This year the United States Mint is planning to release a San Francisco "S" minted uncirculated American Silver Eagle for collectors and is paving the way for a series of "special" annual sets beginning in 2012 that could include Silver Eagles with varying "S", "D" and "W" mint marks, special reverse proofs and ultra-high reliefs.
The United States Mint revealed the possibilities for new annual sets in a survey conducted by National Analysts Worldwide. Plans for the 2012-S Uncirculated American Silver Eagle were announced in the United States Mint 2011 Annual Report.
"We were pleased to bring back the American Eagle Silver Proof Coin Program, which saw both 2010 and 2011 coins launched for sale during FY 2011," said Richard A. Peterson, Deputy Director of the United States Mint in the bureau’s Annual Report.
Peterson noted that the West Point "W" minted uncirculated Silver Eagle was "reprised" in 2011 after a two-year hiatus and that the Mint "looks forward to expanding this offering to include the San Francisco mint mark in 2012."
Contributing $83.6 million in incremental revenues over the prior year, the program is a certified money-maker and ripe for additions based on the sellout of the American Silver Eagle 25th Anniversary Set which will supplement the Mint’s revenue in FY 2012. The anniversary set included five coins in total, including the three typical annual and individual offerings:
- 2011 bullion American Silver Eagle
- 2011-W Proof American Silver Eagle — struck in West Point
- 2011-W Uncirculated American Silver Eagle — struck in West Point
And the two unique coins that were available only within the set:
- 2011-S Uncirculated American Silver Eagle — struck in San Francisco
- 2011-P Reverse Proof American Silver Eagle — struck in Philadelphia
Special Annual Sets – 2012, 2013 and Beyond
While the Mint’s Annual Report exposed the possibility that the San Francisco minted uncirculated Silver Eagle is likely to appear this year, the market survey conducted by National Analysts Worldwide posed many questions on a special 2012 American Silver Eagle Set that could contain a:
- 2012-S Uncirculated American Silver Eagle
- 2012-S Reverse Proof American Silver Eagle
Still obviously in a planning stage, the survey notes:
"This set will be the first in a series of annual special silver coin sets that the U.S. Mint will begin producing once per year, beginning in 2012. The second installment (featuring additional unique coins) would be produced in 2013.
The U.S. Mint plans to manufacture 300,000 of these sets. Once these are sold, no additional sets will be available. There will be a purchase limit of 1 set per household. The price of this set will be approximately $125."
The market survey hints at further possibilities for a 2013 American Silver Eagle Set, asking participants to rate how appealing certain types of coins would be within it and which of the following types of Eagles would be a top-three choice:
- Coins with a unique finish – reverse proof
- Coins with a unique design feature – ultra high relief
- Uncirculated American Eagle Silver coins with special mint mark (e.g. "S", "D", etc.)
- Proof American Eagle Silver coin with special mint mark (e.g. "S", "D", etc.)
- American Eagle Silver bullion
- Standard American Eagle Silver uncirculated coin (with customary "W" mint mark)
- Standard American Eagle Silver proof coin (with customary "W" mint mark)
Indicating the United States Mint would have more flexibility beginning in year 2013 by the types of coins possible, the survey also suggests that the Mint is open to customer input on varying household limits (1, 2, 5, and 10) and maximum mintages (75,000; 100,000; 150,000; 200,000; 250,000; and 500,000) for these future annual sets.
Check this site’s American Eagle coins section for information on past year offerings from the Mint or visit the bureau’s website at http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/?action=american_eagles.
