2010 American Silver Eagle : A Collector’s Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
Demand for the American Silver Eagle bullion coin in 2010 remained high, and the United States Mint, under pressure to source a sufficient number of blanks to keep up with demand, churned out 34,764,500 pieces and resumed production of the Proof version. Lessons learned.

Driving demand in the aftermath of the Great Recession was investor skittishness toward the financial market and concerns over the ballooning national debt. The price of silver was also rising, with spot increasing from $14.67 an ounce in 2009 to just over $20 on average in 2010.

Market History for the 2010 American Silver Eagle

The 2010 American Silver Eagle has one of the more unusual third-party grading service histories of any coin in the series. Outside of the 2011 American Silver Eagle, no entry in the series has been graded more.

Through early 2015, NGC and PCGS reported a combined certified population of 875,000 2010 American Silver Eagles. NGC was responsible for the overwhelming majority, grading more than 725,000 coins at MS69 and just under 50,000 at MS70. PCGS lagged well behind in total submissions, but they favored 70s over 69s by a factor of 2.86 to 1.

In the intervening years, both services continued to receive additional submissions. As a result, NGC added more than 35,000 coins to its census, while PCGS accumulated just over 8,750. At both firms, the ratio of MS70s to MS69s fell dramatically. This contradicts the trend we’ve noted for virtually every other Type 1 American Silver Eagle issue.

(Struck at) Makes its Debut

The American Silver Eagle bullion coin has been struck at various mint facilities since its 1986 debut, but at no time has the investor coin been struck with an identifying mintmark. This was purposeful on the part of the Mint, which wanted to avoid making the precious metal commodity into a numismatic coin.

This practice saw its first real challenge in 2010 when the TPGs discovered packaging information that tied coin production to specific mints. It was in this year that PCGS released its first “Struck at the West Point Mint” insert label. On these labels, the mint location was given a parenthetic notation, making the 2010 American Silver Eagle a 2010-(W) American Silver Eagle.

Notation aside, nothing substantial is gained by knowledge of the facility of origin. The Mint produces its bullion coins with such uniformity that there’s no way to discern where the Silver Eagle was struck by examining the coin itself. In other words, outside of these holders–and outside of sealed boxes with identifiable shipping information–coins “Struck at West Point” are indistinguishable from those “Struck at Philadelphia” or “Struck at San Francisco”.

Other Label Concepts to Look (Out) For

The American Silver Eagle series became increasingly complicated in the mid-2000s. Starting in 2006, the Mint offered a series of limited-edition sets and special finishes. Coin marketers leveraged these new issues to great effect and cemented the ASE as the modern equivalent of another complicated series, the Morgan Dollar. A key element in making this a reality was a growing awareness of the role that label design plays in selling the coin.

It is our opinion that the label artwork in this series is, in many cases, as important as the coin itself. The first generation of premium labels was basic in design but hand-signed by a small group of mostly non-numismatic notables. When Michael “Miles” Standish locked in signers like Chief Engraver John Mercanti (designer of the Silver Eagle Heraldic Eagle reverse) and Mint Director Ed Moy, the game changed. Now the PCGS census lists labels signed by Leonard Buckley, Thomas Cleveland, Emily Damstra, David Hall, Whitey Herzog, Jim Peed, Michael Reagan, and Gary Whitley.

In addition to signature labels, various other concepts have been introduced to help dealers market the coins. No longer content with First Strike/Early Release inserts, certain coins graded immediately upon release were given special notations, such as “From a Mint Sealed Box”. Others were given the limited-edition treatment. PCGS, for instance, put out a flag label limited to 250. These concepts typically carry little premium on the secondary market.

How Much Is the 2010 American Silver Eagle Worth?

The 2010 American Silver Eagle is available in abundance raw and certified. While most certified examples grade MS69, the number of MS70s for this date outnumbers the total coins certified for many earlier dates in the series. There is little reason to recommend a 69 coin, as 70s sell for a marginal premium over raw coins. Expect to pay $35 to $40 for a raw example (depending on the prevailing silver spot price) and $45 to $55 for a 70.

Over the past 10 years, the value of a 2010 American Silver Eagle in MS70 has declined by about 10%.

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Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens

Top Population: PCGS MS70 (74,023, 9/2024), NGC MS70 (50,988, 9/2024), and CAC MS70 (42, 9/2024).

• PCGS MS70 #16858292: eBay, September 11, 2024 – $43. First Strike insert.
• PCGS MS70 #16813725: eBay, September 10, 2024 – $54. First Strike insert.
• NGC MS70 #3375894-288: eBay, September 8, 2024 – $63.95. Early Releases insert.
• NGC MS70 #3398468-012: eBay, September 7, 2024 – $54. Early Releases. From Mint Sealed Box #38.
• PCGS MS70 #39449559: eBay, September 6, 2024 – $61. Leonard Buckley signed label.
• NGC MS70 #3398440-002: eBay, June 16, 2024 – $54. Early Releases. From Mint Sealed Box #22.

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Design

Obverse:

Artist Adolph A. Weinman’s Lady Liberty is depicted mid-stride. She is dressed in a flowing gown and draped with a large billowing American flag. Liberty holds laurel and oak branches in her left hand that symbolize the civil and military glories of America, respectively. As she strides confidently towards the rising sun, she reaches out a welcoming open hand. Lady Liberty is superimposed over the obverse legend LIBERTY ringing the obverse – in fact, she obscures half of the “BE” and almost the entire “R”. Above her rear foot is the motto IN GOD WE TRUST and below her in the exergue is the date 2010.

Reverse:

United States Mint Chief Engraver John Mercanti’s Heraldic Eagle is positioned at the center of the reverse. Clutched in its beak is a ribbon bearing the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. Above its head is a constellation of 13 stars configured in an upside-down pyramid formation. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA runs clockwise around the top of the design and the fineness and denomination 1 OZ. FINE SILVER. ONE DOLLAR wraps counterclockwise around the bottom.

Edge:

The edge of the 2010 American Silver Eagle bullion coin is reeded.

Coin Specifications

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