Coin Blog

The American Silver Eagle combines a classic design with one troy ounce of .999 fine silver. This combination has made the coin one of the most popular annual offerings of the United States Mint.

The obverse design is taken from Adolph A. Weinman's Walking Liberty Half Dollar, issued for circulation from 1916 to 1947. Liberty's full figure is depicted striding towards a rising sun, while she holds a bouquet of olive branches and has an American flag draped across her shoulders. The reverse was created specifically for the series and features a heraldic eagle designed by John Mercanti.

The 2011 Silver Eagles will represent the latest year of the series, which began in 1986. The bullion coins are distributed through the US Mint's network of authorized purchasers. They buy the coins in bulk quantities of at least 25,000 ounces based on the market price of silver plus a mark up. The coins are then resold to other dealers and the public.

The first opportunity for the authorized purchasers to order 2011 dated Silver Eagle bullion coins was January 3, 2011. Once order fulfillment begins from the US Mint the coins will make their way into the hands of collectors, continuing the tradition for this beautiful series.

As a change from recent years, the US Mint has announced nearly their entire numismatic product schedule for the upcoming year. It had become practice to release the schedule piecemeal, often with estimated release dates and numerous "TBD's". This time there is only one TBD, and incredibly release dates listed for Proof Gold and Silver Eagles.

Among the notable missing, are the numismatic versions of the America the Beautiful 5 oz Silver Coins. With collectors still having trouble finding the bullion versions, many are eagerly awaiting the collector versions. Although the mintages will be lower, at least everyone will have a fair shot at them through the US Mint's website.

The US Mint's 2011 numismatic product schedule is reproduced below.

In the past, the US Mint has released separate proof sets for quarters and Presidential Dollars early in the year, followed by the somewhat belated issuance of the full annual set.

I always considered this scheduling to be a product of marketing, attempting to sell as many of the separate sets as possible before selling the full set to the same people later. The other consequence was to disrupt gift giving during the early part of the year. Sometimes I would have liked to give someone a proof set, but the full set was not released yet.

This will change with the 2011 Proof Set, which the US Mint plans to release on January 11, 2011. This will mark the earlier release for the most popular annual set in years.

Each set will contain 14 different proof coins struck at the San Francisco Mint with deep cameo finishes. The coins will be packaged in three separate lenses with an outer cardboard box featuring the US Mint's new branding.

The pricing for the product has not yet been announced. I hope it won't be another price increase.

After one month and nine days of availability, the 2010 Proof Silver Eagle has sold out at the US Mint. The coins were on the radar of many collectors following the cancellation of the 2009-dated issued, but the quick nature of the sell out may have caught some by surprise.

When the coins went on sale, the US Mint did not state a maximum mintage. With a technically "unlimited" mintage and no signs of stress for the bullion version, a high mintage was expected.

All told, the last reported sales of 834,879 would make for a relatively high mintage, but it's not as severe as feared.

For next year, the offering might go smoother, following the passage of legislation to allow greater flexibility for the production of collector version of the American Silver Eagle. Previously bullion coins needed to be produced to meet public demand, with no requirement for the minting and issuance of proofs.

The 2011 Proof Silver Eagle could be authorized by the Treasury Secretary even if demand was not being met for bullion coins.

The designs for the 2011 Presidential Dollars have been announced by the US Mint. Following the format of the series, the obverse of each coin will feature a portrait of the President, while the reverse will feature a representation of the concept of Liberty.

The Presidents honored next year will be the 17th to 20th Presidents. The series has included four different designs each year since 2007. The series will continue until each of the deceased Presidents have been honored.

The Andrew Johnson Presidential Dollar was designed and sculpted by Don Everhart.

The coin for the Civil War military commander and two term President, Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Dollar was also designed and sculpted by Everhart. Likely the highlight, or most well known release for the year.

Honoring the 19th President of the United States, the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Dollar will be released third during the year. Once again, the design and sculpting work was performed by Don Everhart.

The last release of the year for the series will be the James A. Garfield Presidential Dollar. He served as President for the second shortest term before an assassin's bullet eventually led to his demise. The obverse design and sculpting was performed by Phebe Hemphill.