Proof, MS, as well as the burnished edition and the best, the 20th anniversary reverse proof in silver and gold. We had the Silver Eagle program too. Mint State, Proof and the burnished edition not to mention the most beautiful 20th anniversary SAE. The interest in coin collecting was at its peak. But if given a chance, Would it get better? Or will it get worse?

I don?t know who?s running the US Mint currently, however if I was running a business like that, I would worry for my job. You see this year (2009) the Mint can?t even produce the proof SAE in the long running proof version. This decision is the single most self destructive concept anyone could have made that killed the interest in coin collecting. We don?t have the fractional in gold American eagle?s proof version, Platinum?s are gone with the exception of the 1 Oz proof. We didn?t even make the silver eagle in the proof or burnished version. Perhaps collectors will now move on to other areas, I will.

Doesn?t management know that they could have made bigger profit margins with the offer of the proof version, and kept the entire collector base happy? DOnt the Mint officals feel that they owe a debt of gratitude to the public for keeping probaly the most successful goverment business profitable? Take 500K of the 20 M bullion versions. If the US Mint had offered either of those versions, collectors would have been satisfied.

Now we can say goodbye to the proof and burnished version of the SAE. Hope you got your 08 SAE tucked away!

The US mint released over 20,000,000.00 Mint state SAE. Heck that decision ruined the both the proof and burnished series. The proof was a 23 year series! But fear not, at least we have the Braille. MELT THEM! I'm sorry John Mercanti Your SAE eagle program has been broken.

The greatest days for the US. Mint is over. US collectors will have to look elsewhere. Look for more information on foriegn coins, maybe coin world will revamp their mag? Whoever is deciding the future business plan at the US mint should be fired, terminated!

Maybe we can hire the Chinese government to produce our coins? They produce the materials for our houses and our cars, why not our coins? These decisions are a disgrace not only to the coin collectors, but to our country. The world was getting interested in our coins. The United States used to have a can do attitude, I?m sorry to say it?s a sad day for the US manufacturing; and it's a sad year for US coin collectors. We can?t even strike a proof silver American eagle coin anymore. You can't but a SAE from the mint in 2009 you have to buy a bullion verse from a distributor? Mint officals state it shouldn't matter coin collectors will be ok. By law we had to make the bullion. SO did they screw up last year in 2008 when the bullion edition wasnt available for months? I must have missed the news when they got arrested for not following the law in 2008.

Bottom line, they didn't mint the coins that I feel they were committed to mint. Keep your excuses to yourself, just say you didnt want to do your job. You wasted tax payers money and destroyed the dies you had manufactured to produce the coins. If I did that at my job I would have been fired. Maybe we should just lay them off. They only minted a fraction of the coins that they did in 2006.

L. J. Ramos