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Is the US Mint Setting Coin Collectors Up for a Silver Eagle Rarity in 2020?

By Bullion Shark LLC ……
For the last three years, the United States Mint has decided to do something strange. They decided to release the Proof American Silver Eagle and the Bullion Strike Silver Eagle almost simultaneously. In 2018, the release date was January 4, in 2019 it was January 10, and in 2020 it was January 9. Each year the U.S. Mint begins shipping the new Silver Eagles right around the beginning of January to authorized coin and bullion dealers. We have done an analysis of the correlation of the timing of the release of the Proof Silver Eagle and its respective mintage each year. Rare coin collectors will be quite pleased with the results.

As suspected, the Mint did collectors a favor by releasing the Proof Silver Eagle and Bullion Strike Silver Eagles back-to-back. The mintages for the 2018 and 2019 Bullion Strike Silver Eagle are 15,700,000 and 14,863,500 respectively. Since 2009, the bullion version was notorious for its high mintages of over 30 million pieces. Bullion Strike Silver Eagles from 2009 and prior had similar mintage numbers and are worth anywhere from $100-500. The proof version showed around 350,000 in 2018 and about 320,000 in 2019. The Proof Silver Eagle mintages in 2018 and 2019 are even lower than the key dates in the series: 1993 and 1994. The 1993 and 1994 had mintages of 405,913 and 372,168 and are worth over four-figures in perfect grade Proof 70.

Right now, one can buy 2018 and 2019 Proof Silver Eagles in perfect grade 70 for around $100. Could we be looking at modern rarities in their infancies?

Why are we seeing such low-mintage Silver Eagles? The answer is simple.

Many coin collectors are either buying less of each type of Silver Eagle or are only choosing to buy one over the other. It is also important to keep in mind that the Mint has also added a San Francisco Proof Silver Eagle to its product schedule since 2017. Collectors much spread their budget over more coins in a shorter time period.

Based on the mintage numbers of the Silver Eagles in 2018 and 2019, we could very well be looking at another low-mintage year. Being that the United States Mint raised the issue price of the 2020 Proof Silver Eagle to $64.50, it is possible that the demand might be even lower than last year. Although this may seem like a bad thing, modern coin collectors who do buy the piece may be very happy if they end up owning such a low-mintage Silver Eagle.

*These are solely the opinions of Bullion Shark, LLC. This article is not intended to be used as investment advice. Please consult an investment advisor before investing in rare coins or precious metals.

 

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7 COMMENTS

  1. I hope the coins I have collected from the USA old & new are someday worth somthing it would be a downer to find out collectors were being had in anyway..

  2. I strongly believe that collectors are being had. The only ones making money on collectible coins are dealers and the US GOVERNMENT. Silver coins are so subjective it’s ridiculous. Have you ever bought from a dealer and then tried selling it back?

  3. For me in the end my collecting has provided me with an education that never stops. While my ultimate goal is to provide a possible equity for my children one would hope the coins would provide, in my mind it is inconceivable that they would be worthless. However it ends I have enjoyed my hunting immensely and would enjoy all eagles to come no matter.

  4. We are being had a 45 dollar premium on 18 bucks worth of artistic silver. A coin may be worth x amount of dollars but try and sell it for that.

  5. Maybe I’m missing something but while the total mintage numbers of the proofs from 93/94 are close to the mintage numbers for 18/19 a quick look at PCGS population data comparing the years shows a lot more 70s have been graded out for 18/19 than were for 93/94. Guess I’m not seeing that we can one day expect the 18/19s to have prices near the 93/94s becuase there seems to be a lot more of them in PR70 grade

  6. Charlie has hit the nail on the head! Production quality in 93 and 94 was far inferior so only a fraction of them ever graded or will grade 70. In comparison to recent years, production is soooo much better and your odds of having a 70 graded is much higher. Its supply and demand folks – the 18 and 19 will never reach 4 figures!!!

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