The West Point Mint Hoard of Silver Eagles by Bullion Shark LLC ……
In a surprise move, the United States Mint announced in late 2019 that it had sold 183,781 2016-W American Silver Eagles in a closed bid sale.
What made this move unusual is that before the announcement the collecting community was unaware that the Mint was carrying such a large quantity of unsold stock of the 2016-W Proof. Typically, all leftover Silver Eagles (coins unsold at the end of the year, if you can believe it) are removed from their packaging and melted down in a process known as “de-trashing”. This unprecedented sale by the Mint effectively raised the overall mintage of the issue by 30%.
The 2016-W Proof Silver Eagle is no ordinary Silver Eagle. The 2016-W Proof release marked the 30th anniversary of the series and unlike every issue in the series that came before, this coin featured a unique lettered edge. For devoted fans of the series, the release had a special cache due to the significance of its release.
Most of these coins have been spirited away to IRA accounts, it has been reported, but now entering the market for the first time is a small percentage of that unsold 183,781 2016-W American Silver Eagles in certified grades, with coins graded by PCGS and NGC. Dubbed the West Point (“WP”) Mint Hoard, the coins have graded out beautifully and are free of milk spots.
Additionally, both PCGS and NGC are keeping tabs on this release by reporting the number of coins graded in their own categories.
As a retailer of modern numismatic and semi-numismatic coins, we can report that collectors are indeed curious about the West Point Mint hoard issue. We have received a few hundred pieces, but it’s unclear whether more will be available, even to us, once this stock sells out.
A really nice story…this “hoard” discovery…possibly staged by the Mint and grading services…double the price of the original release…initially made available to exclusive dealers…to each his own…