Yearly Archives: 2010

2010 American Silver Eagle bullion coins surged during the start and toward the end of March, capping the best United States Mint quarterly sales since the coin series debuted in 1986.

The latest sales figures, however, do not bode well for 2010-dated collector proof and uncirculated versions of the Silver Eagles. Collector coins carry the "W" mint mark, which is unlike the bullion versions that are available now and must be produced by the U.S. Mint in quantities to meet public demand. As long as that demand remains at unprecedented levels, this year's collector options are at risk of cancellation as happened to the 2009s.

"Any time that we get ahead of demand, we are storing away blanks" for collector gold and silver coins. "If demand catches up, that's when we have to use the blanks" for bullion coins, U.S. Mint Director Ed Moy explained during a public coin forum on Saturday, March 27.

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This week, the Professional Coin Grading Service announced "The Big One," a service called PCGS Secure Plus -- a new service line that will be an option for most collectors except for rare and ultra rare coins which must be certified by PCGS Secure Plus.

The significant part of this service is that PCGS is adding modern computer imaging to coin grading.

Coins grade through Secure Plus will be scanned by an optical device that will map the surface of the coin creating a digital signature of its characteristics that can be used for later reference. The digital signature is a unique identification of the coin that can withstand potential coin doctoring and to prevent the users from removing the coin from the slab to try to have it graded higher. It can also be used to determine if the coin was doctored from its previous submission such as being artificially toned.

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